THE FRONT RUNNER

[jo]

*Grin*

My name is Josie - and Hugh replied to my question in the Q&A for THE FRONT RUNNER ("Hugh : It's been an excellent run for you : Logan, The Greatest Showman, and now The Front Runner, all from different genres. After Front Runner and Bad Education, will you be returning to Broadway...?").

He said he is "developing a few things, along something like live theatre...but he could not yet share it, but there are plans... But to Watch This Space!"


Aha


My question was actually truncated by the host - as I asked how he deals with the different transitions for each acting challenge, whether on film or onstage. But maybe it was pure luck that he was asked only the first question because that was what we really want to know of his future plans


Jo/Josie

[jo]

We can watch it again from this link --

www.facebook.com/yahooentertainment/videos/vb.73756409831/367490750458292/?type=2&theater

[carouselkathy]

Good for you, "Josie". I predict that the next stage project will be something we don't expect.....or if I'm wrong, and it's THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, they may be working on a way to present the circus animals on stage with puppetry as in THE LION KING.

[jo]

Kathy,

The way he phrased it, I think ( but I could be utterly wrong) he may not be referring to the live adaptation of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN. He said he was developing a few things, something more like " live theatre" ( maybe something like BACK ON BROADWAY?), that he cannot say anything ( presumably, publicly) yet but there are plans...and for us "to watch this space" ( the latter was what made me very hopeful -- that it could be something not too far into the future ). If he wants to catch the end of this season ( before the 2019 TONYs), that would be exactly 5 years since we saw him last on Broadway ( The River).


Crossing my fingers that he is not going to wait much longer before treading the boards again


Jo

[jo]

Jeff Wells, who is a great fan of THE FRONT RUNNER, writes about participating in the media tour in NYC --


hollywood-elsewhere.com/2018/09/settling-into-front-runner/

Settling Into “Front Runner”

I saw The Front Runner (Columbia, 11.6) again last night. So well-ordered, smartly written, real-deal…a fastball across the plate.

Gary Hart, the would-be Democratic nominee for President in the spring of ’87 whose candidacy was destroyed by the press over a relatively harmless instance of marital infidelity, is so well nailed by Hugh Jackman. In fact the whole cast delivers — Vera Farmiga as Lee Hart, J. K. Simmons as Bill Dixon, Alfred Molina as Ben Bradlee, Sara Paxton as Donna Rice and particularly Mamoudou Athie as A.J. Parker, a diligent Washington Post reporter who covers the Hart campaign.


The Front Runner is about the fall of a flawed but basically decent fellow who was actually rather high-minded when it came to the separation between public and private life. It ends, for sure, on a note of resignation and solemnity. A good man is taken down because there is no private life for a political person and the cameras are everywhere. But 60 seconds after the film ended I was reading about the second sexual misconduct allegation against Brett Kavanaugh, and going “yes!…yes!”

The main difference, of course, is that Hart was merely busted for catting around (i.e., using his power and celebrity to score) while Kavanaugh is being drilled for having twice acted in an abusive and contemptible way with young women women while drunk.


(Last night an additional Kavanaugh allegation came from Stormy Daniels attorney Michael Avenatti, who wrote that he is “aware of significant evidence” that Kavanaugh participated in multiple gang rapes while in high school.”)


I love Reitman’s decision to play it chaste in a scene between Jackman and Paxton aboard the Monkey Business, showing only Jackman as he smiles and flirts with the unseen paxton. Throughout The Front Runner the viewer is kept at arm’s length, never shown anything sexual. I naturally assumed that the famous color snap of Hart and Rice (with Rice sitting on his lap) would be seen at some point, but it never appears, primarily because the film ends right after Hart collapses his candidacy, and the photo didn’t surface until a week or two later.

I took Jett and Cait to last night’s screening. They’re both around 30, and until last night had never heard of Gary Hart and his campaign calamity.

This morning I participated in a Front Runner breakfast schmoozer at the Crosby Street hotel. Reitman, Jackman, Simmons, Paxton and Athie attended.

Wells also posted an old CNN feature on the issue ( and even invites the comments of one of the Miami Herald reporters, now a Dean of Communication at Boston U) who literally pursued Hart on that fateful weekend.

