People Focus....News of a Jesus Christ Superstar Movie Remake and A Wicked Movie....I Kid You Not- Page 2

[gypsy4]

Posted: 7/15/08 at 4:52pm

aren't there already enough film adaptions of jesus christ super star does the really need to be a 3rd one?
Updated On: 7/15/08 at 04:52 PM

[TooDarnHot]

Posted: 7/15/08 at 4:54pm

yes, there does.

bow down to the excellence of JCS. Huzzah!

[toanythingtaboo 2]

Posted: 7/15/08 at 5:09pm

I will be epically disappointed if they ruin the main roles by dragging in talentless 'big' names.

It would make sense to have Elphaba played by a star from Broadway. That way she will bring in people who are knowledgeable of Wicked/Theatre in general...whilst appearing to be an 'unknown rising star' to the general public.

If they followed a similar formula for Glinda, it would be great too...but, they probably would try for a 'name' for that role.

The rest of the cast can be type cast if they HAVE to.

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 7/15/08 at 5:12pm

Updated On: 5/2/09 at 05:12 PM

[toanythingtaboo 2]

Posted: 7/15/08 at 5:20pm

If they have 'big names' for the roles of Madam Morrible, the Wizard, Nessarose, Dr Dillamond and Fiyero...I'd say that would be pretty fair game.

They could get away with not doing it to Elphaba. Far too much rides on that character to just throw in someone who isn't able to play the part. If they HAVE to, they could do it to Glinda.

Use it as an 'introducing....' like they did with Jennifer Hudson in Dreamgirls, or whats her face in Hairspray.
Updated On: 7/15/08 at 05:20 PM

[LePetiteFromage]

Posted: 7/15/08 at 5:21pm

Updated On: 5/2/09 at 05:21 PM

[fvalle24]

Posted: 7/15/08 at 6:51pm

I'm really excited about this. By the time that it comes out, it would be just right...

Casting will be tough I pressume. Any else vote for Angelina Jolie as Elphaba? jk....

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 7/15/08 at 8:59pm

(Yeah, it's highly unlikely that he reads this forum, but someone out there who will pass it on to him does.)

Marc Platt:

Let's be sure we have an understanding. Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Jesus Christ Superstar first exploded onto the stage in 1971 and it was clear that the musical world would never be the same again. A dramatized version of the last seven days in the life of Jesus of Nazareth with a rock score...sounds crazy, no? Well, it turned into what Variety called "the biggest all-media parlay in show business history" following its opening on October 12, 1971 at the Mark Hellinger Theatre on Broadway.

In spite of all this, it is first and foremost an irreverent show. In its heyday, it was banned in South Africa where it was deemed to be irreligious. A theater in Argentina was burnt to the ground for presenting the show. On the back of this controversy, Superstar went on to become the fifth longest running musical in West End history, to be produced in over 15 countries, and for the original 1973 film featuring Ted Neeley, Carl Anderson, and Yvonne Elliman to gross £8.6 million at the box office.

That is why I must say this right now. Superstar is not a shiny plastic commercial piece of crap aimed to appeal to teen girls to make them feel sorry for Mary Magdalene when she sings "I Don't Know How to Love Him." It is not an excuse for a vehicle for stars who can't sing. While it is deemed a simple rock score by much of the theater community, who are often quick to dismiss the works of Andrew Lloyd Webber, it contains two of the most vocally demanding tenor roles ever written. If a single note is changed, if a single song is dropped, if a simple character is miscast, you will feel the reverberations all the way to Hollywood.

Do Jesus Christ Superstar right, or you will suffer serious career crucifixion on opening night.

Till tomorrow,
gvendo2005

[jo]

Posted: 7/15/08 at 10:58pm

JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR has a timeless appeal.

But you'll need someone with magnetic presence and strong charisma for the role, plus of course the acting chops and a powerful singing voice.

Hugh Jackman could be a strong candidate!

Producer Marc Platt is working with him in one particular movie project and wasn't it also Mr. Platt who wanted to bring him back to Broadway in PAL JOEY?

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/15/08 at 11:09pm

I don't want JCS remade. You can't beat Ted Neely and Carl Anderson's performances in the movie easily, especially not with today's tendency to do crappy casting in movie musicals.

[ICEcreamAssassin]

Posted: 7/15/08 at 11:45pm

Goddess - I agree. Ted Neeley is my Jesus (well in musical-film form and what the hell in the live show) and Carl Anderson was amazing R.I.P.

It would take a very talented person to bring this to life on screen again. Honestly, it almost sounds like a marketing nightmare. Many religious people find the material to be blasphemous. I'm sure there will be someone offended by it just like in the early 70's. I thinks its a beautiful, touching story with fresh music. It really doesn't feel dated to me. I hope they make a great film. We'll just have to wait and see.

[gvendo2005]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 12:27am

You know what, I will get crucified for this (forgive that same pun), but I say let's put Ted back in the sandals for the film too. A different view of Jesus...the aging guru type, like the Beatles and their Maharishi. A different view of his relationships with the characters, a more master-teacher/father-daughter type thing with Mary for example.

