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Post by jo on Feb 3, 2016 14:58:03 GMT -5
I am not sure when Zac filmed this music video, but it could have been after HAIRSPRAY --
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Post by jo on Feb 3, 2016 15:07:49 GMT -5
Hey, more tweets re Hugh being at Pearl ( Studios, I presume  ) -- |
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Post by jo on Feb 11, 2016 9:01:39 GMT -5
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Post by jo on Feb 11, 2016 9:15:55 GMT -5
*Check out Hugh's black t-shirt. Isn't that what he wore when he was snapped leaving his place the other day. It seems he was at the workshop almost right after ( the following day?) his surgery procedures! What a trouper!!
*The only other faces I can recognize are Michael Gracey who is directing the movie...and Pasek and Paul.
I do remember Natalie Weiss tweeting during the run of The River that she was in a workshop/reading with Hugh Jackman.
Ellen - who is Keala Settle? I wonder if she sang This Is Me? And is Jeremy Jordan among the talents?
Where is Zac Efron -- wasn't he also seen at the Pearl Studios the week before?
I wonder if those shown here will get roles for the production? If this films in Australia, are they all going there?
Jo
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Post by jo on Feb 11, 2016 9:36:53 GMT -5
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Post by jo on Feb 11, 2016 9:42:23 GMT -5
 The inset photo ( upper right hand corner) looks like it was inspired by THE PRESTIGE   Jo |
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Post by jo on Feb 11, 2016 10:29:01 GMT -5
Have they shortened the title to simply THE GREATEST SHOWMAN Jo |
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Post by mamaleh on Feb 11, 2016 10:46:41 GMT -5
We can't see the whole poster, but I would think they'd want to keep the partial reference to the familiar phrase "greatest show on earth." We'll see.
Jo, I don't see Jeremy Jordan in the photo. Keala Settle made kind of a splash in HANDS ON A HARDBODY, even if that show did flop. She was also Mme. Thenardier in the current revival of LES MIZ, but I believe she left the cast about a year ago. She and a friend were in THE RIVER audience at one performance, giggling and bidding during the BC/EFA auction period. After the show, I mentioned to Hugh that I'd spotted Keala in the audience and that I liked her laugh-filled performance in HARDBODY. He said she was in the SHOWMAN workshop (he's obviously a fan, too). I guess that's why she's still with the project.
Ellen
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Post by jo on Feb 11, 2016 10:54:10 GMT -5
Pasek and Paul...and Natalie Weiss are using THE GREATEST SHOWMAN ( not THE GREATEST SHOWMAN ON EARTH) as the title of the project. That was why I had wondered if they have rethought the title of the movie.
Jo
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Post by jo on Feb 11, 2016 11:01:05 GMT -5
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Post by mamaleh on Feb 11, 2016 11:24:40 GMT -5
I wonder if Settle will be part of the final movie cast in Australia. I believe she's still attached to the new musical WAITRESS, which begins performances in New York next month.
Ellen
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Post by jo on Feb 11, 2016 18:51:08 GMT -5
Someone drew attention to a tweet from Broadway perfomer ANDREW KEENAN BOLGER ( whose presence in the workshop was confirmed by someone else) --
Maybe the intent of the workshop was to impress the executives who were there for the final say...and the presentation of the numbers seemed to have worked very well, as the BWW report now confirms the actual filming dates! If THIS IS ME is a good example, then that is truly a rousing and a very inspirational song!
Jo
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Post by jo on Feb 11, 2016 19:31:06 GMT -5
I have forgotten how the Sister Act 2 finale was Here it is -- Compare with the truncated version ( the first two soft-note stanzas are not here) of THIS IS ME -- And this is the full song of THIS IS ME, but sung from a great distance |
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Post by jo on Feb 12, 2016 1:54:19 GMT -5
With your permission, Ellen -- I dug this up from discussions on THE RIVER :
She seems to impress everytime! Will she make it to Australia, maybe for a short break from her WAITRESS performing duties...so she can be The Bearded Lady again?
And Cynthia Erivo (COLOR PURPLE) seems to impress very strongly as well! Will we see her in the movie?
Jo
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Post by mamaleh on Feb 12, 2016 7:48:37 GMT -5
Permission always granted, Jo.  Often the actors who appear in workshops don't appear in the actual show. (Remember Hugh's workshop participation in ON THE 20TH CENTURY? Boy, I'd have loved to see that.) Hoping many of the workshop performers make it to the final product, as they obviously have a feel for the material and Hugh's approval, whether or not the latter is necessary. Ellen |
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Post by njr on Feb 12, 2016 12:18:49 GMT -5
So this movie is not a musical then? If not, they should get Kathy Bates to play the bearded lady like she did in American Horror Story: Freaks! LOL!
Nancy
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Post by mamaleh on Feb 12, 2016 14:25:59 GMT -5
I'm pretty sure it's still a movie musical, Nancy--witness all those B'way musical performers at the workshop.
