#1Movie musicals
Posted: 7/28/16 at 6:37am
I feel that there is a whole new level of musical moviemaking that has yet to be discovered. An approach that fully embraces the sung material, and combines it with the possibilities of filmmaking and cinematography. That could result in sheer beauty. Because this way of storytelling is per definition not literal, the approach should not be as such either (les mis film). Most musicalfilms so far feel forced because of this lack of combining these things.
I think that with a possible future film version of Aida or Miss Saigon, they should go over the top. This is the language in which we are going to tell our story, and we are taking it to the highest level possible. Rule number 1 is that dialogues should not be spoken or realistic. This artform requires a different kind of emotion.
For example, there is a line in Miss Saigon "John is that you? Buddy, listen to me". If it were to the director of Les Mis or someone like Hugh Jackman, it would become a spoken line "John...........is that you........buddy (whispered)....listen......to.....meeeeeeeeeeeeeee (and then use a sheepish loud vibrato for 5 seconds on the "me"
. While the line would be much more truthful when sung like "John, is that you? Buddy listen to me" (melodic and of course the "me" at the end short, like many stage Chrisses I have seen).
If people in the project do not understand this, the result will never be truly great. Constant switching between the 2 harms the result. Especially in material that is sung through.
Of course it starts with involving people who understand this. A good director who understands this artform is important, and of course the cast.
Cynthia Erivo in Aida could be epic in my opinion. I could already see her in the desert of Egypt with the wind in her robe, the sun on her face, singing gloriously (pre recorded of course, the mouth does not have to move all the time, this is film) while the camera zooms out in a helicopter shot. Like a perfect, emotional videoclip, a way of storytelling that embraces all that's needed.
