Jedi Council Forums - The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Kiss Me, Kate" (1953)

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Author	Topic: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Kiss Me, Kate" (1953)
RX_Sith Title: C&G Game Host Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 10/25/08 8:38am Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Dreamgirls" (2006)
	Dreamgirls (2006). (from wiki) Dreamgirls is a 2006 American musical film, directed by Bill Condon and jointly produced and released by DreamWorks Pictures and Paramount Pictures. The film debuted in three special road show engagements beginning December 15, 2006, with a nationwide release on December 25, 2006 and a home video release on May 1, 2007. Dreamgirls won three awards at the 64th Golden Globe Awards ceremony in 2007, including Best Picture - Musical or Comedy, and won two Oscars at the 79th Academy Awards. A period piece set in the 1960s and 1970s with a primarily African-American cast, Dreamgirls is adapted from the 1981 Broadway musical of the same name. The musical was based on the history and evolution of American R&B music during the eras of doo-wop, soul, the Motown Sound, funk, and disco. In addition, the stage musical contains several allusions to the lives and careers of Motown Records act The Supremes, a connection the film version expands upon.[3] Dreamgirls follows the lives of Effie White, Deena Jones, and Lorrell Robinson, three young women who form an R&B singing trio from Detroit, Michigan called "The Dreamettes". Thanks to manipulative agent and record executive Curtis Taylor, Jr., the Dreamettes become famous as the backing group for soul singer James "Thunder" Early. Conflict arises when Curtis transforms "The Dreamettes" into the pop-friendly "Dreams," particularly when he has Deena replace Effie as both lead singer of the group and as his romantic interest. The film adaptation of Dreamgirls stars Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy, and Jennifer Hudson, who won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Effie White. The film also features Danny Glover, Anika Noni Rose, Keith Robinson, Sharon Leal, and Hinton Battle. Produced by Laurence Mark, Dreamgirls was adapted for the screen by director Bill Condon from the original Broadway book by Tom Eyen and the Broadway songs by Eyen and Henry Krieger. Four new songs, composed by Krieger with various lyricists, were added for this film. Plot summary As in the original stage musical, Dreamgirls is broken up into two acts: the first taking place from 1962 to 1966, and the second taking place from 1973 to 1975. Act I The film begins in Detroit, Michigan in 1962, as an amateur African-American girl group known as The Dreamettes enter a talent competition at the Detroit Theater. Backstage, the three girls — full-figured lead singer Effie White (Jennifer Hudson), Deena Jones (Beyoncé Knowles) and Lorrell Robinson (Anika Noni Rose) — meet Curtis Taylor, Jr. (Jamie Foxx), an ambitious Cadillac dealer with plans of breaking into the music business. Placing himself as their manager, Curtis arranges for the Dreamettes to tour as backup for a regional R&B star, James "Thunder" Early (Eddie Murphy). The tour takes the company - also including Effie's songwriting brother C.C. (Keith Robinson) and Jimmy's manager Marty (Danny Glover) - across the country on the chitlin' circuit. Hoping to help Jimmy and the girls cross over to mainstream audiences, Curtis starts his own record label, Rainbow Records ("The Sound of Tomorrow"), out of his car dealership's office, and makes C.C. his head songwriter. However, when Rainbow's first single fails after a white pop group releases a cover version, Curtis and his sidekick Wayne (Hinton Battle) turn to payola. By paying the right people, Curtis manages to get Jimmy and the Dreamettes to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 and into a headlining gig at the Apollo Theater. Offstage, Effie is quickly becoming infatuated with the slick-talking Curtis, and Jimmy - a married man - begins an adulterous affair with Lorrell, who becomes equally as lovesick as Effie. Marty grows weary of Curtis' plans to make Jimmy's image and sound more pop-friendly, to the point that he walks out on Jimmy, both his client and best friend. However, when Curtis finds that he cannot completely remake Jimmy Early into a pop act, he shifts his attention back to the Dreamettes. Feeling that Effie's voice is too "special" and her figure too large to attract white audiences, Curtis appoints the slimmer Deena as the lead singer of the Dreamettes. Though both Effie and Deena are disapproving of the change at first, they both learn to accept it. With the aid of new songs and a new more glamorous image, Curtis and C.C. transform The Dreamettes into The Dreams, a top selling pop act whose popularity comes to rival that of The Beatles by 1965. However, the betrayed Effie does not take kindly to being reduced to Deena's backup, and begins acting out, becoming even more unruly when Curtis's affections also turn towards Deena. When Effie, feeling ill, does not turn up to rehearse for the Dreams' debut in Las Vegas on New Year's Eve 1966, Curtis replaces Effie with his secretary, Michelle Morris (Sharon Leal). Effie, who has just learned she is pregnant, arrives at the Caesar's Palace venue just as Michelle does, and after a nearly violent argument, finds herself without her group, without her brother, and without Curtis. Act II Eight years later, in 1973, Effie has become a depressed but caring welfare mother, and her career in music is over. She and her eight-year-old daughter Magic (Mariah I. Wilson) live alone in the burnt-out inner city of Detroit with only Effie's father Ronald (Alexander Folk) to look in on them. On the other hand, Rainbow Records has moved to Los Angeles, where it prospers with Deena Jones & the Dreams and many other pop acts. Wanting to expand his empire into film, Curtis plans to have an unwilling Deena, now his wife, star in a blaxploitation musical version of Cleopatra. Hoping that the struggling film project will never get off the ground, Deena begins secretly meeting with other studios to take a part in another film. Though still part of the Rainbow roster, Jimmy Early's stardom has long faded, and Curtis has little interest in revitalizing his career. Unsatisfied with both his wife Melba (Dawnn Lewis) and his long-term mistress Lorrell, Jimmy turns to drugs for affection. Meanwhile, C.C. continues to reach out to Effie, who stubbornly ignores the letters and money he sends. Eventually, Effie swallows her pride and, with Marty as her manager, returns to singing and secures gigs at a small Detroit club. In 1974, Rainbow Records hosts a tenth anniversary TV special. Midway through his set, Jimmy decides that he cannot sing any more "sad songs", so he breaks down onstage and launches into a wild James Brown-type funk number. The audience seems to love it, but the act goes too far when Jimmy drops his pants on live television. Curtis consequently terminates Jimmy's contract, and Lorrell reluctantly ends the eight-year affair. Shortly after the special, Deena meets with a film producer (John Lithgow) and writer (John Krazinski); during the meeting Deena realizes that her ties to Curtis are hampering her cross-over potential. Back at the studio, C.C. presents Curtis with a new recording which Curtis shoots down, criticizing the sound and the song's message, instead turning it into a soulless commercial piece. The meeting is interrupted by several staff gathering around another staff member who appears to be delivering news, and a distraught Lorrell bursts in from another room. While Deena comforts her in private, the rest of the group learns the reason for her anguish from the television: Jimmy 'Thunder' Early, has been found dead at an L.A. hotel, apparently the result of a heroin overdose. C.C., angry over Jimmy's death and frustrated with Curtis's tampering with his music, walks out on Rainbow Records and heads back to Detroit and to Effie. The two siblings reconcile and work together to produce Effie's comeback single, "One Night Only". Just as the record begins gaining radio play in Detroit, however, Curtis strikes. Using payola, he forces radio DJs to play a disco cover of "One Night Only" by Deena Jones & the Dreams instead of Effie's original, and the Dreams' version becomes a major hit in early 1975. Curtis has also learned of Deena's covert meetings with other film producers and asserts his control over his wife. Rebuffed, Deena sneaks into Curtis' office, where she discovers evidence of Curtis' payola schemes and finds a copy of Effie's version of "One Night Only". She calls Effie and C.C., who arrive at the Rainbow offices with Marty and a lawyer. As Deena and Effie reconcile, Curtis works out a deal with the lawyer to avoid being reported to the FBI for payola: Rainbow Records will fund a new label for C.C., which will allow Effie's record national distribution. Curtis then confronts Deena, only to find that Effie's victory has inspired Deena to leave him and make it on her own. As a result, Deena Jones & the Dreams give a farewell performance at the Detroit Theater. At the conclusion of the concert, Effie joins Deena, Lorrell, and Michelle onstage and the reunited Dreams give one final performance of their signature song, "Dreamgirls", with Effie singing lead. As the concert ends, Curtis notices Magic in the front row and realizes that he is the girl's father. Production history Pre-production Since the 1980s, several different attempts have been made to produce a film adaptation of Dreamgirls, a Broadway musical loosely based upon the story of The Supremes and Motown Records, which won six Tony Awards in 1982. David Geffen, the stage musical's co-financier, retained the film rights to Dreamgirls and turned down many offers to adapt the story for the screen. He cited a need to preserve the integrity of Dreamgirls stage director Michael Bennett's work after his death in 1987. That same year, Geffen, who ran his Warner Bros.-associated Geffen Pictures film production company at the time, began talks with Broadway lyricist and producer Howard Ashman to adapt it as a star vehicle for Whitney Houston, who was to portray Deena. The production ran into problems when Houston wanted to sing both Deena's and Effie's songs (particularly "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going"), and the film was eventually abandoned. When David Geffen co-founded DreamWorks SKG in 1994 and dissolved Geffen Pictures, the rights to Dreamgirls remained with Warner Bros. Warner planned to go ahead with the film with director Joel Schumacher in the late 1990s, following the success of Touchstone's Tina Turner biopic What's Love Got to Do with It. Schumacher planned to have Lauryn Hill portray Deena and Kelly Price play Effie. After Warner's Frankie Lymon biopic Why Do Fools Fall in Love failed at the box office, the studio shut down development on Dreamgirls. DreamWorks' Dreamgirls adaptation came about after the film version of the Broadway musical Chicago was a success at both the box office and the Academy Awards. Screenwriter and director Bill Condon, who wrote the screenplay for Chicago, met producer Laurence Mark at a Hollywood party in 2002, where the two discussed a long held "dream project" of Condon's - adapting Dreamgirls for the screen. The two had dinner with Geffen and successfully convinced him to greenlight Condon's adaptation of Dreamgirls. Stage to script changes While much of the stage musical's story remains intact, a number of significant changes were made. The Dreams' hometown—the setting for much of the action—was moved from Chicago to Detroit, the real-life hometown of The Supremes and Motown Records. The roles of many of the characters are related more closely to their real-life inspirations, following a suggestion by Geffen. For example, Curtis Taylor's music empire expands beyond Deena Jones & the Dreams, to more closely resemble that of Berry Gordy's Motown; and C.C. White, as the head of songwriting and production at Rainbow Records is more clearly a Smokey Robinson analogue than he was in the original play. Other changes include the relocating of the talent show which opens the film from the Apollo Theater Amateur Night to a local showcase in Detroit and introducing the character Michelle Morris earlier in the story. The most significant change in the performance of musical numbers is in the second act: while in the original stage production, the song 'I Miss You' was performed between C.C. and Effie as they reconcile their falling-out, in the film it is sung in a wake by a night club singer (Loretta Devine, the stage's original Lorrell) at the club where Effie has begun performing. Warner Bros. had retained the film rights to Dreamgirls, and agreed to co-produce the film with DreamWorks. However, after casting was completed, the film was budgeted at $73 million and Warner backed out of the production. Geffen, taking the role of co-producer, brought Paramount Pictures in to co-finance and release Dreamgirls. During the course of production, Paramount's parent company, Viacom, would purchase DreamWorks, aligning the two studios under one umbrella. The completed film had a production budget of $75 million, making Dreamgirls the most expensive film with an all-black starring cast in cinema history. Casting and rehearsal Producers wanted Jamie Foxx to play the lead role of Curtis Taylor, Jr., but the actor initially declined the part because DreamWorks could not meet his salary demands. Denzel Washington, Will Smith, and Terrence Howard were among the actors later approached to play Curtis. In the meantime, R&B singer Beyoncé Knowles was cast as Deena Jones after a successful screen test. Comedian Eddie Murphy, who had a brief musical career in the 1980s, was cast as James "Thunder" Early after being successfully convinced to do so by DreamWorks co-founder Jeffrey Katzenberg. As a result, Dreamgirls became Murphy's first film for Paramount since 1995; the actor at one time had an exclusive contract with that studio. Upon learning that Knowles and Murphy had signed on, Foxx rethought his original decision and accepted the role at DreamWorks' lower salary. R&B star Usher was to have been cast as C.C. White, but contract negotiations failed: Usher was unable to dedicate half a year to the film project. André 3000 of OutKast was also offered the role, but declined. After briefly considering R&B singer Omarion, singer/actor Keith Robinson was eventually cast in the role. Anika Noni Rose, a Broadway veteran and a Tony Award winner, won the part of Lorrell Robinson after an extensive auditioning process. Rose, significantly shorter than most of her co-stars at five feet and two inches, was required to wear (and dance in) four and five-inch (127 mm) heels for much of the picture, which she later stated caused her discomfort. This is not Rose's first screen appearance with an American Idol contestant; she was also in the unsuccessful film From Justin to Kelly with Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarini. The most crucial casting decision involved the role of Effie White, the emotional center of the story. It was decided that a relative unknown would be cast, paralleling the casting of then-21-year-old Jennifer Holliday in that role for the original Broadway production. A total of 783 singing actresses auditioned for the role of Effie White, there were many top contenders being American Idol alumnae Fantasia Barrino, Jennifer Hudson, Nicci Gilbert from the singing group "Brownstone," TV star Raven-Symone and Broadway star Capathia Jenkins. Hudson was eventually selected to play Effie, leading Barrino to call Hudson on the phone and jokingly complain that Hudson "stole [Barrino's] part." Hudson was required to gain twenty pounds for the