THE GREATEST SHOWMAN

[jo]

Everyone!! Watch this

[jo]

Part of a recent interview with Rebecca Ferguson who co-stars in Mission Impossible :Fallout.

www.news.com.au/lifestyle/mission-impossible-fallout-star-rebecca-ferguson-says-action-movies-need-more-cool-chicks/news-story/20be90ad2a54d92510d8fd32622f188a

At the other end of the scale, Ferguson played “Swedish Nightingale” Jenny Lind, the world’s finest opera singer, in The Greatest Showman.


The feel-good musical defied dire predictions to become a genuine word-of-mouth phenomenon, taking more than half a billion at the box office and spawning a soundtrack that is still riding high in the charts more than six months after the film was released.

Ferguson puts the runaway success down to the film’s vibrant colours, fresh score, uplifting message and, of course, the Hugh Jackman factor.

“Philosophers and other people have talked about this for decades and said that in times of war and where the world is today with a lot of disappointment and sadness, there are always musicals that bubble up,” she muses.

“They do well in times like this. I was a bit nervous — I read an article when it came out that said it wasn’t the true story of P.T. Barnum, it wasn’t what he was actually like and I thought, ‘Oh no, we haven’t done this justice’. But it still made an incredible impression, not just money wise, but people’s reaction to the movie.

“And it’s Hugh bloody Jackman, I mean, come on. Who doesn’t fall in love with him? God I would love to do it again. It was so much fun.”

Note : The article is from Australia. The box office figures quoted must have been quoted in Australian dollar currency.

[jo]

Some insights from choreographer Ashley Wallen --

www.danceaustralia.com.au/artists/an-australian-showman


Excerpts --

Now Wallen’s LA-based US agent, BLOC, promotes him as the guy who creates “MGM inspired commercials”. This is definitely true of the 2009 campaign for Lipton Ice Tea, which features Hugh Jackman and afforded him and Gracey more opportunities to marry their skills as director and choreographer, creating their brand of theatrical-movie-inspired-dance.

The success of the collaboration between Jackman, Gracey and Wallen was again apparent seven years later, when The Greatest Showman was finally green-lit by 20th Century Fox. “Michael and I had shot a big dance commercial with Hugh in 2009 – which Hugh loved – and which lead to us both working on Greatest Showman... I think [Gracey] would have been very instrumental in getting me on Showman,” Wallen reflects. Once again, Gracey directed and Wallen choreographed, and the results in the production sequences of The Greatest Showman indicate that both men have a passion for detail, creating a rich tapestry of movement and theatricality akin to old MGM movie musicals.

Wallen and Gracey have now been working together for 15-odd years and it’s a partnership where each inspires the other. “He (Gracey) has such a love for dance and really understands it and he is so involved in the choreography.” There have been suggestions that The Greatest Showman could be taken to Broadway, with Jackman in the lead role, which would be a chance for Wallen to return to the live stage. “I love doing theatre and live shows but I think my favourite medium is TV/film,” he muses. “You get to play with the cameras, which can add so much more to your choreography.”

And, whilst there are no concrete plans for this to happen he confides, “It would be amazing if The Greatest Showman was on Broadway,” and then jokingly adds, “Just being greedy now!”

I wonder if NO work or planning is being done at all for any live adaptation ( stage musical or arena tour concert)? Or is Ashley simply not aware of any discussions? Could they be waiting for a go-signal from both FOX and maybe Disney ( which has a strong and established presence on Broadway)?

[jo]

[njr]

Aug 2, 2018 21:05:27 GMT -5 jo said:

This is showing up blank for me.

[jo]

It may have been deleted.

[jo]

Unexpected reunion!

[jo]

Will they ever work together again

[jo]

[jo]

Arriving on HBO streaming services on September 8. Ignore the sarcastic short review


www.vulture.com/2018/08/new-on-hbo-september-2018-movies-tv-shows-and-originals.html

[jo]

www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2018/09/07/greatest-showman-star-sam-humphrey-undergoes-risky-surgery.html

Hoping for a full recovery for our Tom Thumb ( Sam Humphrey)!