[Annas_Priest]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 12:32am

Can we have Drew Sarich as Jesus, Judas, Annas, Caiaphas, Simon, Peter, and Pilate. And can Drew Sarich make a special guest appearance as Mary!

I love that man

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 12:47am

Kristen Bell can sing but I've never heard her sing anything that shows she has a higher range than Amy Adams. I'd love to see Bell in a movie musical, but after falling in love with her playing the anti-Glinda, I'm not sure I'd buy her in the role.
I'd be glad to see Anne Hathaway as Elphaba, Leighton Meester or Emily Blunt as Glinda, Julie Walters as Morrible, Joel Grey as the Wizard (he is an Oscar winner after all), and a James McAvoy type as Fiyero. The only Hollywood name that I could think of that could sing the role of Glinda as written is Anne Hathaway.

[SporkGoddess]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 1:15am

I guess I'd have to hear them sing the material. Amy Adams could possibly handle it. It's just that Giselle had a lower tessitura than Mary Lane, so I have more confidence in Kristen's soprano chops.

But you're right; I can't judge without hearing it.

Anne Hathaway is more of a soprano than a belter, isn't she?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 1:52am

You're right about Hathaway, Spork. She is more of a soprano, I just think that although she could sing Glinda, her persona and acting style is better suited for Elphaba. Whereas someone like Blunt and Meester have proven themselves wonderfully at playing Glinda-ish roles (and both can definitely display the range of emotions from "Popular" leading lady to distressed woman in Act II). I guess I was casting more according to what each actor/actress has done before.

[fossemoves]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 2:54am

I think Anne Hathoway would make a marvelous Glinda... her style is better suited to the 'heavier' parts of the role, but if we learned nothing from Princess Diaries, she totally can do 'character' work.

Elphie needs a name and a 'singer' no questions asked. Sort of like Jennifer Hudson...

[ko74612]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 3:03am

Wicked movie:

I'm almost sure that Kristin Chenoweth has a play or pay contract for a film adaptation so look for her name to be attached in some form because it makes fiscal sense. I'd also be looking for Idina's name because she's had some commerical success in the last few years. (really though, lets not debate this, kay?)

Amy Adams has expressed interest in playing Elphaba. If I'm not mistaken she's been quoted as saying that is the only role she'd be interested in. I know Reese Witherspoon expressed interest in Glinda as early as several years ago, but she's an alto. Go figure.

So... I think creatively it will probably suffer, why not keep the obc and hopefully keep the peace?

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 3:08am

Um, because the OBC wouldn't sell any tickets, and because the two OBC girls look like they could play the main characters' mothers whenever they're on screen.
Someone on this board once said that Chenoweth (and I believe Menzel) has a first-refusal clause when it comes to a movie that would last 5-10 years, can't remember. This year it is going to be five years, so yeah...

[ko74612]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 3:30am

Don't hate on my OBC.

It doesn't matter who they cast. They aren't banking on names to sell tickets. The only name they need is "Wicked" and they'll do just fine.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 3:38am

Same as RENT, PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, and THE PRODUCERS just had to sell the name regardless of the cast, right? kinda like that?

[heathurrr]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 10:52am

I think Wicked would lose a lot in it's transfer to the screen.

I was just talking to a good friend of mine who is a big Wicked fan and she says that originally, the concept of a Wicked adaption from the novel was going to be a screenplay, not a musical: but -- it DID NOT WORK.
They realized it would be better suited for the stage. The following is from the book "Wicked: The Grimmerie, A behind-the-scenes look at the hit Broadway Musical"

Says Schwartz:
"after several months, I met with Marc in 1997 and basically tried to talk him out of doing Wicked as a movie.
I believe they were awaiting their second draft of the screenplay. That's how far they'd gotten.
I told him that I felt it had to be a musical and more specifically begin life onstage.
I was lucky that Marc had a background in musical theatre. My plea was not falling on entirely deaf ears"


Says Marc Platt:
"The screenplay was kind of dense, and I kept wanting to go deeper into the story of the relationship between Galinda and Elphaba. What are these two women doing in the same frame?
The screenplay didn't quite get at that.
It stuck more closely to Gregory's novel.
In order to get at that kind of story, we needed inner dialogue, which is very hard to accomplish cinematically."

[BobbyBubby]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 1:58pm

Is Lea Michele a fag hag, too darn hot?

[fanpires]

Posted: 7/16/08 at 4:48pm

it would work onscreen now because it's so damn popular. the only thing i'm iffy about is the special effects.

[legallywicked92]

Posted: 7/20/08 at 3:55pm

Okay, first of all, any musical or book that is translated to film isn't going to live up to people's expectations. We can't compare the two. We have to judge the movie as just a movie. Secondly, I would like it better if they didn't cast well known actors and actresses in Wicked unless they did the original cast, which I think is unlikely. Overall, I think the Wicked movie will be great, but we can't compare it too closely too the musical