role, which marked her debut film performance. After Hudson was cast in November 2005, the Dreamgirls cast began extensive rehearsals with Condon and choreographer Fatima Robinson, a veteran of the music video industry. Meanwhile, the music production crew began work with the actors and studio musicians recording the songs for the film. Although rehearsals ended just before Christmas 2005, Bill Condon called Hudson back for a week of one-on-one rehearsals, to help her more fully become the "diva" character of Effie. Hudson was required to be rude and come in late both on set and off, and she and Condon went over Effie's lines and scenes throughout the week. Loretta Devine, who played Lorrell in the original Broadway play, has a cameo in the film as a jazz singer who performs the song "I Miss You, Old Friend". Another Dreamgirls veteran present in the film is Hinton Battle, who was a summer replacement for James "Thunder" Early onstage and here portrays Curtis' aide-de-camp Wayne. Principal photography Principal photography on Dreamgirls began January 6, 2006 with the filming of dance footage for the first half of "Steppin' to the Bad Side", footage later deleted from the film. The film was primarily shot on soundstages at the Los Angeles Center Studios, with location work done in the Los Angeles area, and some second unit footage shot in Detroit, Miami, and New York City. The award-winning Broadway lighting team of Jules Fisher & Peggy Eisenhauer were brought in to create theatrical lighting techniques for the film's musical numbers. Beyoncé Knowles elected to lose weight to give the mature Deena Jones of the 1970s a different look than the younger version of the character. By sticking to a highly publicized diet of water and cayenne pepper, Knowles rapidly lost twenty pounds, which she gained back once production ended. Principal photography was completed in the early-morning hours of April 8, 2006, after four days were spent shooting Jennifer Hudson's musical number "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", which had been saved until the end of the shoot. Music Dreamgirls musical supervisors Randy Spendlove and Matt Sullivan hired R&B production team The Underdogs - Harvey Mason, Jr. and Damon Thomas - to restructure and rearrange the Henry Krieger/Tom Eyen Dreamgirls score so that it better reflected its proper time period, yet was also made to reflect modern R&B/pop sensibilities. During post-production, composer Stephen Trask was contracted to provide additional score material for the film. Revising the Dreamgirls score for film required the reduction of a significant portion of it. Much of the recitative, or sung dialogue, from the original musical was replaced with spoken dialogue. While most of the major musical moments from the stage musical are retained in the film, nine of the thirty-two individual Dreamgirls songs were omitted from the film. Among these are Lorrell's solo "Ain't No Party", "Press Conference", and "Party, Party". Also removed is the musical's choral refrain of "showbiz ... it's just showbiz". C.C. and Effie's sung reunion from the second act, labeled "Effie, Sing My Song" for the film version, was shot but replaced with an alternative spoken version after test screenings. Four new songs were added for the film, "Love You I Do", "Patience", "Perfect World", and "Listen". All of the new songs feature music composed by original Dreamgirls stage composer Henry Krieger. With Tom Eyen having passed away in 1991, various lyricists were brought in by Krieger to co-author the new songs. "Love You I Do", with lyrics by Siedah Garrett, is performed in the film by Effie during a rehearsal at the Rainbow Records studio. Willie Reale wrote the lyrics for "Patience", a song performed in the film by Jimmy, Lorrell, C.C., and a gospel choir as the characters attempt to record a "message song" for Jimmy. "Perfect World", also featuring lyrics by Garrett, is performed during the Rainbow 10th anniversary special sequence by Jackson 5 doppelgängers The Campbell Connection. "Listen", with additional music by Scott Cutler and Beyoncé Knowles, and lyrics by Anne Preven, is presented as a defining moment for Deena's character late in the film. The Dreamgirls: Music from the Motion Picture soundtrack album was released on December 5 by Music World Entertainment/Columbia Records, in both a single-disc version containing highlights and a double-disc "Deluxe Version" containing all of the film's songs. The single-disc version of the soundtrack peaked at number-one on the Billboard 200 during a slow sales week in early January 2007. "Listen" was the first official single from the soundtrack, supported by a music video featuring Beyoncé. "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was the Dreamgirls soundtrack's second single. Though a music video with all-original footage was once planned, the video eventually released for "And I Am Telling You" comprised the entire corresponding scene in the actual film. Reception Premieres, road show engagements, and general releases Dreamgirls premiered on December 4, 2006 at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City, where it received a standing ovation. The film's Los Angeles premiere was held on December 11 at the Wilshire Theater in Beverly Hills. Hearkening back to the releases of older Hollywood musicals such as The Sound of Music, My Fair Lady, and West Side Story, Dreamgirls debuted with three special ten-day road show engagements beginning on December 15, 2006 at the Ziegfeld Theatre in New York City, the Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles, and the AMC Metreon 15 in San Francisco. Tickets for the reserved seats were $25 each; the premium price included a forty-eight page full-color program and a limited-print lithograph. This release made Dreamgirls the first American feature film to have a road show release since Man of La Mancha in 1972. Dreamgirls earned a total of $851,664 from the roadshow engagements, playing to sold-out houses on the weekends. The film's national release, at regular prices, began on December 25. Outside of the U.S., Dreamgirls opened in Australia on January 18, and in the United Kingdom on February 2. Releases in other countries began on various dates between January and early March. Dreamgirls eventually grossed $103 million in the United States, and $154 million worldwide. DreamWorks Home Entertainment released Dreamgirls to home video on May 1, 2007 in DVD, HD DVD, and Blu-ray formats. The DVD version was issued in two editions: a one-disc standard version and a two-disc "Showstopper Edition". The two-disc version also included a feature-length production documentary, production featurettes, screen tests, animatics, and other previsualization materials and artwork. Both DVD versions featured alternate and extended versions of the musical numbers from the film as extras, including the "Effie, Sing My Song" scene deleted during previews. An extended "director's cut" of the film is currently planned for release in 2008. Both the Blu-Ray and HD DVD versions were issued in two-disc formats. Dreamgirls was the first DreamWorks film to be issued in a high definition home entertainment format. Critical and celebrity reaction Reviews for Dreamgirls were generally positive, resulting in a 78% composite critical approval rating on the Rotten Tomatoes website. Rolling Stone's Peter Travers gave the film three and a half stars (out of four) and the number-two position on his "best of 2006" list, stating that "despite transitional bumps, Condon does Dreamgirls proud". David Rooney of Variety reported that the film featured "tremendously exciting musical sequences" and that "after The Phantom of the Opera, Rent and The Producers botched the transfer from stage to screen, Dreamgirls gets it right." On the December 10, 2006 episode of the television show Ebert & Roeper, Richard Roeper and guest critic Aisha Tyler (filling in for the recovering Roger Ebert) gave the film "two thumbs up", with Roeper's reservations that it was "a little short on heart and soul" and "deeply conventional". Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter was less enthusiastic, stating that while the film was "a damn good commercial movie, it is not the film that will revive the musical or win over the world". Ed Gonzales of Slant magazine found the entire picture too glossy, and declared that "the film doesn't care to articulate the emotions that haunt its characters". Many reviews, regardless of their overall opinion of the film, cited Jennifer Hudson's and Eddie Murphy's performances as standouts, with Peter Travers proclaiming Murphy's performance of "Jimmy's Rap" as "his finest screen moment." Television host Oprah Winfrey saw the film during a November 15 press screening, and telephoned Hudson on the Oprah episode airing the next day, praising her performance as "a religious experience" and "a transcendent performance". A review for The Celebrity Cafe adds that Hudson's voice "is like nothing we’ve heard in a long time, and her acting is a great match for that power-house sound." Jennifer Holliday, who originated the role of Effie onstage, expressed her disappointment at not being involved in the film project in several TV, radio, and print interviews. Holliday in particular objected to the fact that her 1982 recording of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" was used in an early Dreamgirls film teaser trailer created before production began. Many of the other original Dreamgirls Broadway cast members, among them Obba Babatundé, Vondie Curtis-Hall, and Cleavant Derricks, were interviewed for a Jet magazine article in which they discussed their varying opinions of both the Dreamgirls film's script and production. Awards DreamWorks and Paramount began a significant awards campaign for Dreamgirls while the film was still in production. In February 2006, the press was invited on set to a special live event showcasing the making of the film, including a live performance of "Steppin' to the Bad Side" by the cast. Three months later, twenty minutes of the film - specifically, the musical sequences "Fake Your Way to the Top", "Family", "When I First Saw You", and "Dreamgirls" - were screened at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival, with most of the cast and crew in attendance. The resulting positive buzz earned Dreamgirls the status of "front-runner" for the 2006 Academy Award for Best Picture and several of the other Oscars as well. Following the success of the Cannes screening, DreamWorks and Paramount began a widespread "For Your Consideration" advertisement campaign, raising several eyebrows by demoting Jennifer Hudson to consideration for Best Supporting Actress and presenting Beyoncé Knowles as the sole Best Actress candidate, as opposed to having both compete for Best Actress awards. By contrast, the actresses who originated Hudson's and Knowles' roles on Broadway, Jennifer Holliday and Sheryl Lee Ralph, respectively, were both nominated for the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress, with Holliday winning the award. The presentation of Knowles over Hudson as the sole Best Actress candidate had interesting parallels with the film itself. Dreamgirls received eight 2007 Academy Award nominations covering six categories, tied for the most of any film for the year, although it was not nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, or either of the lead acting categories. The film's nominations included Best Supporting Actor (Eddie Murphy), Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson), Best Achievement in Costume Design, Best Achievement in Art Direction, Best Achievement in Sound Mixing, and three nominations for Best Song ("Listen", "Love You I Do", and "Patience"). Dreamgirls is the first live-action film to receive three nominations for Best Song; previously the Disney animated features Beauty and the Beast (1991) and The Lion King (1994) had each received three Academy Award nominations for Best Song; Enchanted (2007) has since repeated the feat. In addition, Dreamgirls is the first film in Academy Award history to receive the highest number of nominations for the year, yet not be nominated for Best Picture. The film's failure to gain a Best Picture or Best Director nod was widely viewed by the entertainment press as a "snub" by the Academy. Some journalists registered shock, others cited a "backlash". On the other hand, director Bill Condon stated that "I think academy members just liked the other movies better" and that he believed that "we were never going to win even if we were nominated." At the Academy Awards ceremony on February 25, 2007, Dreamgirls won the awards for Best Supporting Actress and Sound Mixing. As such, Hudson became one of the few actresses ever to win an Oscar for a film debut performance. In what was considered an upset, Eddie Murphy lost the Best Supporting Actor award to Alan Arkin for Little Miss Sunshine. Beyoncé Knowles, Jennifer Hudson, Anika Noni Rose, and Keith Robinson performed a medley of the three Dreamgirls songs nominated for Best Original Song, although all three songs lost the award to "I Need to Wake Up" from An Inconvenient Truth. For the 2007 Golden Globe Awards, Dreamgirls was nominated in five categories: Best Picture - Comedy or Musical, Best Actress in a Comedy or Musical (Beyoncé Knowles), Best Supporting Actor (Eddie Murphy), Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson), and Best Original Song ("Listen"). The film won the awards for Best Picture - Comedy or Musical, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. Dreamgirls received eight NAACP Image Award nominations, winning for Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson) and Outstanding Album (the soundtrack LP). It was also named as one of the American Film Institute's top ten films of 2006. The film also garnered Screen Actors Guild Awards for Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson) and Supporting Actor (Eddie Murphy), as well as a nomination for its ensemble cast. The film was also nominated by the Producers Guild of America for Best Picture and the Directors Guild of America for Bill Condon's directing. The British Academy of Film and Television Arts gave the film awards for Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson) and Music (Henry Krieger). Furthermore, Dreamgirls was nominated for eleven 2007 International Press Academy Satellite Awards, and won four of the awards: Best Picture - Comedy or Musical, Best Director (Bill Condon), Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Jennifer Hudson), and Best Sound (Mixing & Editing). Dreamgirls also received a record eleven Black Reel Award nominations, and won six of the awards, among them Best Film. At the 50th Grammy Awards ceremony, "Love You I Do" won the award for Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. The Dreamgirls soundtrack was also nominated for the Grammy for Best Compilation Soundtrack Album. For the opening performance at the 2007 BET Awards on June 26 of that year, Jennifer Hudson performed a duet of "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" with her predecessor, Jennifer Holliday. Later that night, Hudson won the BET Award for Best Actress. Related promotions and products To give the story more exposure for the upcoming film release, DreamWorks Pictures and the licenser of the original play, The Tams-Witmark Music Library, announced that they would pay the licensing fees for all non-professional stage performances of Dreamgirls for the calendar year of 2006. DreamWorks hoped to encourage amateur productions of Dreamgirls, and familiarize a wider audience with the play. As a result, more than fifty high schools, colleges, community theaters, and other non-commercial theater entities staged productions of Dreamgirls in 2006, and DreamWorks spent up to $250,000 subsidizing