[jo]

Attention, s'il vous plait


www.wacotrib.com/townnews/cinema/tune-in-tonight-for-sept/article_89826172-6b92-586a-8146-c18c6bc6db61.html

On a Saturday night cable schedule that’s clogged with tepid temptations to re-watch dumb movies featuring Adam Sandler (“Grown Ups,” 7:24 p.m., Bravo, and “The Waterboy,” 9 p.m., Comedy Central), Nicolas Cage (“Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance,” 9:35 p.m., AMC) and Dwayne Johnson (“San Andreas,” 7:30 p.m., USA), HBO serves up “The Greatest Showman” (7 p.m.), the 2017 musical biography of P.T. Barnum, starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson and Zendaya.


The next time somebody complains that they just don’t make movies like they used to, one should point to this larger-than-life spectacle of illusion and bluster, bursting with song. It’s exactly the kind of movie musical that Oscar used to love. Made for “only” $84 million, the movie grossed nearly half a billion dollars worldwide to date, making it one of the highest-grossing movie musicals ever.

Oddly enough, some of its critical detractors complained that the film took license with Barnum’s real-life story. Imagine a musical doing that!

Enjoy!



Jo

[jo]

In the deluge of publicity materials/articles before the movie opened, we missed quite a few interesting ones. This one is on Nathan Crowley's assistant set designer, Dan Kuchar, who also had some good words for Hugh --

www.mcall.com/entertainment/mc-ent-barnum-dan-kuchar-bethlehem-20171219-story.html

“I was really looking forward to the chance of working with Nathan Crowley and … Hugh Jackman,” Kuchar says. “A musical performer of his talents! Need I say more? And, yes, he’s a very nice person on top of all the talent and celebrity.
”
While designers rarely have much interaction with the actors, Kuchar says Jackman, who also served as a producer on the film, went the extra mile to make sure everyone felt included during filming in New York City.

“I was stuck to the drafting board most of my time on the project,” Kuchar says. “But Hugh did stop by the art department a number of times and was always very pleasant and nice to everyone. Before one three-day holiday weekend, he stopped by everyone’s work space and gave us each a lottery ticket.”

I wonder why Hugh did not get producer's credit -- or maybe he did (and a share of the box office) but chose to keep it unpublicized.

Jo

[jo]

A glimpse of what was to come -- a fantastic choreographed song number exhorting the oddities and the audience to " come alive"

http://instagram.com/p/BnqBLjuFiHq

[jo]

They're reviving BARNUM with Todd McKenney and Rachael Beck ( HJ co-star in Beauty and the Beast) in Melbourne and calling it the forerunner of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN.

No issue with reviving BARNUM, even with McKenney, but do they have to latch on to the coat-tails of The Greatest Showman


www.timeout.com/melbourne/news/the-original-greatest-showman-is-coming-to-melbourne-092018


Who even remembers any song from that musical ?

From my recollection, The Greatest Showman never rode on the coat-tails of the stage musical BARNUM in any of its publicity campaign.

A major come-on for THE GREATEST SHOWMAN is Pasek&Paul's fantastic musical score... plus the numerous key characters other than Barnum and Charity. The core of the film musical is not the circus acts themselves... but the stories and the songs themselves that helped advance the plotline and the characterizations that enhanced the portrayals!

[jo]

A new entertainment show based on THE GREATEST SHOWMAN is announced for Bristol ( UK) --


www.bristolpost.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/new-festival-inspired-greatest-showman-2053562


It seems somewhat sad that the live show that most everyone wants is the stage adaptation of the movie, but that there seems to be nothing concrete along those lines at this point!

[jo]

http://instagram.com/p/BojOuhPDjVo

[jo]

By popular demand, they are announcing the forthcoming screening of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN for August 2019!

The other choices ( choose one that the public wants to see most) were classics such as Back To The Future, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, and Mary Poppins. The charity organization is based in the UK.

[jo]

[jo]

Wow - Look!

THE GREATEST SHOWMAN is now classified as a Classic Musical, in the company of SOUND OF MUSIC, WEST SIDE STORY, CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG and MOULIN ROUGE… in this box collection!

