THE GREATEST SHOWMAN : Fan Reactions/Reviews

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London was where it first started for Hugh Jackman's international career! Portraying a singing and dancing cowboy, he was noticed by a Hollywood producer who eventually metamorphosed his career into the promising genre of superhero movies!

It has now become a full circle for Hugh --

*He was honored for his finale portrayal of this most beloved of superheroes at the EMPIRE AWARDS.

*He came to honor fans who supported his return to musicals ( where it all started) by personally thanking them at a London screening of THE GREATEST SHOWMAN!


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Hugh, with Benj Pasek and Justin Paul -- at a singalong in NYC!

Probably the personal THANK YOU to fans from the key people involved in the film project (only Michael Gracey is missing)

It looks they are also promoting the release of the Digital version ( March 20) and the forthcoming release of the BluRay/DVD

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In NYC --

http://instagram.com/p/Bgg1HLuDoFK

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Haha!

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They had a goody bag!!

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I waited to watch the entire interview to post this on this section, too --

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My reactions to this interview --

*I have always felt that the reason why the movie became a hit is because :
-it brought us joy ... in these weary times
-it was a more pleasurable way of telling us a story compared to non-musical movies
-to many people, there was an emotional connection, not just through the music and its lyrics, but also the presence of powerful messages embedded in the storytelling ( family values, self-worth, drive and personal ambition, camaraderie, etc)
-it spoke to us in a contemporary tone!
-the story was told by exceptional triple-threat performances by the very strong and goodlooking cast ( goodlooking was a bonus )
-the creative values were wonderful to behold ( the choreography, the cinematography esp the transitions, the color palette, the costumes in a period piece, the sound design and editing esp considering that this is a musical, etc)
-and the overall cinematic vision of this well-made movie musical, a movie that one can watch again and again!



*I am glad that Stephanie Goodman decided to revisit the movie's success story this second time ( after her initial attempt to find out the reason for this cultural phenomenon by inviting readers's comments)...this by talking to the main proponents of the film project ( Too bad Michael Gracey wasn't around as he can probably provide more insights on the cinematic vision of this movie).

www.nytimes.com/2018/02/09/movies/why-do-you-love-the-greatest-showman.html

Stephanie gave a negative opinion of the movie initially...then wasn't dissuaded from that view after seeing it a second time ( with only 10 viewers, which she said did not give her a positive attitude towards it). I think her main issue was the storyline and the music, which she felt was underwhelming. Maybe what she should do, to understand how musical theatre fully works ( and this was how The Greatest Showman score was developed) is to see how the score is intimately and intricately linked with the plot and character development. Sometimes the melody distracts us from the full intent of the lyrics, so maybe she should print that out and study it as they impact on the plot and characterizations. That is how a musical should work ( unlike some movies where a song or two is thrown in out of the blue sometimes as more of a pleasurable distraction than being part of the whole storytelling).

She mentioned receiving a respectful tweet from Hugh after she expressed her initial negative opinion about the movie and followed it with a request for readers's opinions...did that win her over to some extent? Sometimes, negative reactions are given when one's work is written about in a negative way, so maybe it was refreshing to get a reaction that she received via that twitter message. I do remember that but can't quote the exact words.


*Even before Hugh said it --

I also thought the experience with THE BOY FROM OZ preceded this extraordinary phenomenon of audience reactions to THE GREATEST SHOWMAN. We got named OZ-A-LOTS because we came back over and over to see the stage musical ( I saw it 13 times on Broadway) and 4 times in Sydney), even if I do live halfway across the world from NYC and above the equator from Australia.

Maybe the film fans can now be called SHOW-A-LOTS, too


But seriously, it was the connection that was established by Hugh himself in THE BOY FROM OZ, a major reason of which were the BICOASTAL scenes, that worked for the success of the musical biopic. Hugh established such a strong connection with his audiences so much so that the closing performance merited its own review! And hey, the reviews ( including NYT's Brantley calling it a "bathetic" musical, save for his high praise of Hugh Jackman) were so bad that people began predicting an early funeral for the stage show. But in the end, TBFO earned a small profit...and turned Hugh Jackman into the biggest star on Broadway!

www.nytimes.com/2003/10/17/movies/theater-review-flash-of-70-s-sequins.html

observer.com/2004/09/farewell-hugh-and-caroline-closingnight-hysteria-and-tears/

The same story goes for THE GREATEST SHOWMAN -- the negativity in the film reviews caused that bad opening week box office returns. I also think personally that the same negativity caused the undeserved non-recognition of the movie with the awards community! That was totally unfair!


*Hugh confirms that there are a lot of talks about a possible stage adaptation! I wonder if that is coming sooner than we think?


*Have you noticed that this trio of talented artists ( Hugh, Justin and Benj) are very humble but forthright in expressing their views. It seems that what drives them to their well-earned success is both artistic pride and a strong desire to connect with the audiences. They are also very down-to-earth and likable celebrities!


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Fans reacting to Hugh's appearance at a sing-along screening...especially when he starts the famous opening lines to THE GREATEST SHOW with his low baritone voice

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This informal tweet is from here -- mix of English and local language. But you can pick some words - graduation/This Is Me.

It only means -- and this is a first kind of appearance for a song from The Greatest Showman -- this is the translation :

"Beautiful song for our graduation ( ceremonies), the song This Is Me from The Greatest Showman!"

Graduation time here for our school year - we're now in the midst of the dry/summer season...and I do not know if the tweeter is referring to grade or high school or even for college degrees.


It looks like this particular song has permeated even the most unusual places!

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Were any of you able to go

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It looks like songs from THE GREATEST SHOWMAN are popular graduation song choices --

this time ( from a poster in Maine), it's A MILLION DREAMS!

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People are connecting a lot of optimistic events/things to the movie and its messages!

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It is not too often that a movie musical inspires with both of its songs and its choreography --

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Or a movie musical that inspires not only with its music, its dancing...but also with its powerful messages!

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Another school in my country featuring songs from THE GREATEST SHOWMAN as their graduation songs -- NEVER ENOUGH and A MILLION DREAMS!

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The songs and the movie have really inspired so many people -- across ages, gender, and borders!

There are so many kids now waching the Digital format in their living rooms...and many doing their own cute covers ...or celebrating a birthday with the circus theme ...or simply wearing Barnum's jacket/hat/cane or Anne's pink hair or worn a drawn or fake beard on their young faces

Here are young people choosing different songs from the movie for their graduation songs ( usually embodying the youthful dreams of people whose lives are in front of them).

How about husbands, usually not the musicals type, tweeting about their fondness for the score or accompanying wives to multiple viewings.

Or wives and moms dutifully getting copies of the album, the digital version, and pre-ordering the discs.

And the ladies who populate most of the sing-alongs

And the grandmas who enjoyed watching the movie with their kin.



Hugh Jackman -- you don't know what you have done!

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The score really inspires all kinds of activities - this time it is THE GREATEST SHOW in a gymnastics routine!

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For some, there are special memories --