the licensing. The Dreamgirls novelization was written by African-American novelist Denene Millner, and adapts the film's official script in chapter form, along with fourteen pages of photographs from the film. The book was released on October 31, 2006. A scrapbook, entitled Dreamgirls: The Movie Musical, was released on March 27, 2007. The limited edition program guide accompanying the Dreamgirls road show release was made available for retail purchase in February. In addition, the Tonnor Doll Company released "The Dreamettes" collection, featuring dolls of the characters Deena, Lorrell, and Effie, to coincide with the release of the film. Allusions to factual events Aside from the overall plot of the film and elements already present in the stage musical, many direct references to Supremes, Motown, or R&B/soul history in general are included in the film. In one scene, Effie saunters into Curtis' office and discusses Rainbow Records' latest LP, The Great March to Freedom, a spoken word album featuring speeches by Martin Luther King, Jr.. This LP is an authentic Motown release, issued as Gordy 906 in June 1963. A later scene features Curtis and the Dreams recording in the studio, while a riot rages outside. By comparison, Motown's Hitsville USA studio remained open and active during Detroit's 12th Street Riot in July 1967. The photo shoot montage which accompanies "When I First Saw You", as well as the subplot of Deena being forced to star in Curtis' Cleopatra film against her will, reflect both scenes from and the production of Mahogany, a 1975 Motown film starring Diana Ross and directed by Motown CEO Berry Gordy, Jr.. Like Dreamgirls, Mahogany was also distributed by Paramount Pictures. Among the more direct references are the uses of adapted Supremes album cover designs for albums recorded in the film by the Dreams. Three Supremes albums - Let the Sunshine In, Cream of the Crop, and Touch - were reworked into Deena Jones & The Dreams album designs, with the only differences in the designs being the substitution of the names and images of the Supremes with those of Deena Jones & the Dreams. Another Dreams LP seen in the film, Meet the Dreams, is represented by an album cover derived from the designs for the Supremes LPs More Hits by the Supremes and The Supremes A' Go-Go. The Brewster-Douglass housing projects, where Supremes members Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, and Florence Ballard grew up, are shown in an insert shot as the housing project the Dreamettes grew up in. Diana Ross, long a critic of the Broadway version of Dreamgirls for what she saw as an appropriation of her life story, denied having seen the film version. On the other hand, Mary Wilson attended the film's Los Angeles premiere, later stating that Dreamgirls moved her to tears and that it was "closer to the truth than they even know". Smokey Robinson, however, was less than pleased about Dreamgirls' allusions to Motown history. In a January 25, 2007 interview with NPR, Robinson expressed offense at the film's portrayal of its Berry Gordy analogue, Curtis Taylor Jr., as a "villainous character" who deals in payola and other illegal activities. He repeated these concerns in a later interview with Access Hollywood, adding that he felt DreamWorks and Paramount owed Gordy an apology. On February 23, a week before the Oscars ceremony, DreamWorks and Paramount issued an apology to Gordy and the other Motown alumnae. Gordy issued a statement shortly afterwards expressing his acceptance of the apology. The payola scheme used in the film's script, to which Robinson took offense, is identical to the payola scheme allegedly used by Gordy and the other Motown executives, according to sworn court depositions from Motown executive Michael Lushka, offered during the litigation between the label and its chief creative team, Holland-Dozier-Holland. Several references are also made to Mafia-backed loans Curtis uses to fund Rainbow Records. Gordy was highly suspected, though never proven, to have used Mafia-backed loans to finance Motown during its later years. Cast * Jamie Foxx as Curtis Taylor, Jr. Based upon Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr., Curtis is a slick Cadillac dealer-come-record executive who founds the Rainbow Records label and shows ruthless ambition in his quest to make his black artists household names with white audiences. * Beyoncé Knowles as Deena Jones. Based upon Motown star Diana Ross, Deena is a naive, sheltered girl who allows Curtis to transform her into the Dreams' lead singer and Rainbow's biggest star. * Eddie Murphy as James "Thunder" Early. "Jimmy" Early, inspired by R&B/soul singers such as James Brown, Jackie Wilson, and Marvin Gaye, is a raucous performer on the Rainbow label whom Curtis attempts to repackage as a pop-friendly balladeer. * Danny Glover as Marty Madison. Jimmy's original manager before Curtis steps into the picture, Marty serves as both counsel and confidant to Jimmy, and later to Effie as well. * Jennifer Hudson as Effie White. Inspired by Supremes member Florence Ballard and soul singers Etta James and Aretha Franklin, the plus-sized Effie is a talented yet temperamental singer who suffers after Curtis, the man she loves, replaces her as lead singer of the Dreams with Deena and later drops her altogether. * Anika Noni Rose as Lorrell Robinson. Lorrell, inspired by Supremes member Mary Wilson, is a good-natured background singer with the Dreams who falls deeply in love with the married Jimmy Early and becomes his mistress. * Keith Robinson as C.C. White. Inspired by Motown vice president, artist, and songwriter Smokey Robinson, Effie's soft-spoken younger brother C.C. (Clarence Conrad) serves as the main songwriter for first the Dreamettes and later the entire Rainbow roster. * Sharon Leal as Michelle Morris. Michelle, based upon Supremes member Cindy Birdsong, replaces Effie in the Dreams and becomes C.C.'s love interest. * Hinton Battle as Wayne. Wayne is a salesman at Curtis' Cadillac dealership who becomes Rainbow's first record producer and Curtis' henchman. Dreamgirls also features supporting performances from Mariah I. Wilson as Magic, Effie's daughter; Yvette Cason as Deena's mother May; Ken Page as club owner Max Washington; and Alexander Folk as Ronald, Effie and C.C.'s father. Cameo appearances in the film are made by John Lithgow and John Krasinski as a film producer and his screenwriter, Jaleel White as a talent booker at the Detroit Theater, Dawnn Lewis as Jimmy's wife Melba, and Loretta Devine, who originated the role of Lorrell on Broadway, as a jazz singer in Max Washington's club who sings "I Miss You Old Friend". Throughout the film, a number of other musical acts depicted as allusions to or analogues of real-life R&B performers appear, among them Little Albert & the Tru-Tones (Little Anthony & the Imperials), Tiny Joe Dixon (B.B. King), The Family Funk (Sly & the Family Stone), and The Campbell Connection (The Jackson 5). Songs Act I 1. "I'm Lookin' For Something" - The Stepp Sisters 2. "Goin' Downtown" - Little Albert & the Tru-Tones 3. "Takin' The Long Way Home" - Tiny Joe Dixon 4. "Move" - The Dreamettes 5. "Fake Your Way To The Top" - James "Thunder" Early & the Dreamettes 6. "Cadillac Car" - James "Thunder" Early & the Dreamettes 7. "Cadillac Car (Reprise)" - Dave & the Sweethearts 8. "Steppin' To The Bad Side" - Curtis Taylor Jr., C.C. White, Wayne, James "Thunder" Early & the Dreamettes, and Chorus 9. "Love You I Do" - Effie White 10. "I Want You Baby" - Jimmy Early & the Dreamettes 11. "Family" - C.C. White, Effie White, Curtis Taylor Jr., Deena Jones, Lorrell Robinson 12. "Dreamgirls" - The Dreams 13. "Heavy" - The Dreams 14. "It's All Over" - Effie White, Deena Jones, Lorrell Robinson, Michelle Morris, C.C. White and Curtis Taylor Jr. 15. "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" - Effie White 16. "Love Love Me Baby" - Deena Jones & the Dreams Act II 1. "I'm Somebody" - Deena Jones & the Dreams 2. "When I First Saw You" - Curtis Taylor Jr. 3. "Patience" - Jimmy Early, Lorrell Robinson, C.C. White, and Chorus 4. "I Am Changing" - Effie White 5. "Perfect World" - The Campbell Connection 6. "I Meant You No Harm/Jimmy's Rap" - Jimmy Early 7. "Lorrell Loves Jimmy" - Lorrell Robinson 8. "Family (Reprise)" - Deena Jones & the Dreams 9. "Step On Over" - Deena Jones & the Dreams 10. "I Miss You Old Friend" - Jazz Singer 11. "Effie, Sing My Song" - C.C. White and Effie White (deleted from theatrical version, present on DVD)[23] 12. "One Night Only" - Effie White 13. "One Night Only (Disco)" -Deena Jones & the Dreams 14. "Listen" - Deena Jones 15. "Hard To Say Goodbye" - Deena Jones & the Dreams 16. "Dreamgirls (Finale)" - the Dreams Awards * Academy Awards o Best Supporting Actor (Eddie Murphy) - Nomination o Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson) - Winner o Art Direction - Nomination o Costume Design - Nomination o Sound Mixing - Winner o Original Song + "Listen" (Henry Krieger, Scott Cutler and Anne Preven) - Nomination + "Love You I Do" (Henry Krieger and Siedah Garrett) - Nomination + "Patience" (Henry Krieger and Willie Reale) - Nomination * African-American Film Critics Association Awards 2006 o Best Picture - Winner o Best Supporting Actor (Eddie Murphy) - Winner o Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson) - Winner o Best Director (Bill Condon) - Winner * American Film Institute (AFI) Awards 2006 o Movies of the Year - Inclusion * Asian Excellence Awards o Best Supporting Actress in a Film (Sharon Leal)- Nominated * BAFTA Film Awards[80] o Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role (Jennifer Hudson) - Winner o Best Film Music (The Anthony Asquith Award) - Nomination * BET Awards o Best Actress (Jennifer Hudson) - Winner o Best Actor (Eddie Murphy)- Nominated o Best Actor (Jamie Foxx)- Nominated * Black Reel Awards o Best Film - Winner o Best Actor (Jamie Foxx) - Nomination o Best Actress (Beyoncé Knowles) - Nomination o Best Supporting Actor (Eddie Murphy) - Nomination o Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson) - Winner o Best Breakthrough Performance (Jennifer Hudson) - Winner o Best Original Score (Harvey Mason, Jr. & Damon Thomas) - Winner o Best Original Soundtrack (DreamWorks SKG/Music World/Columbia) - Winner o Best Song, Original or Adapted + "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" (performed by Jennifer Hudson) - Winner + "Listen" (performed by Beyoncé Knowles) - Nomination + "One Night Only" (performed by Jennifer Hudson) - Nomination * Broadcast Film Critics Association o Best Picture - Nomination o Best Supporting Actor (Eddie Murphy) - Winner o Best Supporting Actress (Jennifer Hudson) - Winner o Best Acting Ensemble - Nomination o Best Director (Bill Condon)- Nomination o Best Song "Listen" (Henry Krieger, Anne Preven, Scott Cutler, Beyoncé Knowles)- Winner o Best Soundtrack - Winner * Golden Globe Awards o Best Picture: Comedy or Musical - Winner o Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical (Beyoncé Knowles) - Nomination o Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Eddie Murphy) - Winner o Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Jennifer Hudson) - Winner o Best Original Song in a Motion Picture ("Listen"; music & lyrics by Henry Krieger, Anne Preven, Scott Cutler, Beyoncé Knowles) - Nomination * Grammy Awards o Outstanding Motion Picture Soundtrack or Compilation- (Jennifer Hudson, Beyonce Knowles, Anika Noni Rose, Eddie Murphy, Jamie Foxx, Sharon Leal, Harvey Mason Jr. & Damon Thomas) - Nomination o Outstanding Song Written for a Motion Picture- "Love You I Do" (Henry Krieger and Siedah Garrett)- Winner * MTV Movie Awards o Best Performance (Jennifer Hudson)- Nomination o Best Performance (Beyonce Knowles)- Nomination * NAACP Image Awards o Outstanding Motion Picture - Nomination o Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture (Jamie Foxx) - Nomination o Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture (Beyonce Knowles) - Nomination o Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Danny Glover) - Nomination o Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture (Eddie Murphy) - Nomination o Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Jennifer Hudson) - Winner o Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture (Anika Noni Rose) - Nomination o Outstanding Album (Dreamgirls Soundtrack) - Winner * Satellite Awards o Best Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical - Winner o Best Director (Bill Condon) - Winner', tied with Flags of Our Fathers (Clint Eastwood) o Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical (Beyoncé Knowles) - Nomination o Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Jennifer Hudson) - Winner o Best Screenplay - Adapted (Bill Condon) - Nomination o Best Original Song + "Love You I Do" (Henry Krieger, Siedah Garrett) - Nomination + "Listen" (Henry Krieger, Anne Preven, Scott Cutler, Beyoncé Knowles) - Nomination o Film Editing (Virginia Katz) - Nomination o Sound (Editing & Mixing) (Willie Burton, Michael Minkler, Bob Beemer, Richard E. Yawn) - Winner o Art Direction & Production Design (John Myhre, Tomas Voth, Nancy Haigh) - Nomination o Costume Design (Sharen Davis) - Nomination * Screen Actors Guild Awards o Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture - Nomination o Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role (Jennifer Hudson) - Winner o Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role (Eddie Murphy) - Winner Discuss. -----signature----- Chief of Staff - The SWC Rebel Scum
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Thrawn1786 Registered: Feb '04	Date Posted: 10/25/08 4:48pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "The Phantom of the Opera" (2004)
	Haven't seen this one yet, but I remember seeing a clip on youtube where Jennifer Holliday discussed her frustration at not being included in the film in any way. The attitude she has, though, she probably wouldn't have settled for a cameo role. -----signature----- Knick knack, Patti's whack, diva's on her throne-you just got Patti LPwned! Senator of Thrawn Fans Unite, EU Senate My 2009 Dear Diary Challenge entry: http://boards.theforce.net/the_saga/b10476/29687672/p1/?3
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RX_Sith Title: C&G Game Host Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 11/3/08 5:59am Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Once" (2007)