Ellen
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Post by jo on Feb 12, 2016 16:08:22 GMT -5
If the filming is not going to be in Australia but in NYC, then maybe casting those Broadway performers will make the movie musical even more impressive. I hope some of them do get a chance to reprise their numbers, because they seem to click with the material and their participation will probably not be too protracted in the movie. They did cast many known West End musical theatre actors in Les Miserables, although that was convenient because filming was done in England. Btw, will there be minor female lead roles -- Barnum was married and there was also some talk about his infatuation for an opera singer whose tour he arranged? I wonder if casting for those roles is also now underway? Re the title - I realize that the connection with that Cecil B.De Mille movie ( Greatest Show on Earth) might resonate with older audiences -- but will it connect with the younger demos? The more I look at it - THE GREATEST SHOWMAN sounds sharp, to the point, and very modern. Lol - as if they would heed my preferences Jo |
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Post by jo on Feb 12, 2016 16:30:27 GMT -5
Interesting that there was a full workshop for this film project!
Doesn't this usually happen for stage musicals only - for those being presented for consideration of potential investors?
Les Miserables had auditions but not workshops for presentation to Universal execs. Besides it was already a brand name with 27 years behind it when the adaptation was filmed. Other big musicals ( Phantom, Chicago, Evita, Sweeney Todd) already had years of reputation behind them. Mamma Mia! was already a big crowd pleaser on Broadway when they adapted it to film. Into the Woods was relatively unknown, but had Sondheim behind it, and that was why they chose Meryl and upcoming Hollywood names to take the roles in the film adaptation. Jersey Boys, while another crowd pleaser on Broadway, and even Clint Eastwood as director, did not click at the box office though. Maybe because he chose to cast relatively unknown actors who reprised their roles on Broadway? Another forthcoming adaptation will be BEAUTY AND THE BEAST ( whose credentials include an Oscar-nominated animation version and a long history on Broadway) but it is still going to have a big cast of known performers (although the role of Belle will be played by an actress not known for her musical chops but whose main public association is with the enormous Harry Potter franchise... while Beast will be played by the actor who was Lancelot in Night at the Museum, who was totally unconvinced with Wolverine's King Arthur turn )
GREATEST SHOWMAN sounds like it will be an outstanding achievement -- it will be the first original live action musical in decades. It will have composers who are more identified with the current scene, although their roots are also in musical theatre. And it will have Hugh Jackman -- an excellent performer in movie musicals ( Les Miserables) and on stage ( The Boy from Oz, Back on Broadway, Oklahoma!, Sunset Boulevard, Beauty and the Beast), with entertainer chops ( Oscars, Tonys) ...and who shows such an unbelievable joy of performing!
This is all exciting -- too bad we have to wait for this present till Christmas next year
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Post by jo on Feb 12, 2016 20:15:30 GMT -5
If you are interested in the GREATEST SHOWMAN composing team of Benj Pasek and Justin Paul -- here is some background information on these exciting composers for the theatre and film -- pasekandpaul.com/about/Check out what critics say about them. |
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Post by jo on Feb 14, 2016 18:08:04 GMT -5
Another photo -- http://instagram.com/p/BBluKJxJg0B Some tweets indicated that Jeremy Jordan and Andrew Keenan Bolger were also there but were missing in the photo session. Jo |
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Post by jo on Feb 19, 2016 16:26:35 GMT -5
I wonder if any of these performers will make it to the cast of the movie itself?
Jo
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Post by jo on Mar 10, 2016 22:13:48 GMT -5
Unexpected and unconfirmed news -- Rooney Mara in a fairly small role? moviepilot.com/posts/3817910I thought it is supposed to be a fairly small support role...although the character gets to sing the wonderful " THIS IS ME" ! Unless Rooney has an undiscovered vocal prowess, it is possible that she is going to be dubbed ( maybe by Broadway's Keara Settle who sang he role in the recent reading and is shown on the photo with Hugh). Maybe they are going to expand the role? Hmmm... unusual and could be speculative news about the film casting. I am most interested to know who will be playing the roles of his wife Charity and the soprano Jenny Lind! Jo |
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Post by jo on Mar 31, 2016 0:06:49 GMT -5
Who is Michael Gracey ?
Most of what we know of him ... is that he is an Aussie...that SHOWMAN will be his first film directorial work...that he is known for his ads/commercials and visual effects work. There are also reports that he has been signed up for other studio projects.
In the photo above ( reading for SHOWMAN), Michael stands at the back wearing grey headgear.
I just came across this tweet and the related upload ( very popular, with 7.5 million hits!)
And of course the work of MG that we are most familiar with is an ad that Hugh himself featured in --
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Post by jo on Apr 2, 2016 22:49:52 GMT -5
I missed posting this in mid-March. This is from a production information site -- myentertainmentworld.com/feature-films/page/13/ There is still NO confirmation of these details or OFFICIAL GREENLIGHT of the film project by FOX. But assuming the above essentially captures the planning horizon for the movie project --Hugh will only start filming " Untitled Wolverine Sequel" sometime this month -- maybe the July 2016 start date for GREATEST SHOWMAN will depend on the pace of the filming of the Wolverine movie? But it seems that filming has now been scheduled in ( maybe late) summer up to the fall of this year? Also, please note that filming has now been scheduled in NYC! This is a change in filming venue from Sydney to New York. That makes historical sense since Barnum lived in Connecticut and his public entertainment shows and museum sites were in the area. Plus the period buildings and other related structures will likely be available in the mid-Atlantic states. It will also likely be using some of the nearby triple threat talents from Broadway for some of the casting? And with that, maybe there will be stronger support for the movie release, especially from the Broadway and theatre community! And maybe because this is a biopic of a famous American associated with mass entertainment and that it's a movie that is filmed in America, there will be greater appeal at the box office ( unlike EDDIE THE EAGLE, who was a Brit sports figure). That change certainly gets my vote Jo |
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