[jo]

Looking back at THE GREATEST SHOWMAN --

www.bostonherald.com/entertainment/movies/hollywood_mine/2018/11/hugh_jackman_s_winningest_gamble

Hugh Jackman’s winningest gamble
Stephen Schaefer
Sunday, November 11, 2018



It’s always so easy to play Monday morning quarterback, to say, ‘I knew it was going to be a hit’ not the week before a film opens but the Monday afterwards. So it goes with Hugh Jackman’s great gamble, his nearly decade-long push to make a big-screen original musical about 19th century showman and entrepreneur P.T. Barnum. I asked Jackman, 50, who is now onscreen playing scandal-plagued 1988 Democratic Presidential hopeful Gary Hart in THE FRONT RUNNER, to take a look back at THE GREATEST SHOWMAN. This was during a one on one Crosby Street Hotel interview in Manhattan’s trend-setting Soho district.



Q: Last time we were talking it was about GREATEST SHOWMAN which became the biggest surprise hit of your career – nobody expected this.

Hugh Jackman: It’s been amazing to me. whenever I go on the streets groups of people I think who never thought of me at all will scream and run across the street to say hello. Young people. Fathers with kids. People who love that movie love it, they will see it five times. They are really into it.



Q: Had you experienced that previously?

HJ: I’m used to that to some degree with X-MEN because the people who are into it are really into it. But because this is a very emotional piece and a musical, it really touches people. I get videos every single day – from school performances. ‘My six year old loves you!’ I’ve got to tell you I love it. it’s the biggest sleeper hit certainly of my career. There’s something Barnum about it. Nobody wanted to do it. It took us eight years to get it made. I’m absolutely thrilled with the success of it and find myself bragging a little bit.



Q: Because the numbers would come thru – it’s grossed over $174 million? The soundtrack --
HJ: It’s still number three on iTunes 9 months later. The film may get re-released this Christmas. The other day I must have been going on too much because my daughter was, ‘Dad, nobody cares.’



Q: Will your kids go into showbiz, follow in dad’s footsteps?

HJ: I think my daughter will. He thinks it’s all a bit silly.



Q: I understand there are plans to put it onstage, on Broadway?

HJ: There will be a live version of it for sure. A number of different versions [possibilities include a touring arena show, a Vegas spectacular, a Broadway 8 times weekly long-run] but it hasn’t been decided for. It depends whether I’ll do it at all, but I’ll definitely be involved.



Q: Did you think about bringing it to Broadway first, then making the movie?

HJ: I remember Stacey [Snyder,20th Century Fox Film CEO] saying, ‘Maybe we should do what we did with WICKED. [take it to Broadway first, then make the movie].’ Because when you were in the [rehearsal] room, millions of people have seen those videos, and it worked in the room, you could tell it worked. So I know it’s going to work live. We were so pregnant with doing the film. We had 9 or 10 songs -- and for Broadway you need 18 or 19. So it was a lot more work to take it to Broadway, at least another year’s work.



Q: You are doing your FRONT RUNNER press early – why?

HJ: I’m to start filming tomorrow on BAD EDUCATION, which is a movie that doesn’t have distribution yet. Cory Finley’s new movie -- he did THOROUGHBREDS. It’s based on a true story about a school superintendent of Roslyn, New York, who was sentenced to prison back in 2004 for 12 years. He took the school from nothing to number 4 in the country. He and several other people were involved in a $12 million theft embezzlement from the school district -- and it was all uncovered by the 15 year old girl student on the school newspaper. It’s an amazing story.


Q: Wow! Is he in prison still? Did you meet the guy the way you met Gary Hart for FRONT RUNNER?
HJ: [smiles] He’s not out of prison and I did not meet him.

Hugh has got to do it! Even if only on a limited run ( maybe 4-6 months) -- the TONY awaits him


Jo

[jo]

How many times has that iconic ringmaster coattails and vest been copied

Both by men/boys and women/girls

[jo]

http://instagram.com/p/BqctJYkhW20

Thank you to Hugh Jackman and the SHOWMAN family for the gift of joy that you have given the world! The movie and the music touched people's hearts...and gave everyone the excuse to try their singing and dancing skills and bring rejoicing to every occasion

It came unexpectedly and stole everyone's hearts - across ages, gender, and borders!


It's all you'll ever want, it's all you'll ever need!



HAPPY THANKSGIVING to you and your family!










Jo

[jo]

There is a scheduled screening ( with sing-along) of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN at ALAMO DRAFTHOUSE --

[jo]

Hope this is the first of many special screenings during the holiday season!