	Once (2007). (from wiki) Once is a 2007 Irish musical film written and directed by John Carney. Set in Dublin, this naturalistic drama stars musicians Glen Hansard (of popular Irish rock band The Frames) and Markéta Irglová as struggling musicians. Collaborators prior to making the film, Hansard and Irglová composed and performed all of the original songs in the movie. Shot for only €130,000 ($160,000), the film was very successful, earning substantial per-screen box office averages in the United States. It received extremely enthusiastic reviews and awards such as the 2007 Independent Spirit Award for best foreign film. Hansard and Irglová's song "Falling Slowly" received a 2007 Academy Award for Best Original Song and the soundtrack as a whole also received a Grammy nomination. Plot An unnamed, thirty-something Dublin busker (listed in the credits as "Guy," played by Glen Hansard) sings and plays guitar on Grafton Street, a Dublin shopping district, struggling with the trials of performing on the street, including chasing after a heroin addict (Darren Healy) who attempts to steal his earnings. Lured by his music, an unnamed young Czech immigrant flower seller (listed in the credits as "Girl," played by Markéta Irglová) approaches him impertinently during one of his late night street performances and, despite his annoyance, persists in questioning him about his songs. Upon learning that he also repairs vacuum cleaners in his father's shop, she insists that he fix her broken vacuum. The next day she brings her Hoover by and parlays it into lunch together, whereupon she piques his interest by telling him that she is a musician, too. He asks to hear her play, so they visit a music store where she regularly plays piano. After teaching her one of his songs ("Falling Slowly"), which she quickly learns to play, they sing and play the song together, kindling a musical and potentially romantic connection. He invites her and her ailing vacuum back to his father's shop, and on the bus home musically answers her question as to what his songs are about: a long-time girlfriend who cheated on him, then left ("Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy"). At the shop, he repairs her vacuum and she meets his father (Bill Hodnett), who seems indifferent to his son's musical talent. The Guy takes the Girl up to his room, but when he asks her to stay the night, she is insulted and leaves. The next day, he apologizes and they quickly patch things up, as over the course of a week they excitedly write, rehearse and record songs, and get to know each other. Songs continue to be performed in a real-world, diegetic fashion, often in their entirety, as when the Girl rehearses her lyrics for one of the Guy's songs (which she entitles "If You Want Me"), singing to herself while walking down the street, or when at a party, people perform impromptu (including "Gold," performed by a trio featuring guitarist Hansard singing harmony). Their flirtation continues, but at the same time, he is thinking about and writing about ("Lies") his ex-girlfriend (Marcella Plunkett), who moved to London. The Girl encourages him to move there, win his girlfriend back and pursue his musical career. Invited home to dinner by the Girl, the Guy discovers that she has a toddler (Kate Haugh) and lives with her mother (Danuse Ktrestova). He soon decides that it is time to move to London, but he wants to make a high-quality demo of his songs to take with him and asks the Girl to record it with him. She takes the lead as they secure a bank loan—from a bank where the loan officer (Sean Miller) is a musical hobbyist—and reserve time at a professional studio. On a romantic motorbike jaunt, she reveals, much to his consternation, that she is married, though her estranged husband is back in the Czech Republic. When Guy asks if she still loves her husband, she answers in Czech, "Miluju tebe"[6], but coyly declines to translate what she said. After recruiting a trio of musicians (Gerard Hendrick, Alaistair Foley, Hugh Walsh), they rehearse, then go into the studio to record. Their lack of experience shows, but they quickly impress the jaded studio engineer Eamon (Geoff Minogue) once they begin recording their first song ("When Your Mind's Made Up"). On a break in the wee hours of the morning, the Girl finds a piano in an empty studio and finally plays the Guy one of her own compositions ("The Hill"), though she breaks down before finishing the song, which tells of romantic frustration. He responds by asking her to come with him to London, but is not prepared for the reality of her mother coming along to help with the baby. Still, he is smitten. After the all-night session wraps up successfully, they walk home. Before they part ways, the Girl reveals that she spoke to her husband and he is coming to live with her in Dublin. The Guy asks her to spend his last night in Dublin with him; she says that it would only result in "hanky-panky," which is a "bad idea", but after the Guy's pestering she ultimately agrees to come over. In the end, she stands him up and he cannot find her to say goodbye before his flight. He plays the demo for his father, who, moved and impressed, gives him money to help him get settled in London. Before leaving for the airport, the Guy buys the Girl a piano and makes arrangements for its delivery, then calls his ex-girlfriend, who is happy about his imminent arrival. The Girl's husband (Senan Haugh) moves to Dublin and they reunite. But the final shots convey how the Girl and the Guy were deeply affected by their short time together. Production Neither of the two leads is a trained or experienced actor; Hansard and Irglová are both professional musicians. Director Carney, former bassist for Hansard's band The Frames, had asked his long-time friend to share busker anecdotes and compose songs for the film, but had intended the male lead to be played by actor Cillian Murphy, who was an almost-signed rock musician before turning to acting. Murphy was also going to be one of the film's producers. But Murphy balked at acting opposite non-actor Irglová (then 17 years old) and at singing Hansard's octave-leaping songs, so he pulled out, as did the film's other producers along with their financial resources. Carney then turned to songwriter Hansard, who'd previously done only one acting job, a supporting role as guitarist Outspan Foster in the 1991 ensemble film The Commitments, the story of a Dublin soul music cover band. Hansard was initially reluctant, fearing that he wouldn't be able to pull it off, but after stipulating that he had to be fully involved in the filmmaking process and that it be low-budget and intimate, he agreed. Produced with a shoestring budget, about 75% of the budget was funded by Bord Scannán na hÉireann (The Irish Film Board), plus some of Carney's own money. The director gave his salary to the two stars, and promised a share of the back-end for everyone if the film was a success. Shot with a skeleton crew on a 17-day shoot, the filmmakers saved money by using natural light and shooting at friends' houses. The musical party scene was filmed in Hansard's own flat, with his personal friends playing the partygoers/musicians — his mother, Catherine Hansard, is briefly featured singing solo. The Dublin street scenes were done without permits and with a long lens so that many passersby didn't even realize that a film was being made. The long lens also helped the non-professional actors relax and forget about the camera, and some of the dialogue ended up being improvised. During the shoot, Carney had predicted a romance, calling Hansard and Irglová his Bogart and Bacall. Hansard and Irglová did become a couple in real life, getting together while on a promotional tour across North America, and they now live together in Dublin, in Hansard's flat. Entertainment Weekly reported, “ The chemistry between (the) two leads ... was easy to produce during the January 2006 shoot in Dublin. "I had been falling in love with her for a long time, but I kept telling myself she's just a kid," says Hansard, 37, who has known his 19-year-old costar for the past six years. (The two are now dating.) "There was definitely the feeling we were documenting something precious and private." ” Yet Hansard and Irglová were quite happy with the unrequited ending for their onscreen characters. In an interview, Hansard states that "Had Fox Searchlight Pictures changed it, had they changed the end and made us kiss, I wouldn't be interested in coming and promoting it, at all." Hansard says that ad-libbing produced the moment where Irglova's character tells the Guy in unsubtitled Czech, "I love you," but when it was shot, he didn't know what she'd said, just like his character. Both Hansard and Irglova give the impression in interviews that they are unlikely to pursue further acting. Irglova has spoken about being nervous in front of a crew, saying "I don't think I would be a good actress, overall", and Hansard generally refers to the movie as a one-off, talking of "moving on... living a different life". Soundtrack The soundtrack album was released on May 22, 2007 in the U.S. and on May 26 in Ireland. A collector's edition of the soundtrack was released on December 4, 2007 with additional songs and a bonus DVD with live performances and interviews about the film. The additional songs were two previously unreleased Van Morrison covers: Hansard's "And the Healing Has Begun", and Hansard and Irglová's "Into the Mystic". Different versions of a few of the soundtrack's songs were previously released on The Frames' album The Cost and on Hansard and Irglová's The Swell Season (both released in 2006). An early version of the last track, "Say It to Me Now," originally appeared on The Frames' 1995 album Fitzcarraldo. "All the Way Down" first appeared on the self-titled album from musician collective The Cake Sale, with Gemma Hayes providing vocals. The song "Gold" was written by Irish singer-songwriter Fergus O'Farrell and performed by Interference. Track listing All songs written and composed by Glen Hansard, except where noted. # Title Performer(s) Length 1. "Falling Slowly" (Glen Hansard, Marketa Irglová) Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglová 4:04 2. "If You Want Me" (Irglová) Irglová and Hansard 3:48 3. "Broken Hearted Hoover Fixer Sucker Guy" Hansard 0:53 4. "When Your Mind's Made Up" Hansard and Irglová 3:41 5. "Lies" (Hansard, Irglová) Hansard and Irglová 3:59 6. "Gold" (Fergus O'Farrell) Interference 3:59 7. "The Hill" (Irglová) Irglová 4:35 8. "Fallen from the Sky" Hansard 3:25 9. "Leave" Hansard 2:46 10. "Trying to Pull Myself Away" Hansard 3:36 11. "All the Way Down" Hansard 2:39 12. "Once" Hansard and Irglová 3:39 13. "Say It to Me Now" Hansard 2:35 14. "And the Healing Has Begun" (Van Morrison, Collector's Edition only) Hansard 5:19 15. "Into the Mystic" (Morrison, Collector's Edition only) Hansard and Irglová 4:21 Awards and accolades The nomination of "Falling Slowly" for the best original song Oscar was questioned because of the different versions previously released on The Cost and The Swell Season. The AMPAS music committee determined that, in the course of the film's protracted production, the composers had "played the song in some venues that were deemed inconsequential enough to not change the song’s eligibility". "Falling Slowly" won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Original Song. The soundtrack was twice nominated for Grammy Awards, under Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media and, for "Falling Slowly", Best Song Written for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media. It won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Music., and it was ranked at number two on the Entertainment Weekly 25 New Classic Soundtrack Albums list (1983–2008). Charts success The soundtrack album reached #20 on the Irish Albums Chart in its first week, peaking at #15 a few weeks later. Following the Oscar win, the album reached the top of the chart, while "Falling Slowly" reached a new peak of #2. In the U.S., it ranked as the #10 soundtrack on June 1. As of July 11, 2007, the album has sold 54,753 copies in the US. The album reached #27 on the Billboard 200 according to Allmusic. It also reached #2 on the Soundtracks Chart and #4 on the Independent Chart. Reception Box office performance and awards A rough cut premiered at the 2006 Galway Film Fleadh, but the film was subsequently turned down by several prestigious European film festivals. However, it secured spots at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival and the Dublin Film Festival and received the audience awards at both events in early 2007. After its second weekend in release in the United States and Canada, the film topped the 23 May 2007 indieWIRE box office chart with nearly $31,000 average per location. As of 6 December 2007, the film had grossed more than $14 million worldwide including over $9 million in the U.S. After 2007's box office success and critical acclaim, it won the 2008 Independent Spirit Award for best foreign film. Steven Spielberg was quoted as saying "A little movie called Once gave me enough inspiration to last the rest of the year." When informed of Spielberg's comments, director John Carney told Sky News, "in the end of the day, he's just a guy with a beard." At the time of this interview, Carney himself was also wearing a beard. Critical reaction Upon its March 2007 release in Ireland, RTÉ's Caroline Hennessy gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and termed it "an unexpected treasure." About the acting, this Irish reviewer commented, "Once has wonderfully natural performances from the two leads. Although musicians first and actors second, they acquit themselves well in both areas. Irglová, a largely unknown quantity alongside the well-known and either loved or loathed Hansard, is luminous." Michael Dwyer of The Irish Times gave the film the same rating, calling it "irresistibly appealing" and noting that "Carney makes the point - without ever labouring it - that his protagonists are living in a changing city where the economic boom has passed them by. His keen eye for authentic locations is ... evident." In May, Ebert & Roeper, both Richard Roeper and guest critic Michael Phillips of the Chicago Tribune gave enthusiastic reviews. Phillips called it, "the most charming thing I've seen all year," "the Brief Encounter for the 21st century," his favorite music film since 1984's Stop Making Sense and said, "It may well be the best music film of our generation". Roeper referred to the film's recording studio scene as "more inspirational and uplifting than almost any number of Dreamgirls or Chicago or any of those multi-zillion dollar musical showstopping films. In its own way, it will blow you away." Once won very high marks from U.S. critics; it is rated 97% "fresh" by the film review aggregation site Rotten Tomatoes and scored a grade of 88 ("universal acclaim") according to Metacritic. In late 2007, Amy Simmons of Time Out London wrote, "Carney’s highly charged, urban mise-en-scène with its blinking street lamps, vacant shops and dishevelled bed-sits provides ample poetic backdrop for the film’s lengthy tracking shots, epitomised in a sequence where the Girl walks to the corner shop in pyjamas and slippers while listening to one of the Guy’s songs on her personal stereo. With outstanding performances from Hansard and new-comer Irglová, Carney has created a sublime, visual album of unassuming and self-assured eloquence." The Telegraph's Sukhdev Sandhu said, "Not since Before Sunset has a romantic film managed to be as touching, funny or as hard to forget as Once. Like Before Sunset, it never outstays its welcome, climaxing on a note of rare charm and unexpectedness." DVD release Fox Home Entertainment released the Region 2 DVD in November 2007 and the Region 1 DVD on December 18. Special features include film and musical commentaries from the director and stars, a free download of "Falling Slowly," and several featurettes. Discuss. -----signature----- Chief of Staff - The SWC Rebel Scum
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 11/3/08 7:50am Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Once" (2007)
	The reviews were extremely positive, and left me with no desire to see the film at all.
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packerfansam Registered: Feb '07	Date Posted: 11/3/08 1:48pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Once" (2007)
	I have not seen the actual movie, but I absolutely love the song 'Falling Slowly'. At some point I'll probably get around to actually watching it. -----signature----- Help save innocent lives, go to www.petfinder.com. Formerly SeventhAngelicSlayer Detroit Red Wings: 2008 Stanley Cup Champions
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RX_Sith Title: C&G Game Host Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 11/3/08 7:22pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Once" (2007)
	Once: Falling Slowly. Above is the link to the music video featuring the song "Falling Slowly". -----signature----- Chief of Staff - The SWC Rebel Scum
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 11/11/08 6:34pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Once" (2007)
	This is probably going to be a cult hit.