[jo]

Sept 24, 2018 14:34:44 GMT -5 carouselkathy said:

Good for you, "Josie". I predict that the next stage project will be something we don't expect.....or if I'm wrong, and it's THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, they may be working on a way to present the circus animals on stage with puppetry as in THE LION KING.

Re the live adaptation of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN, I am a little wary that in the light of the acquisition of the FOX assets that DISNEY may be in the driver seat on that decision.



I am just speculating --

*they may want to reinvent the musical for purposes of the stage?

*they may want to make it even more of a blockbuster musical for the very young ones?

*they may want to change the cast and/or the creative team ( Heavens, NO!)?

*They may want to schedule it on Broadway so it does not get into conflict with the release of other new Disney stage musicals?

If it were going to be a fairly imminent musical theatre project, why would Hugh explore other ideas to get back to Broadway?

And this is a very wicked thought -- could they be using the stage Greatest Showman project as bait for Hugh to return, albeit briefly, to the role of Wolverine to facilitate integration of the XMEN franchise into the Marvel universe


Of course I will be over the moon, ecstatically so, if the next time he treads the boards it will be as Phineas Taylor!


Jo

[jo]

So much speculation -- from the UK where the movie and musical score were such huge hits!


www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/greatest-showman-broadway-musical-live-stage-show-hugh-jackman-a8554011.html

[jo]

This video clip of interviews with Hugh and Jason and discussions by the interviewers ( they seem to be working in the financial community) is hard to track but thereabouts at 26'00", you can find the clip. Thanks to Jackman'sLanding for finding it!

It is impressive to hear Hugh and Jason express their views in such insightful and articulate manner. And even the interviewer and colleagues express a healthy respect for the movie, Hugh, Jason...and Sen Hart!


www.facebook.com/cheddarlive/videos/267991523826711/UzpfSTM4ODc3ODYyNDUzMzA4NDoxODc1ODAyMDM1ODMwNzI4/

[jo]

http://instagram.com/p/BoMjL_jDsb7

[jo]

The Front Runner will also be seen at the Mexico Film Festival --

variety.com/2018/film/news/first-man-morelia-international-film-festival-1202958821/

[jo]

Why Hugh Jackman would never run for president

By Cindy Adams


Hugh Jackman. Would he ever run for office as half the world does now? He answers: “A job where half the planet hates you from Day 1? No! I have too thin a skin.”

Meanwhile, he’s playing a married senator who tried for the Oval Office and withdrew when people suspected he may have fallen flat on his ladyfriend. 1988. Gary Hart. On a boat called Monkey Business, it’s possible the candidate’s libido went overboard. If he played potsy, footsy and other available parts with young nubile Donna Rice, some thought he wouldn’t have been fit for the office.

Jackman has Hart’s role in the new film “The Front Runner,” and it’s his first time meeting someone whom he portrayed. They became friends, although Hugh’s wife thought it could make the role more difficult.
Jackman: “But I had to look him in the eye — know what it’s like to be around him. He’s an intellect and sensed I was nervous playing him.

“The media covers politics differently. Even under a microscope, the lens is different. Politicians can’t choose what they will or won’t open up about. Hart thought he could — but he couldn’t.”

He says show folk do not sling mud similarly. “Matt Damon wouldn’t buy an ad saying ‘Jackman’s movie sucks. Why are we giving American jobs to an Australian? Jackman’s a fraud. I saw him treat his assistant terribly.’ ”

The first person to whom director Jason Reitman showed this film was Rice (now Hughes). I’m told she was relieved it treated her with dignity.

[jo]

http://instagram.com/p/BoE1dRFgQGb

Isn't this part of post-production?

Was this from the original post-production before Telluride...or

I wonder if Jason Reitman has decided to re-edit or re-shoot part of the movie, after comments from the two festival showings?


Jo

[jo]

Another film festival presentation, this time as the festival Red Carpet Presentation in the home state of Sen Gary Hart!

303magazine.com/2018/09/denver-film-festival-lineup-2019/

Denver Film Festival (DFF) is back this October 31 through November 11 with 12 full days of screenings. That’s right — 12 days of screenings. Over the course of the festival, Denver Film Society (DFS) is playing over 250 films, most of which are seeing the light of day in Colorado — or even the United States — for the first time. The festival will also host filmmakers, directors, actors, workshops, a virtual reality pavilion and much more. This year’s international focus is Hungarian cinema.