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RX_Sith Title: C&G Game Host Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 11/17/08 6:35am Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Hairspray" (2007) - Date Edited: 11/17/08 6:36am (1 edits total) Edited By: RX_Sith
	Hairspray (2007). (from wiki) Hairspray is a 2007 American musical film produced by Zadan/Meron Productions and distributed by New Line Cinema. It was released in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom on July 20, 2007. The film is an adaptation of the 2002 Broadway musical of the same name, and a remake of John Waters' 1988 comedy film of the same name. Set in 1962 Baltimore, Maryland, the film follows a "pleasantly plump" teenager named Tracy Turnblad as she simultaneously pursues stardom as a dancer on a local TV show and rallies against racial segregation. Adapted from both Waters's 1988 script and Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell's book for the stage musical by screenwriter Leslie Dixon, the 2007 film version of Hairspray is directed and choreographed by Adam Shankman. Hairspray stars John Travolta, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christopher Walken, Amanda Bynes, James Marsden, Queen Latifah, Brittany Snow, Zac Efron, Elijah Kelley, Allison Janney and introduces Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad. Hairspray features songs from the Broadway musical written by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman, as well as four new Shaiman/Wittman compositions not present in the original Broadway version. Opening to positive reviews, Hairspray met with financial success, breaking the record for biggest sales at opening weekend for a movie musical, which the film held until July 2008 when it was surpassed by Mamma Mia! and later High School Musical 3: Senior Year. Hairspray went on to become the fourth highest grossing musical film in U.S. cinema history, behind the film adaptations of Grease, Chicago, and Mamma Mia!. Available in a variety of formats, Hairspray's Region 1 home video release took place on November 20, 2007. The USA Network has purchased the broadcast rights to Hairspray and is scheduled to debut the film on cable television in February 2010. Adam Shankman and John Waters are currently working on a sequel to the film. Plot On May 3, 1962, Tracy Turnblad (Nikki Blonsky), a cheerful, rotund high school student living in Baltimore, Maryland, endures a day's worth of school so that she and her best friend Penny Pingleton (Amanda Bynes) can race home to view their favorite TV program, The Corny Collins Show. The program, a teen dance show, is broadcast from Baltimore's station WYZT on weekday afternoons. The teenagers featured on the show attend Tracy and Penny's school, in particular the arrogant rich girl Amber Von Tussle (Brittany Snow) and her boyfriend Link Larkin (Zac Efron), with whom Tracy is madly in love. Amber's mother Velma (Michelle Pfeiffer) manages station WYZT, and goes out of her way to make sure that Amber is prominently featured and that The Corny Collins Show remains a segregated program. Corny Collins (James Marsden) and all of his "Council Members" are white; black kids are only allowed on The Corny Collins Show on "Negro Day", held the last Tuesday of each month and hosted by local R&B radio DJ "Motormouth” Maybelle Stubbs (Queen Latifah), who also owns her own record shop on North Avenue. Neither Tracy's reclusive laundress mother Edna (John Travolta) nor Penny's strict Catholic mother Prudy (Allison Janney) approve of their daughters basing their lives around a TV show, particularly one where teens dance to "race music". Tracy's father, Wilbur (Christopher Walken), a joke-shop proprietor, is far more lenient. On one day's show, Corny Collins announces that one of his "Council Members" is going on a leave of absence, and that auditions for a replacement will be held the next morning during school hours. When Tracy attends, Velma rejects Tracy at the audition for being overweight and supportive of integration. Tracy is sent to detention for skipping school, learning that the African-American students practice their dance in the school's detention hall. Tracy befriends the detention hall's best dancer, Motormouth Maybelle's son, Seaweed (Elijah Kelley), who teaches Tracy several R&B dance moves. These moves secure Tracy a position in The Corny Collins Show. Tracy quickly becomes one of Corny's most popular Council Members and a threat to Velma's wish to have Amber win the show's yearly "Miss Teenage Hairspray" pageant. Tracy also becomes a threat to Amber's courtship of Link, as the boy becomes increasingly fond of Tracy and less so of Amber. Tracy's popularity earns her a sponsorship offer from clothes salesman Mr. Pinky (Jerry Stiller), who wants Tracy to be the spokesgirl for his "Hefty Hideaway" boutique. Tracy convinces Edna to accompany her to the "Hefty Hideaway" and act as her negotiating agent, and in the process brings her mother's days as an agoraphobe to an end. At school, Tracy introduces Seaweed to Penny, whereupon the two are instantly smitten with each other. One afternoon after Amber deliberately has Tracy sent to detention, Link causes the teacher to send him to detention with her. There, Seaweed invites the girls and Link to follow him and his sister Little Inez (Taylor Parks) to a platter party at Motormouth Maybelle's record shop. At the party, Maybelle informs everyone that Velma has canceled "Negro Day". Tracy, in reply, suggests that Maybelle and the others stage a protest march, which they plan for the next afternoon, a day before the "Miss Teenage Hairspray" pageant. Link, scheduled to sing at the pageant and fearing for his budding career, does not attend the demonstration, disappointing Tracy. Meanwhile in Tracy's father's joke shop, Velma visits Wilbur and flirts with him, and Edna arrives home and finds Velma, sitting on Wilbur and then pushing him up against the wall. Distraught, Edna kicks Wilbur out and bans Tracy from ever performing on that show, which was Velma's intention. Tracy talks with her father and he and Edna reconcile through song and dance. The next morning, Tracy sneaks out of the house to join the protest march, which comes to a halt at a police roadblock set up by Velma. The entire company of protesters is arrested, although Tracy manages to escape. She flees to the Pingletons' house, where Penny lets her hide in a basement fallout shelter. Prudy discovers Tracy and calls the police while tying Penny to her bed upstairs with a jump rope. Seaweed and his friends, having been bailed out by Wilbur, arrive and help Tracy and Penny escape. The kids then concoct a plan to crash the "Miss Teenage Hairspray" pageant. Meanwhile, Link visits Tracy's house to look for her, and realizes that he is as much in love with her as she is with him. Seaweed and Penny also acknowledge their love during the escape from her house. With the pageant underway, Velma, leaving nothing to chance, places police officers around and inside station WYZT to prevent Tracy from entering. In addition, Velma switches the tallies from the pageant's phone lines so that Amber is guaranteed to win. Penny arrives at the pageant with an incognito Edna, while Wilbur, Seaweed, and the Negro Day Kids help Tracy infiltrate the studio in time to participate in the "Miss Teenage Hairspray" dance contest. Link breaks away from Amber to dance with Tracy; later, he pulls Inez, who has just arrived at WYZT with Maybelle, to the stage to dance in the pageant. Against all expectations, Inez receives the most votes and wins the pageant, officially integrating The Corny Collins Show. A perturbed Velma loudly declares her frustration, informing her daughter of the tally-switching scheme. Unknown to Velma, Edna has turned a camera on her, and Velma's outburst is broadcast live on the air, causing her to be fired from the program. Meanwhile, The Corny Collins Show set explodes into a celebration as Link and Tracy cement their love with a kiss. Cast * Nikki Blonsky as Tracy Turnblad: The film's protagonist. An optimistic, overweight teenage girl who loves to dance, Tracy's color-blindness unwittingly leads her to becoming an active supporter for the integration of The Corny Collins Show. Hairspray is newcomer Nikki Blonsky's first time as a professional actress. * John Travolta as Edna Turnblad: Tracy's mother, an asocial shut-in ashamed of her plus-sized figure. John Travolta's casting as Edna continues the tradition of having a man in drag portray the character, going back to the original 1988 film, which featured drag queen Divine as Edna.[9] Executives at New Line Cinema originally expected the part to be filled by an actor accustomed to playing comic roles, tossing around names such as Robin Williams, Steve Martin, and Tom Hanks. However, Travolta was aggressively sought after by producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron for this role because he had starred in Grease (1978), the most successful movie musical to date. * Michelle Pfeiffer as Velma Von Tussle: The film's main antagonist. The manager of station WYZT, the racist former beauty queen Velma is primarily interested in keeping her daughter Amber in the spotlight and The Corny Collins Show segregated. Hairspray is the first film featuring Michelle Pfeiffer to be released in five years (Stardust, also featuring Pfeiffer, was filmed before Hairspray, but released 3 weeks afterwards). The irony of Pfeiffer and Travolta appearing onscreen together (Travolta starred in Grease, Pfeiffer in Grease 2) was not lost on the production staff, and interestingly enough Travolta actually requested that Pfeiffer play the part of the villainess. * Christopher Walken as Wilbur Turnblad: Tracy's father, the easy-going proprietor of the "Hardy-Har Hut" joke shop below the Turnblad family's loft apartment. John Travolta had asked that Walken be considered for the part, and he eventually beat out Billy Crystal and Jim Broadbent for the role of Wilbur. * Amanda Bynes as Penny Pingleton: Tracy's best friend, a sheltered girl who falls in love with Seaweed, despite the efforts of her racist and stern mother, Prudy. A young actress famous for appearances on Nickelodeon TV shows and in feature films, Bynes was one of the few movie stars cast among the teen roles. * James Marsden as Corny Collins: The host of The Corny Collins Show, Corny does his best to fight his show's imposed segregation. Corny Collins is based upon Baltimore TV personality Buddy Deane, who hosted an eponymous local teen dance show in the late 1950s and early 1960s. James Marsden beat out both Joey McIntyre and X-Men costar Hugh Jackman for the part. * Queen Latifah as "Motormouth" Maybelle: A Baltimore Rhythm and Blues radio disc jockey who hosts "Negro Day" on The Corny Collins Show, Maybelle also runs a record shop on North Avenue. Queen Latifah appeared in the successful Zadan/Meron movie musical Chicago (2002), and worked under Adam Shankman's direction in Bringing Down the House (2003). She beat out soul legend Aretha Franklin for the role of Maybelle. * Brittany Snow as Amber Von Tussle: Velma's bratty daughter and the lead female dancer on The Corny Collins Show, Amber becomes Tracy's enemy when Tracy threatens both Amber's shot at the "Miss Teenage Hairspray" crown and Amber's relationship with her boyfriend Link. Brittany Snow had previously worked with Shankman in The Pacifier (2004). Hayden Panettiere was also considered for the part of Amber, but was decided against in part because of her upcoming work with the NBC television series Heroes. * Zac Efron as Link Larkin: Amber's boyfriend and the lead male dancer on The Corny Collins Show, Link is a singer who slowly finds himself getting more attracted to Tracy, who has an unrequited crush on him. The character is based in part upon rock and roll star Elvis Presley. Zac Efron, a popular teen actor from the Disney Channel TV movie High School Musical, was initially thought by Adam Shankman to be "too Disney." Shankman's sister, executive producer Jennifer Gibgot, convinced her brother to cast Efron, believing that the teen star would draw a substantial teen crowd. * Elijah Kelley as Seaweed J. Stubbs: Maybelle's son, an expert dancer who teaches Tracy some moves and falls in love with her friend Penny. Kelley, a relative newcomer to film, overcame other open call auditioners and several popular Rhythm and Blues stars for the part of Seaweed. * Allison Janney as Prudy Pingleton: Penny's mother, a zealous Catholic whose strict parenting keeps Penny from experiencing social life. * Paul Dooley as Mr. Harriman F. Spritzer: The owner of the "Ultra Clutch" company and the main sponsor of The Corny Collins Show, Mr. Spritzer is as anxious as Velma is to keep The Corny Collins Show segregated. * Taylor Parks as Little Inez: Maybelle's pre-teenage daughter, Inez is a skilled dancer. Inez is based in part upon Ruby Bridges, the first black child to attend a formerly all-white school in the state of Louisiana. Cameos In addition to the principal actors, the film contained several cameo appearances by individuals involved in the history of Hairspray: * Jerry Stiller as Mr. Pinky (Wilbur Turnblad in the original film) * Ricki Lake as William Morris Talent Agent #1, (Audio) performs "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now" (Tracy Turnblad in the original film) * Adam Shankman as William Morris Talent Agent #2 (choreographer and director of the film) * Marc Shaiman as William Morris Talent Agent #3 (co-lyricist and music writer of the film) * Scott Wittman as William Morris Talent Agent #4 (co-lyricist and music writer of the film) * John Waters as the "flasher who lives next door" (writer and director of the original film) * Mink Stole as the smoking woman on the street whom Waters flashes (Tammy in the original film). She is also seen in the musical number, Welcome to the 60's. * Corey Reynolds (Audio) as singer of "Trouble on the Line" (Original Broadway Cast's Seaweed) * Harvey Fierstein (Audio) as brief singing cameo in the end credits "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now" (Original Broadway Cast's Edna) * Marissa Jaret Winokur (Audio) performs "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now" (Original Broadway Cast's Tracy) Production Early development Following the success of the Broadway musical Hairspray, which won eight Tony Awards in 2003, New Line Cinema, who owned the rights to the 1988 John Waters film upon which the stage musical is based, became interested in adapting the stage show as a musical film. Development work began in late 2004, while a similar film-to-Broadway-to-film project, Mel Brooks' The Producers, was in production. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron's Academy Award-winning film adaptation of the Broadway musical Chicago, were hired as the producers for Hairspray, and began discussing possibly casting John Travolta and Billy Crystal (or Jim Broadbent) as Edna and Wilbur Turnblad, respectively. Thomas Meehan and Mark O'Donnell, authors of the book for the stage musical, wrote the first draft of the film's screenplay, but were replaced by Leslie Dixon, screenwriter for family comedies such as Mrs. Doubtfire and Freaky Friday. After a year's deliberation on who should direct the film, Zadan and Meron finally decided to hire Adam Shankman to both direct and choreograph Hairspray. Upon learning he had been hired, Shankman arranged a meeting with John Waters, who advised him "don't do what I did, don't do what the play did. You've gotta do your own thing." Despite this, Shankman still noted "all roads of Hairspray lead back to John Waters." (Screen to) stage to screen changes Dixon was primarily hired to tone down much of the campiness inherent in the stage musical. The 2007 film's script is based primarily on the stage musical rather than the 1988 film, so several changes already made to the plot for the stage version remain in this version. These include dropping several characters from the 1988 version (such as Arvin Hodgepile, Franklin Von Tussle, Tammy Turner, the beatniks, et al.), removing the Tilted Acres amusement park from the story, and placing Velma in charge of the station where The Corny Collins Show is filmed. One notable difference between the stage musical, the original movie, and the 2007 film version of Hairspray is that Tracy does not go to jail in the 2007 version. In both previous incarnations of Hairspray, Tracy is arrested and taken to jail along with the other protesters. Edna is presented in this version as an insecure introvert, in contrast to the relatively bolder incarnations present in the 1988 film and the stage musical. Among many other elements changed or added to this version are the removal of Motormouth Maybelle's habit of constantly speaking in rhyming jive talk, and doubling the number of teens in Corny Collins' Council (from ten on Broadway to twenty in the 2007 film). Dixon restructured portions of Hairspray's book to allow several of the songs to blend more naturally into the plot, in particular "(You're) Timeless to Me" and "I Know Where I've Been". "(You're) Timeless to Me" becomes the anchor of a newly invented subplot involving Velma's attempt to break up Edna and Wilbur’s marriage and keep Tracy off The Corny Collins Show as a result. The song now serves as Wilbur's apology to Edna, in addition to its original purpose in the stage musical as a tongue-in-cheek declaration of Wilbur and Edna's love for each other. Meanwhile, "I Know Where I've Been", instead of being sung by Maybelle alone after being let out of jail, now underscores Maybelle's march on WYZT (which takes place in the stage musical only briefly during "Big, Blonde, and Beautiful"). The song "Big, Blonde, and Beautiful" was inspired by a line that Tracy delivered in the original film ("Now all of Baltimore will know: I'm big, blonde and beautiful!"), but in the stage version and in this film, Motormouth Maybelle performs the song. A reprise of the song was added to the 2007 film, which is sung by Edna and Velma. Pre-production and casting Hairspray was produced on a budget of $75 million. An open casting call was announced to cast unknowns in Atlanta, New York City, and Chicago. After auditioning over eleven hundred candidates, Nikki Blonsky, an eighteen-year-old high school senior from Great Neck, New York who had no previous professional acting experience, was chosen for the lead role of Tracy. Relative unknowns Elijah Kelley and Taylor Parks were chosen through similar audition contests to portray Seaweed and Little Inez, respectively. John Travolta was finally cast as Edna, with Christopher Walken ultimately assuming the role of Wilbur. Several other stars, including Queen Latifah, James Marsden, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Allison Janney were chosen for the other supporting adult roles of Motormouth Maybelle, Corny Collins, Velma Von Tussle, and Prudy Pingleton, respectively. Teen stars Amanda Bynes, and Zac Efron were cast as Tracy's friends Penny and Link, and Brittany Snow was cast as her rival Amber. Jerry Stiller, who played Wilbur Turnblad in the original film version of Hairspray, appears as Mr. Pinky in this version. Since Hairspray's plot focuses heavily on dance, choreography became a heavy focus for Shankman, who hired four assistant choreographers and put both his acting cast and over a hundred and fifty dancers through two months of rehearsals. The cast recorded the vocal tracks for their songs as coached by Elaine Overholt in the weeks just before principal photography began in September. Principal photography Principal photography on Hairspray took place in Toronto, and Hamilton, Ontario, Canada from September 5 to December 8, 2006. Hairspray is explicitly set in Baltimore, Maryland, USA, and the original 1988 film had been shot on location there, but the 2007 film was shot primarily in Toronto because the city was better equipped with the sound stages necessary to film a musical. The opening shots of the descent from the clouds and the newspaper being dropped onto the stoop are the only times that the actual city of Baltimore is shown in the film. The majority of the film was shot at Toronto's Showline Studios. Most of the street scenes were shot at the intersection of Dundas Street West and Roncesvalles Avenue. Some of the signs for the 1960s-era stores remain up along the street. Toronto's Lord Lansdowne Public School was used for all of the high school exteriors and some of the interiors, while the old Queen Victoria School in Hamilton was also used for interiors. Scenes at Queen Victoria were shot from November 22 to December 2, and the school was scheduled to be demolished after film production was completed. Thinner than most of the other men who have portrayed Edna, John Travolta appeared onscreen in a large fat suit, and required four hours of makeup in order to appear before the cameras. His character's nimble dancing style belies her girth; Shankman based Edna's dancing style on the hippo ballerinas in the Dance of the Hours sequence in Walt Disney's 1940 animated feature Fantasia. Although early versions of the suit created "a dumpy, Alfred Hitchcock version of Edna," Travolta fought for the ability to give his character curves and a thick Baltimore accent. Designed by Tony Gardner, the fat suit was created using lightweight synthetic materials, consisting of layered pads and silicone, which was used from the chest upwards. The suit provided the additional benefit of covering Travolta's beard, eliminating the problem of his facial hair growing through his makeup midday. Shankman's inspirations Shankman included "a lot of winks" to films that influenced his work on Hairspray: * The film's opening shot — a bird's eye view of Baltimore that eventually descends from the clouds to ground level — is a combination of the opening shots of West Side Story and The Sound of Music. * The dress that Penny wears during the "You Can't Stop the Beat" musical number is made from her bedroom curtains, which can be seen during "Without Love". This is an homage to The Sound of Music, where Maria uses old curtains to make play clothes for the von Trapp children. * Several scenes involving Tracy, such as her ride atop the garbage truck during the "Good Morning Baltimore" number and her new hairstyle during "Welcome to the 60's", are directly inspired by the Barbra Streisand musical film version of Funny Girl (1968). * During "Without Love", Link sings to a photograph of Tracy, which comes to life and sings harmony with him. This is directly inspired from the MGM musical The Broadway Melody of 1938, in which a young Judy Garland swoons over a photo of actor Clark Gable as she sings "You Made Me Love You". * During the song "The New Girl in Town", a group of backup singers (The Dynamites) can be heard singing "Look out, look out, look out, look out!" which is a line from Little Shop of Horrors, another musical set in that era. Musical numbers See also: Hairspray (2007 soundtrack) * "Good Morning Baltimore" – Tracy * "The Nicest Kids in Town" – Corny and Council Members * "It Takes Two" – Link (only coda used) * "(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs" – Velma and Council Members * "I Can Hear the Bells" – Tracy * "Ladies' Choice" – Link * "The Nicest Kids in Town (Reprise)" – Corny and Council Members * "The New Girl in Town" – Amber, Tammy, Shelley, and The Dynamites * "Welcome to the 60's" – Tracy, Edna, The Dynamites, and Hefty Hideaway Employees * "Run and Tell That" – Seaweed, Little Inez, and Detention Kids * "Big, Blonde, and Beautiful" – Motormouth * "Big, Blonde, and Beautiful (Reprise)" – Edna and Velma * "(You're) Timeless to Me" – Edna and Wilbur * "I Know Where I've Been" – Motormouth and Company * "I Can Wait" – Tracy (deleted song) * "Without Love" –Link, Tracy, Seaweed, and Penny * "(It's) Hairspray" –Corny and Council Members * "You Can't Stop the Beat" – Tracy, Link, Penny, Seaweed, Edna, Motormouth, and Company * "Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)" – Motormouth, Link, Tracy, and Seaweed (end credits) * "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now" – Ricki Lake, Marissa Jaret Winokur, and Nikki Blonsky (end credits) * "Cooties" – Aimee Allen (end credits) Song score production and changes Music producer/composer/co-lyricist Marc Shaiman and co-lyricist Scott Wittman were required to alter their Broadway Hairspray song score in various ways in order to work on film, from changing portions of the lyrics in some songs (e.g., "(The Legend of) Miss Baltimore Crabs", "Big, Blonde, and Beautiful", and "You Can't Stop the Beat") to more or less completely removing other songs from the film altogether. "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now", a popular number from the stage musical, features Tracy, Penny, and Amber arguing with their respective mothers. Neither Adam Shankman nor Leslie Dixon could come up with a solution for filming "Mama" that did not require a three-way split screen — something they wanted to avoid — and both felt the number did not adequately advance the plot. As a result, "Mama" was reluctantly dropped from the film during pre-production, although it is used by Shaiman as an instrumental number when the Corny Collins kids dance the "Stricken Chicken". A special version of "Mama" was recorded for the film's end credits in May 2007, during the final score recording process, which featured vocals from each of the three women most famous for portraying Tracy Turnblad: Ricki Lake from the 1988 film, Marissa Jaret Winokur from the original Broadway cast, and Nikki Blonsky from the 2007 film. Harvey Fierstein, who portrayed Edna as part of the original Broadway cast, has a brief cameo moment in the end credits version of "Mama" as well. "It Takes Two", a solo for Link, was moved from its place in the stage musical (on Tracy's first day on The Corny Collins Show) to an earlier Corny Collins scene, although only the coda of the song is used in the final release print, and the song's background music can be heard immediately after the reprise of "The Nicest Kids in Town". "Cooties", a solo for Amber in the stage musical, is present in this film as an instrumental during the Miss Teenage Hairspray dance-off. As with "Mama, I'm a Big Girl Now", a version of "Cooties", performed in a contemporary pop rendition by Aimee Allen, is present during the end credits. The performance of a vintage dance called The Madison, present in both the 1988 film and the stage musical, was replaced for this version by a newly composed song, "Ladies' Choice". Portions of the Madison dance steps were integrated into the choreography for the musical number "You Can't Stop the Beat", and the song the dance is performed to on Broadway can be heard faintly during Motormouth Maybelle's platter party in the film, re-titled "Boink-Boink". "The Big Dollhouse" was the only song from the musical not used in the film in any way. Shaiman and Wittman composed two new songs for the 2007 film: "Ladies' Choice", a solo for Link, and "Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)", a song performed during the end credits by Queen Latifah, Nikki Blonsky, Zac Efron, and Elijah Kelley. Another "new" song in the 2007 film, "The New Girl in Town", had originally been composed for the Broadway musical, but was deemed unnecessary and discarded from the musical. Director Adam Shankman decided to use the song to both underscore a rise-to-fame montage for Tracy and to showcase Maybelle's "Negro Day", which is never actually seen in either of the earlier incarnations of Hairspray. One additional Shaiman/Wittman song, a ballad entitled "I Can Wait", was composed for the film as a solo for Tracy, meant to replace the stage musical's reprise of "Good Morning Baltimore". "I Can Wait" was shot for the film (Tracy performs the number while locked in Prudy's basement), but was eventually deleted from the final release print. The audio recording of "I Can Wait" was made available as a special bonus track for customers who pre-ordered the Hairspray soundtrack on iTunes, and the scene itself was included as a special feature on the film's DVD release. Post-production took place in Los Angeles. Composer/co-lyricist Marc Shaiman continued work on the film's music, employing the Hollywood Symphony Orchestra to record instrumentation for both the songs and the incidental score. Release and reception Box office reception Hairspray debuted in 3,121 theaters in North America on July 20, 2007, the widest debut of any modern movie musical. The film earned $27,476,745 in its opening weekend, behind I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. This made Hairspray the record-holder for the biggest sales at opening weekend for a movie musical. This record was later broken by the release of Mamma Mia!, which grossed $27,605,000 on its opening weekend. Hairspray has since gone on to become the fourth highest grossing musical in U.S. cinema history, surpassing The Rocky Horror Picture Show ($112.8 million) and Dreamgirls ($103 million), released seven months prior. Ending its domestic run on October 25, 2007, Hairspray has a total domestic gross of $118,871,849 and $202,548,575 worldwide. Its biggest overseas markets include the United Kingdom ($25.8 million), Australia ($14.4 million), Japan ($8 million), Italy ($4.6 million), France ($3.9 million) and Spain ($3.8 million). This made Hairspray the third musical film in history to cross $200 million internationally, behind 1978's hit Grease ($395 million) and 2002's Chicago ($307 million). It is the seventh highest-grossing PG-rated film of 2007, and has grossed more than other higher-budgeted summer releases like Ocean's Thirteen ($117 million) and Evan Almighty ($100 million). Two weeks after its original release, new "sing-along" prints of Hairspray were shipped to theaters. These prints featured the lyrics to each song printed onscreen as subtitles, encouraging audiences to interact with the film. On January 4, 2008, Hairspray was re-released in New York and Los Angeles for one week because John Travolta was present for Q&A and autographs. Critical reviews Hairspray has garnered vastly positive reviews from film critics such as Roger Ebert, The New York Times, and The Boston Globe, as well as a smaller number of reviews comparing it unfavorably to the Waters original. The film is one of the top picks on Metacritic, with an average of 81%. It scored a 91% "Certified Fresh" approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, also indicating excellent reviews, making it one of 2007's best-reviewed films. Peter Rainer of The Christian Science Monitor named it the 4th best film of 2007. Lou Lumenick of the New York Post named it the ninth best film of 2007. Ebert gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4, saying that there was "a lot of craft and slyness lurking beneath the circa-1960s goofiness," also stating that "The point, however, is not the plot but the energy. Without somebody like Nikki Blonsky at the heart of the movie, it might fall flat, but everybody works at her level of happiness..." Ebert also noted that this film is "a little more innocent than Waters would have made it..." Krishna Shenoi, of the Shenoi Chronicle, called the movie "Shankman's masterpiece," saying that it moved away from his previous works into a different direction, making a light comedy that deals with serious issues maturely. Shenoi also said that the film was everything he wanted Grease (film) to be. Lou Lumenick of The New York Post hailed Hairspray as "The best and most entertaining movie adaptation of a stage musical so far this century — and yes, I’m including the Oscar-winning Chicago," calling it "one of the best-cast movies in recent memory..." New York Daily News critic Jack Matthews called the film "A great big sloppy kiss of entertainment for audiences weary of explosions, CGI effects and sequels, sequels, sequels." The Baltimore Sun review offered Michael Sragow's opinion that "in its entirety, Hairspray has the funny tilt that only a director-choreographer like Shankman can give to a movie," pointing out that Shankman skillfully "puts a new-millennial zing behind exact re-creations of delirious period dances like the Mashed Potato." Dana Stevens from Slate called Hairspray "intermittently tasty, if a little too frantically eager to please." Stevens noted that "Despite its wholesomeness, this version stays remarkably true to the spirit of the original, with one size-60 exception: John Travolta as Edna Turnblad," saying "How you feel about Hairspray will depend entirely on your reaction to this performance..." The New Yorker’s David Denby felt the new version of Hairspray was "perfectly pleasant," but compared unfavorably to the Broadway musical, since "[director Adam Shankman and screenwriter Leslie Dixon] have removed the traces of camp humor and Broadway blue that gave the stage show its happily knowing flavor." Denby criticized the dance numbers, calling them "unimaginatively shot," and he considered "the idea of substituting John Travolta for Harvey Fierstein as Tracy’s hefty mother... a blandly earnest betrayal." Stephanie Zacharek of Salon.com found Hairspray "reasonably entertaining. But do we really need to be entertained reasonably? Waters's original was a crazy sprawl that made perfect sense; this Hairspray toils needlessly to make sense of that craziness, and something gets lost in the translation." Zacharek was also displeased with the way Latifah's performance of "I Know Where I've Been" was incorporated into the movie, saying "The filmmakers may believe they're adding an extra layer of seriousness to the material... [but] the inclusion of this big production number only suggests that the filmmakers fear the audience won't get the movie's message unless it's spelled out for them." Washington Blade boycott controversy Although it was generally received well by both critics and the box office, Hairspray nonetheless garnered some criticism upon its release by individuals in the gay community. Much of this criticism surrounded Travolta's portrayal of Edna Turnblad, a role played in the original film by celebrated drag performer Divine, and in the stage adaptation by Harvey Fierstein. Kevin Naff, a managing editor for Washington, DC/Baltimore area online gay news site The Washington Blade called for a boycott of the new Hairspray film, alleging that Scientology, in which Travolta believes, was patently homophobic, and allegedly supported workshops designed to "cure" homosexuals. Adam Shankman protested Naff's proposed boycott, stating that Travolta was not homophobic, as he (Shankman), Waters, Shaiman, Wittman, and several other members of the creative staff were gay, and Travolta got along well with the entire crew. "John's personal beliefs did not walk onto my set," said Shankman. "I never heard the word 'Scientology.'" Home video and television Hairspray was released in standard DVD and high-definition Blu-ray Disc formats in Region 1 on November 20, 2007. The Blu-ray disc is encoded with 7.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio. The standard DVD was released in two versions: a one-disc release and a two-disc "Shake and Shimmy" edition. Bonus features on the two-disc release include two audio commentaries, a feature-length production documentary, featurettes on the earlier versions of Hairspray, dance instruction featurettes, deleted scenes including Tracy's deleted song "I Can Wait", and behind-the-scenes looks at the production of each of the film's dance numbers. The Blu-ray Disc release, a two-disc release, includes all of the features from the two-disc DVD, and includes a picture-in-picture behind-the-scenes feature, which runs concurrently with the film. An HD DVD version of the film was originally slated for release in 2008, but has since been canceled due to New Line Cinema's announcement that it would go Blu-ray exclusive with immediate effect, thus dropping HD DVD support. The USA Network has purchased the broadcast rights to Hairspray, and will debut the film on cable television in February 2010. Sky Movies Premiere UK have started showing the film on October 11, 2008. Sequel Due to Hairspray's financial success, New Line Cinema has asked John Waters to write a sequel to the film. Waters will reunite with director/choreographer Adam Shankman for the project, and songwriters Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman are set to compose the film's musical numbers. The story will likely pick up where the first film left off, and while no official casting has been announced, New Line has said that they hope to "snag much of the original Hairspray cast." The sequel is tentatively set for a mid-July 2010 release by Warner Bros. Awards Following is a list of awards that Hairspray or its cast have won or been nominated for. Wins * 2007 Hollywood Film Festival & Hollywood Awards o Hollywood Producers of the Year — Craig Zadan and Neil Meron o Hollywood Supporting Actor of the Year — John Travolta o Hollywood Ensemble Acting of the Year Award — Musical/Comedy * 13th Annual Critics' Choice Awards o Best Acting Ensemble o Best Young Actress - Nikki Blonsky * Billboard Year End Charts (2007) o #1 Top Independent Album of the Year - "Hairspray" Nominations * 65th Golden Globe Awards o Best Motion Picture, Musical or Comedy o Best Actress, Musical or Comedy — Nikki Blonsky o Best Supporting Actor — John Travolta * 2008 Grammy Awards o Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media * 13th Annual Critics' Choice Awards o Best Comedy Movie o Best Family Film o Best Song "Come So Far (Got So Far to Go)" Discuss. -----signature----- Chief of Staff - The SWC Rebel Scum
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path-seeker Title: Mafia and Scrabble Host Registered: May '08	Date Posted: 11/17/08 9:39am Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Hairspray" (2007)
	Good movie - upbeat, perky, and a good historical context. I was very impressed with Nikki Blonsky in the lead role. Jon Travolta as her mother, on the other hand, I didn't appreciate at all. I understand why that role is given to a man, but he wouldn't have been my first pick.