This year’s Red Carpet Presentation is The Front Runner, a film about Colorado Senator Gary Hart played by Hugh Jackman (Logan, X Men, Les Misérables). The film also stars Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air, Bates Motel), J.K. Simmons (Juno, La La Land, Spider Man) and comedian Bill Burr (Breaking Bad, F is for Family). It’s also ironically slated for an official release on Election Day. Director Jason Reitman (Juno, Thank You for Smoking, Tully, Up in the Air, episodes of The Office and Saturday Night Live) is scheduled to stick around for a conversation at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House screening.

In a press release, festival director Britta Erickson said,

“We are excited to welcome Jason Reitman back to the Denver Film Festival. After winning over audiences with Juno (DFF30), Reitman’s star has only risen with films like Up in the Air and Labor Day. Now he returns to showcase a story that will resonate deeply with Denver audiences—the controversial presidential campaign of Colorado Senator Gary Hart.” ...

However, it seems only Jason Reitman will be able to attend the festival presentation ( presumably because Hugh will be busy filming BAD EDUCATION)?

gazette.com/arts-entertainment/the-front-runner-a-movie-focusing-on-colorado-senator-gary/article_f7a87490-c334-11e8-b911-0f7f02e5ee0c.html

[jo]

[jo]

An interview with Filipino-American Hollywood-based journalist re THE FRONT RUNNER and other stuff …

including the hints on a new musical


entertainment.inquirer.net/295874/hugh-jackman-talks-turning-50

Only In Hollywood

Hugh Jackman talks about turning 50

By: Ruben V. Nepales - Columnist
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 12:40 AM September 30, 2018

Jackman (center) in “The Front Runner”


LOS ANGELES—As he turns 50 next month, Hugh Jackman continues to be one of the rare actors who tackle various genres and excel in each one of them—musical, drama, action, superhero and romantic comedy.

The 2013 Golden Globe best actor-comedy or musical winner for “Les Miserables” is set to star in “Bad Education,” reportedly inspired by screenwriter Mike Makowsky’s experience in high school. The movie is said to be akin to Reese Witherspoon’s film, “Election.” The Aussie actor is rumored to play operative Robert Ames in “The Good Spy,” Baltasar Kormakur’s film adaptation of Pulitzer Prize winner Kai Bird’s biography of the CIA man who was attempting to forge a healthy relationship between the US and Middle East nations when tragedy struck.

Hugh hinted that he will tackle another musical.

In the meantime, he portrays American Sen. Gary Hart in Jason Reitman’s “The Front Runner,” based on Matt Bai’s book, “All the Truth Is Out: The Week Politics Went Tabloid.” The drama chronicles the rise and fall of Hart, who was a leading Democratic presidential nominee in 1988 until one week when his extramarital affair with Donna Rice was exposed.
Celebrating his special birthday on Oct. 12, Hugh has shared over two decades of his life with his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness. They have two children, Oscar Maximilian and Ava Eliot.



Excerpts from our chat:
As you celebrate a milestone in October, how precious is time to you?

I’m turning 50, so a lot of people are talking to me about time. Don’t worry, I’m not having a midlife crisis that I know of yet. Of course, time is precious. I watch my kids grow up very quickly. My son just turned 18, which he reminds me of every time I ask him to do something. He says, “I’m an adult now. I do what I want (laughs).”
Life is a beautiful, magical thing. The only thing we can really control is our attitude to it. Different events happen to all of us—good, bad, indifferent. Time is no different. I see time like money. I see it as energy. You can choose to spend it any way you like.

How do you plan to celebrate this big 5-0 birthday? I’m negotiating that as we speak (laughs).

My wife would want the whole city to come to my birthday party. I’d probably like a dinner party for 10 so we’re going to meet somewhere in the middle. We’ll do something but it’s going to be fun. No speeches. One of the key things for parties is you should be able to walk there or at least be driven (laughs) … within three blocks. That’s the radius.



Will you do another musical?

Yes, but I can’t announce it just yet. But yes, there is singing and dancing in my near-ish future. I love it, yeah.

Are you already preparing for that?

I dance every day. Well, five or six days a week, I dance. I sing every day. The great author Oliver Sacks is one of my favorites. He was famously played in “Awakenings.” He takes a pair of flippers everywhere he goes. Everywhere. He says, “You never know when you’re going to be near water, and I love being under the water, so I need flippers (laughs).” Well, I have tap shoes in my bag, and I dance every day because you just never know when that dance floor is coming.