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RX_Sith Title: C&G Game Host Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 11/22/08 8:59am Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Sweeney Todd" (2007) - Date Edited: 11/22/08 9:00am (1 edits total) Edited By: RX_Sith
	Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007). (from wiki) Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 2007 musical-thriller and the film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler's award-winning 1979 stage musical. It re-tells the Victorian melodramatic tale of Sweeney Todd, a fictitious English barber who, driven insane by the loss of his wife and daughter, murders his customers with a cut-throat razor, and with the help of his accomplice, Mrs. Lovett, turns their remains into meat pies. Having been struck by the cinematic qualities of Sondheim's musical while still a student, director Tim Burton had entertained the notion of a film version since the early 1980s. However, it was not until 2006 that he had the opportunity to realize this ambition, when DreamWorks announced his appointment as replacement for director Sam Mendes, who had been working on such an adaptation. Sondheim, although not directly involved, was extensively consulted during the film's production. It stars Johnny Depp as Sweeney Todd and Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Nellie Lovett. Depp, not known for his singing, took lessons in preparation for his role, which producer Richard D. Zanuck acknowledged was something of a gamble. However, Depp's vocal performance, despite being criticized as lacking certain musical qualities, was generally thought by critics to suit the part. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was released in the United States on December 21, 2007, and in the United Kingdom on January 25, 2008, to largely enthusiastic reviews. However, Warner Bros.'s decision not to advertise the film as a musical led to complaints from some cinema-goers, who felt they had been deliberately misled. The film won a number of awards, including the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy, and the Academy Award for Best Art Direction. Although not an outstanding financial success in the United States, barely covering its $50 million budget, it performed well worldwide, and has spawned a soundtrack album and various DVD releases. The film received a "Restricted" rating from the MPAA for "graphic bloody violence". Plot Benjamin Barker (Johnny Depp), a skilled barber, is falsely charged and sentenced to a life of hard labor in Australia by the corrupt Judge Turpin (Alan Rickman), who lusts after Barker's wife Lucy (Laura Michelle Kelly). Fifteen years later, under the assumed name "Sweeney Todd", Barker returns to London with sailor Anthony Hope (Jamie Campbell Bower). At his old Fleet Street lodgings above Mrs. Nellie Lovett's (Helena Bonham Carter) pie shop, he discovers that Lucy, having been raped by Turpin, has poisoned herself, and his teenage daughter Johanna (Jayne Wisener) is now Turpin's ward, and like her mother before her, is the object of his unwanted affections. Todd vows revenge, reopening his barber shop in the upstairs flat. While roaming London, Todd's shipmate Anthony spots Johanna and falls in love with her, but is ejected from the Judge's house by a disapproving Turpin and his associate, Beadle Bamford (Timothy Spall). Far from being discouraged, the sailor becomes determined that the pair will elope. Meanwhile Todd, during a visit to the marketplace, denounces a fraudulent hair tonic by faux-Italian barber Adolfo Pirelli (Sacha Baron Cohen), and later humiliates him in a public shaving contest. Pirelli and his boy assistant Toby (Ed Sanders) visit Todd's barbershop; Lovett keeps Toby occupied downstairs, while in the parlor Pirelli reveals himself to be Todd's former assistant and attempts to blackmail him. To protect the secret of his true identity, Todd murders Pirelli. Judge Turpin, intending to propose to Johanna, pays a visit to Todd's parlor for grooming. Recognizing his tormentor, Todd relaxes the judge while preparing to slit his throat. Before he can do so, they are interrupted by Anthony, who, unaware of Turpin's presence, bursts in and reveals his plan to elope with Johanna. Turpin leaves enraged, vowing to never return. Infuriated at being thwarted, Todd has an epiphany, and decides to vent his murderous rage upon his customers while waiting for another chance to kill Turpin. Lovett becomes his willing accomplice, suggesting they dispose of the bodies by baking them into pies to improve her business. Todd enthusiastically agrees, and rigs his barber's chair with a pedal-operated mechanism, which deposits his victims through a trapdoor into Lovett's bakehouse. As the weeks pass, Todd's murders accumulate and Anthony begins to search for Johanna, who was sent by Turpin to Fogg's insane asylum as punishment for her refusal to marry him. The barbering and pie-making business prospers financially, and Lovett takes in young Toby. Anthony finally discovers Johanna's whereabouts, and following Todd's plan, poses as a wig-maker's apprentice, allowing him access to the asylum to put a rescue plan into action. Todd's motive for assisting is to lure Turpin back to the barber shop, and he sends Toby to the courthouse to let the judge know where he will find Johanna. Toby has become wary of Todd, and when he returns he tells Lovett of his distrust, unaware of her complicity in his activities. He promises to protect her, and Mrs. Lovett returns this promise. Beadle Bamford arrives at the barber shop and is murdered by Todd, and Lovett informs Todd of Toby's suspicions. The pair search for Toby, whom Lovett has locked in the basement bakehouse to keep him out of the way. He is nowhere to be found, having hidden in the sewers after seeing the Beadle's body drop into the room from the trapdoor above. Meanwhile, Anthony brings a disguised Johanna to the shop, where she hides herself in a trunk in a corner of the room. A disfigured beggar woman, who has been pestering Todd, Lovett, and Anthony throughout the film, now makes her way into the shop. Todd kills her moments before Turpin arrives, then finally gets his revenge upon the corrupt Judge. As Johanna peeks out of the trunk she is hiding in, Todd spots her and prepares to slit her throat as well, not recognizing her as his daughter. A scream from Lovett diverts him to the basement, where she tells him that Turpin had still been alive and tried to grab at her dress before bleeding to death. Viewing the corpses in the light of the bakehouse fire, Todd discovers that the beggar woman was his wife, Lucy, whom he had believed to be dead based on Lovett's account of the poisoning. Todd realizes that Lovett knew Lucy was alive, and she confesses that she only lied because she loved him and wanted him to marry her instead of Lucy. Todd begins to waltz maniacally with her around the bakehouse before hurling her into the open oven, where he watches Mrs. Lovett burn to death. He returns to Lucy and cradles her dead body as an enraged Toby emerges from the sewer and picks up Todd's discarded razor. Todd, now wishing to die, silently offers his own neck to the boy, and Toby slits Todd's throat. The movie ends with Todd bleeding over his dead wife, and Toby walking away. Cast Johnny Depp as Benjamin Barker / Sweeney Todd, a barber who slits the throats of his customers after being driven mad by the loss of his wife and daughter. Depp first learned of Sweeney Todd in 2000, when Burton gave him an original cast recording of the 1979 stage musical. Although not a fan of the genre, Depp grew to like the tale's musical treatment, saying "How many chances do you get at a musical about a serial killer?" He cited Peter Lorre in Mad Love (1935) as his main influence for the role, and practiced the songs his character would perform while filming Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. Although he had performed in musical groups, Depp was initially unsure that he would be able to sustain Stephen Sondheim's lyrics. He appreciated that there were "a lot of half-steps... kind of go G to A-flat to A to B-flat. It's super, ultra complicated; these notes that shouldn't work together at times." Depp recorded demos of himself in West Hollywood, working with Bruce Witkin to shape his vocals without a qualified voice coach. Producer Richard Zanuck acknowledged the risk he was taking with Depp, admitting it was "millions of dollars committed on an assumption. [But] we all said to one another, 'Johnny is a smart guy. He would never put himself in this position if he didn't think he could do it." Sondheim supported the casting decision, saying, "I figured he'd have a light baritone... I love him as an actor, and always have. Put those things together, I didn't hesitate for one second." He told Depp that his performance would be more about acting than singing, although much of Sweeney Todd's dialogue was eventually cut. According to Depp, "We focused on the dangerous and unsettling idea of stillness, that he doesn’t look many people in the eye, or say much"—an idea Burton compared to Boris Karloff and other actors in classic horror films, where "his eyes and the music [...] tell the story." Depp decided on a punk rock approach to his performance, citing inspiration from Anthony Newley and Iggy Pop, whom he called a "very aggressive crooner". Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Lovett, Todd's accomplice, who bakes the corpses of his victims into pies. Bonham Carter was cast in the role, which she had wanted since childhood, by Stephen Sondheim, and was eager to prove there was no nepotism in her starring in the film. She spent three months while pregnant during the production of the film being trained to sing by Ian Adam, and Sondheim viewed around twelve of her audition tapes, saying "Even in a recording studio, wearing a schmatte, she is as beautiful and sexy as they come." Bonham Carter also spent many hours practising pie baking, commenting "you had to do it to syncopated Sondheim rhythm and sing at the same time." The character of Mrs. Lovett often sings while performing other activities, a behavior which Bonham Carter dubbed "the Olympics of multi-tasking". She was given some of the most difficult songs in the film, one such being "By the Sea". Bonham Carter recalls reading about Angela Lansbury (the original Mrs. Lovett) consulting Sondheim on where to breathe in the score; Sondheim replied that he hadn't written any room to breathe, and that you just don't. Alan Rickman as Judge Turpin, an evil judge who locked away Todd, raped his wife, and adopted his baby daughter Johanna as his "ward", intending to marry her when she was older. Rickman said, "The music is sort of constant, and it slips in and out of speech and song. Because it's in real rooms and real spaces, the move from speaking into singing becomes much more organic." Timothy Spall as Beadle Bamford, Turpin's personal assistant. Sacha Baron Cohen as Davey Collins/Signor Adolfo Pirelli, Todd's disguised rival and former assistant. For his audition, Baron Cohen sang songs from Fiddler on the Roof; Burton commented, "I wish we had a camera, because he literally went through the whole score". Laura Michelle Kelly as Lucy Barker/Beggar Woman, Todd's wife. Jayne Wisener as Johanna Barker, Todd's daughter and the ward of Judge Turpin. Jamie Campbell Bower as Anthony Hope, a sailor who befriends Todd and falls for Johanna. Ed Sanders as Tobias "Toby" Ragg, Pirelli's gin-loving young assistant who later joins Todd and Lovett. He spent his early years in a workhouse before being taken in by Pirelli. Production Development Tim Burton first saw Stephen Sondheim's 1979 stage musical, Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street, as a CalArts student in London in 1980. Although not a fan of the musical genre, Burton was struck by how cinematic the musical was, and repeatedly attended subsequent performances. He described it as a silent film with music, and was "dazzled both by the music and its sense of the macabre." When his directing career took off in the late 1980s, Burton approached Sondheim with a view to making a cinematic adaptation, but nothing came of it. In Sondheim's words, "[Burton] went off and did other things." Meanwhile, director Sam Mendes had been working on a film version of the story for several years, and in June 2003 Sondheim was approached to write the script. Although he turned down the offer, Mendes and producer Walter Parkes obtained his approval to use writer John Logan instead. Logan had previously collaborated with Parkes on Gladiator, and claimed his biggest challenge in adapting the Sondheim stageplay "was taking a sprawling, magnificent Broadway musical and making it cinematic, and an emotionally honest film. Onstage, you can have a chorus sing as the people of London, but I think that would be alienating in a movie." Mendes left to direct the 2005 film Jarhead, and Burton leaped at taking over the direction after his project, Ripley's Believe It or Not!, fell apart due to its excessive budget. DreamWorks announced Burton's appointment in August 2006, and Johnny Depp was cast as Todd. On Burton's hiring, he and Logan reworked the screenplay; Logan felt they agreed over the film's tone due to "share[d] stunted childhoods watching Amicus movies". Turning a 3-hour stage musical into a 2-hour film required some changes. Some songs were shortened, while others were completely removed. Christopher Lee, Peter Bowles, Anthony Stewart Head, and five other actors were set to play the ghost narrators, but their roles were cut. According to Lee, these elisions were due to time constraints caused by a break in filming during March 2007, while Depp's daughter recovered from an illness. Burton and Logan also reduced the prominence of other secondary elements, such as the romance between Todd's daughter Johanna and Anthony, to allow them to focus on the triangular relationship between Todd, Mrs. Lovett, and Toby. Filming Filming began on February 5, 2007 at Pinewood Studios, and was completed by May 11, despite a brief interruption when Depp's daughter was taken seriously ill. Burton opted to film in London, where he had felt "very much at home" since his work on Batman in 1989. Production designer Dante Ferretti created a darker, more frightening London by adapting Fleet Street and its surrounding area. Burton initially planned to use minimal sets and film in front of a green screen, but decided against it, stating that physical sets helped actors get into a musical frame of mind: "Just having people singing in front of a green screen seemed more disconnected". Depp created his own image of Todd. Heavy purple and brown make-up was applied around his eyes to suggest fatigue and rage, as if "he's never slept". Burton insisted that the film be bloody, as he felt stage versions of the play which cut back on the bloodshed robbed it of its power. For him, "everything is so internal with Sweeney that [the blood] is like his emotional release. It's more about catharsis than it is a literal thing." Producer Richard D. Zanuck said that "[Burton] had a very clear plan that he wanted to lift that up into a surreal, almost Kill Bill kind of stylization. We had done tests and experiments with the neck slashing, with the blood popping out. I remember saying to Tim, 'My god, do we dare do this?'" On set, the fake blood was colored orange to render correctly on the desaturated color film used, and crew members wore bin liners to avoid getting stained while filming. This macabre tone made some studios nervous, and it was not until Warner Bros., DreamWorks and Paramount had signed up for the project that the film's $50 million budget was covered. Burton said "the studio was cool about it and they accepted it because they knew what the show was. Any movie is a risk, but it is nice to be able to do something like that that doesn't fit into the musical or slasher movie categories." Music Sweeney Todd has joined Ed Wood to become only the second film in Burton's career with music not composed by Danny Elfman. Burton wanted to avoid the traditional approach of patches of