It would be great to watch you dance.

It would be better for me to dance than to talk, honestly. It would probably be more interesting (laughs).




Did you talk to Gary Hart in preparing to play him in “The Front Runner”?

I tried not to probe too much about that horrible week. I had read a lot about it. I knew a lot about it. He did tell me some things I didn’t know about. But one thing that he said to me is, “If there’s anything I had in terms of an ability in politics was the ability to see 10 years in advance.”

He’s on record in 1984 talking about how the Cold War is already over, what we need to worry about is the power vacuum which will lead to the rise of extremism in the Middle East. Now this was 1984. He actually wrote a report to the Clinton administration warning in 1998 that there would be an attack, thousands will die, that we need to look at flight training centers.

He was an incredibly prescient man.

(On questions about his personal life) … that’s a private discussion that “I should have with my wife, that is no one else’s business.” He got that wrong. He couldn’t just let that go. It’s a very different world now.




Over the years, how has your attitude toward being hounded by the press evolved?

Actors and politicians are under the microscope. It’s a completely different lens from where I stand. I’m sure there are some actors who find it suffocating and unbearable. I don’t. But I get nervous for my family. I’m fully aware I was 30 when I did “X-Men,” so any kind of big media attention didn’t happen until I was 30.

Hopefully by 30, you know who you are, what you stand for, what’s important to you. I went in with my eyes wide open. My kids are born into it. They have no choice. I try my hardest to protect them. And that’s where some of the difficulty has occurred for me.

I was chatting with someone the other day. For me, fame is a weird thing. I never wanted fame, I never sought it, I didn’t ask for it. But if someone says to you, “Ruben, I’m going to give you the keys to a Lamborghini. Occasionally in your life, there’s going to be traffic. Do you still want the keys?” You’re going to say, “Yeah.” And that’s how fame is for me (laughs).


You’re one of the actors who are good at finding balance between life and work. Can you talk about your struggle to say yes or no to certain opportunities?

When Deb and I got married, we made a pact that we would look at each other at every turning point. We would ask ourselves, is this good or bad for our family? Seems a simple question. The family is four of us so it may be great for my career but terrible for the family or actually it may be a bit of a sacrifice for the family but really good for me and important for the kids to see their parents doing the thing we love.

So it’s not necessarily an easy answer, but I would never have found the balance that I found if it wasn’t for Deb. I can tell you at least seven or eight times in the last 25 years when my eyes lit up with, oh, this opportunity, that opportunity. I just look over at Deb, and she would just give me a look like no, this is not the time and she’s just unbelievable with that.

No one has her feet further on the ground than Deb. She’s been in the business. She understands opportunity when it’s time. Like okay, you should go. No one knows about this. When I was offered “Oklahoma” in London, she was offered a spot at the very prestigious directing school of Victorian College of the Arts (in Melbourne). That’s impossible to get into. There are only two or three taken a year.

I said, “We’ll stay” and she said, “No, you need to go. We need to go to London and you need to do ‘Oklahoma.’ I never forget Deb’s selflessness in saying that because I know she always wanted to direct and that was a big moment for her. At the same point of her saying that, there’d be times when I’ll say, oh my God, there’s this film and it’s such and such and it’s this and that. She would look at me. She’s like no, now is not the time. She is just the best barometer of that.

It looks like the possibility for a new musical ( which presumably will be on Broadway, based on his response to the same question from the YahooEntertainment Facebook Q&A) looks more probable now, with this reconfirmation of his evolving plans! Yeah!!!!


Jo

[hughmanity]

[hughmanity]

I apologize if anything previously posted...I may have lost track!  These are junket soundbites.

[jo]

http://instagram.com/p/BoY8iQVjWlY

[jo]

[jo]

http://instagram.com/p/BoaTil4BWIx

[jo]

http://instagram.com/p/BoaZy3uBx9Q

[jo]

[carouselkathy]

Perhaps they will show more of this on CBS Sunday Morning or 60 Minutes when it's closer to the film release date?

[jo]

Hope you don't mind my re-posting your tweet, ELLEN --

[jo]

Short but excellent exchange re THE FRONT RUNNER --