dialogue interrupted by song. He cut the show's famous opening number, "The Ballad of Sweeney Todd", explaining, "Why have a chorus singing about 'attending the tale of Sweeney Todd' when you could just go ahead and attend it?" Sondheim acknowledged that, in adapting a musical to film, the plot has to be kept moving, and was sent MP3 files of his shortened songs by Mike Higham, the film's music producer, for approval. Several other songs were also cut, and Sondheim noted that there were "many changes, additions and deletions... [though]... if you just go along with it, I think you'll have a spectacular time." To create a larger, more cinematic feel, the score was reorchestrated by the stage musical's original orchestrator, Jonathan Tunick, who increased the orchestra from twenty-seven musicians to seventy-eight. The Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street Deluxe Complete Edition soundtrack was released on December 18 2007. Johnny Depp's singing was described by a New York Times reviewer as "harsh and thin, but amazingly forceful". Another critic adds that, though Depp's voice "does not have much heft or power", "his ear is obviously excellent, because his pitch is dead-on accurate... Beyond his good pitch and phrasing, the expressive colorings of his singing are crucial to the portrayal. Beneath this Sweeney’s vacant, sullen exterior is a man consumed with a murderous rage that threatens to burst forth every time he slowly takes a breath and is poised to speak. Yet when he sings, his voice crackles and breaks with sadness." Track listing All music and lyrics written by Stephen Sondheim 1. "Opening Title" - 3:30 2. "No Place Like London" - Jamie Campbell Bower and Johnny Depp - 5:31 3. "The Worst Pies in London" - Helena Bonham Carter - 2:23 4. "Poor Thing" - Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp - 3:09 5. "My Friends" - Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter - 3:48 6. "Green Finch and Linnett Bird" - Jayne Wisener - 2:16 7. "Alms! Alms!" - Laura Michelle Kelly and Jamie Campbell Bower - 1:16 * * 8. "Johanna" - Jamie Campbell Bower - 1:57 9. "Pirelli's Miracle Elixir" - Edward Sanders, Johnny Depp, and Helena Bonham Carter - 2:00 10. "The Contest" - Sacha Baron Cohen, Johnny Depp, and Timothy Spall - 3:39 11. "Wait" - Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp - 2:38 12. "Ladies in Their Sensitivities" - Timothy Spall and Alan Rickman - 1:23 * 13. "Pretty Women" - Alan Rickman and Johnny Depp - 4:27 14. "Epiphany" - Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, and Jamie Campbell Bower - 3:16 15. "A Little Priest" - Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp - 5:15 16. "Johanna" (Reprise) - Jamie Campbell Bower, Johnny Depp, and Laura Michelle Kelly - 5:42 17. "God, That's Good!" - Edward Sanders and Helena Bonham Carter - 2:46 18. "By the Sea" - Helena Bonham Carter and Johnny Depp - 2:19 19. "Not While I'm Around" - Edward Sanders and Helena Bonham Carter - 4:11 ** 20. "Final Scene" - Helena Bonham Carter, Johnny Depp, Laura Michelle Kelly, Alan Rickman, Jamie Campbell Bower, and Jayne Wisener - 10:21 * *** * Missing from the Highlights version of the soundtrack. Tracks that are significantly longer than their Highlights counterparts. * Song is either written specially or adapted for the film. Release Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street officially opened at the US box office on December 21, 2007 in 1,249 theaters, and took $9,300,805 in its opening weekend. Worldwide releases followed during January and February 2008, with the film performing well in the United Kingdom and Japan. Sweeney Todd grossed $52.9 million in the United States and Canada, and $99.62 million in other markets, accumulating a worldwide total of $152.52 million. In the United States, the Marcus Theaters Corporation was not initially planning to screen the movie after its premiere, because it was unable to reach a pricing agreement with Paramount. However, the dispute was resolved in time for the official release. Critical reception Although Stephen Sondheim was cautious of a cinematic adaptation of his musical, he was largely impressed by the results. Public reaction was very favourable—as of September 16, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reports that 86% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 192 reviews, and Metacritic gave the film an average score of 83 out of 100, based on 39 reviews. Sweeney Todd appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2007. Of the reviewers, Time magazine rated it an A-minus and added, "Burton and Depp infuse the brilliant cold steel of Stephen Sondheim's score with a burning passion. Helena Bonham Carter and a superb supporting cast bring focused fury to this musical nightmare. It's bloody great." Time's Richard Corliss named the film one of its top ten movies of 2007, placing it fifth. Roger Ebert, of the Chicago Sun-Times, gave it four stars out of four, lauding Burton's visual style. In his review in Variety, Todd McCarthy called it "both sharp and fleet" and "a satisfying screen version of Stephen Sondheim's landmark 1979 theatrical musical ... things have turned out uniformly right thanks to highly focused direction by Tim Burton, expert screw-tightening by scenarist John Logan, and haunted and musically adept lead performances from Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter. Assembled artistic combo assures the film will reap by far the biggest audience to see a pure Sondheim musical, although just how big depends on the upscale crowd’s tolerance for buckets of blood, and the degree to which the masses stay away due to the whiff of the highbrow." Lisa Schwarzbaum of Entertainment Weekly gave the film a B-plus on the Movie Reviews section and stated, "To stage a proper Sweeney Todd, necks must be slit, human flesh must be squished into pastries, and blood ought to spurt in fountains and rivers of death. Enter Tim Burton, who ... has tenderly art-directed soup-thick, tomato-red, fake-gore blood with the zest of a Hollywood-funded Jackson Pollock." She went on to refer to the piece as "opulent, attentive ... so finely minced a mixture of Sondheim's original melodrama and Burton's signature spicing that it's difficult to think of any other filmmaker so naturally suited for the job." On the DVD Reviews section, EW's Chris Nashawaty gave the film an A-minus, stating, "Depp's soaring voice makes you wonder what other tricks he's been hiding... Watching Depp's barber wield his razors... it's hard not to be reminded of Edward Scissorhands frantically shaping hedges into animal topiaries 18 years ago... and all of the twisted beauty we would've missed out on had [Burton and Depp] never met." In Rolling Stone, Peter Travers awarded it 3½ out of 4 stars and added, "Sweeney Todd is a thriller-diller from start to finish: scary, monstrously funny and melodically thrilling ... [the film] is a bloody wonder, intimate and epic, horrific and heart-rending as it flies on the wings of Sondheim's most thunderously exciting score." As with Time, the critic ranked it fifth on his list of the best movies of 2007. Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter said, "The blood juxtaposed to the music is highly unsettling. It runs contrary to expectations. Burton pushes this gore into his audiences' faces so as to feel the madness and the destructive fury of Sweeney's obsession. Teaming with Depp, his long-time alter ego, Burton makes Sweeney a smoldering dark pit of fury and hate that consumes itself. With his sturdy acting and surprisingly good voice, Depp is a Sweeney Todd for the ages." Harry Knowles gave the film a highly positive review, calling it Burton's best film since Ed Wood, his favorite Burton film, and said it was possibly superior. He praised all of the cast and the cinematography, but noted it would probably not appeal to non-musical fans due to the dominance of music in the film. Not every review was laudatory. Cole Haddon of film.com was critical of Depp's and Bonham Carter's singing voices and the use of CGI. Acknowledging his stance, Haddon stated that his unfavorable review of the film was "contrary to everything you’ve read elsewhere", as well as saying that "I stand alone against the masses," highlighting the enormous critical acclaim the film had received. Marketing The film's marketing has been criticized for not advertising it as a musical. Michael Halberstam of the Writers' Theatre said, "By de-emphasizing the score to the extent they did in the trailer, it is possible the producers were condescending to us - a tactic which cannot ultimately end in anything but tears." In the UK, a number of audience members walked out of the film on realizing it was a musical, and complaints that advertisements for the film were deliberately misleading were made to both the Advertising Standards Authority and Trading Standards agency. The studios involved opted for a low-key approach to their marketing. Producer Walter Parkes stated, "All these things that could be described as difficulties could also be the movie's greatest strengths." Warner Bros. felt it should take a similar approach to marketing as with The Departed, with little early exposure and discouraging talk of awards. Awards and nominations Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street received four Golden Globe nominations for the January 2008 65th Golden Globe Awards, winning two. The film received the award for Best Motion Picture in the Musical or Comedy genre, and Johnny Depp for his performance as Sweeney Todd. Tim Burton was nominated for Best Director, and Helena Bonham Carter was nominated for her performance as Mrs. Lovett. The film has been included in the National Board of Review of Motion Pictures's top ten films of 2007, and Burton was presented with their award for Best Director. The film was also nominated for two BAFTA awards, in the categories of Costume Design and Make Up and Hair. Sweeney Todd further received three Academy Award nominations: Best Actor in a Leading Role for Depp; Best Achievement in Costume Design; and Best Achievement in Art Direction, which it won. Depp won the award for Best Villain at the 2008 MTV Movie Awards. He thanked his fans for "sticking with me on this very obtuse and strange road." He also won the Choice Movie Villain award at the Teen Choice Awards; and at Spike TV's 2008 Scream Awards (filmed on October 18, 2008, and aired three days later), the film won two awards: Best Horror Movie, and Best Actor in a Horror Movie or TV Show (Depp). DVD/Blu-ray release Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street was released on DVD in North America on April 1, 2008, and the UK on May 19. A Blu-ray Disc version of the film is readily available in Australia, although it was announced on June 25 that the film would be delayed until October 21 for release in North America. [52] An HD DVD release was announced for the same date, but due to the discontinuation of the format, Paramount has since canceled this version in preference for international distribution of the Blu-ray release. Discuss. -----signature----- Chief of Staff - The SWC Rebel Scum
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 11/22/08 7:15pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (2007)
	It's a very striking film, though IMO Bonham-Carter should have been dubbed. She acts her part very well and is generally well-cast, but she can't sing, and her voice is so slight, that we kept losing the brilliant lyrics. Depp, OTOH, has a very good voice, if not quite what the role requires. Beautifully designed, too.
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RX_Sith Title: C&G Game Host Registered: Mar '06	Date Posted: 11/28/08 5:29am Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Mamma Mia!: The Movie" (2008)
	Mamma Mia!: The Movie (2008). (from wiki) Mamma Mia! The Movie Is a 2008 stage-to-film adaptation of the 1999 West End musical of the same name, based on the songs of successful pop group ABBA, with additional music also composed by ABBA member Benny Andersson. The film did very well at the box office and is the most successful Hollywood film musical of all time. Like the stage musical, the film's title originates from the group's 1975 chart-topper Mamma Mia. It was produced by Universal Pictures in partnership with Playtone and Littlestar. Meryl Streep heads the cast of the film, playing the role of single mother Donna Sheridan. Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, and Stellan Skarsgård play the three potential fathers to Donna's daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried). On August 29, 2008, Mamma Mia!: The Sing-Along Edition, with lyrics to the songs highlighted on the screen, was released in select theaters. Plot The film takes place on the enchanting Greek island of Skopelos (Kalokairi). The story begins at the remote Aegean island hotel, Villa Donna, run by Donna Sheridan (Meryl Streep), her daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) and Sophie's fiancé Sky (Dominic Cooper). Prior to her forthcoming marriage, Sophie nervously posts three wedding invitations ("I Have a Dream") to three different men, one of whom she believes may be her father. From three cities across the globe, three men set off to return to the island, and the woman that had enchanted each of them 20 years earlier. Back on that island, Donna is rousing her staff for the frenetic day ahead as Sophie's bridesmaids and best friends Ali and Lisa (Ashley Lilley and Rachel McDowall) arrive and she shares with her best mates a scandalous secret: Sophie has found her mother's diary and learned she has three possible dads; American businessman Sam Carmichael (Pierce Brosnan), Swedish adventurer Bill Anderson (Stellan Skarsgard), and British banker Harry Bright (Colin Firth). Without telling her mother, she has invited all three to her wedding ("Honey, Honey"), believing that after she spends time with them, she will at last know who her real father is. Meanwhile, back on the Greek mainland, Sam, Bill and Harry; strangers until today have met at the harbour. Fortuitously, Sam and Harry have missed the ferry to Skopelos (Kalokairi), and Bill offers them a lift on his yacht to reconnect with the woman who broke all their hearts 20 years ago. Back on Skopelos, Donna is ecstatic to reunite with old friends and former "Donna and The Dynamos" bandmates, wisecracking author Rosie (Julie Walters) and wealthy multiple divorcee Tanya (Christine Baranski), and reveals her mystification at her daughter's desire for a traditional wedding or any wedding at all. At the Villa, Sophie introduces Tanya and Rosie to true love Sky, and tells them about their idea of designing a website to attract tourists to the island. Donna explains her precarious finances ("Money, Money, Money") to her girlfriends as she takes them on a tour of the Villa. Hounded by her creditors, Donna dreams of a "rich man's world," sunbathing on a yacht and being deliciously pampered. She is brought back to reality as an ominous crack appears in the courtyard. The three men arrive, and Sophie smuggles them to their quarters and sheepishly explains that she, not her mother, sent the invitations. She begs the men to hide so Donna will have a fantastic surprise at the wedding; seeing the old friends of whom she "so often" favorably speaks. They overhear Donna working (humming "Fernando" to herself) in the storeroom below preparing to fix the crack and the men swear to Sophie they will not reveal her secret. Sophie leaves by the window just in the nick of time, as Donna peeps through the trapdoor. She is dumbfounded to find herself face to face with the three former lovers she could never forget ("Mamma Mia!"), while the men clumsily make up excuses for their presence. Donna is adamant; they simply cannot stay. Visibly shaken, she confides in Tanya and Rosie ("Chiquitita") a secret she has kept from everyone - she is uncertain which of the three men is actually Sophie's father. No matter, as Tanya and Rosie rally her spirits by getting Donna to join in with the female staff and islanders accompanying a musical number intended to make her forget her woes. Donna and The Dynamos reclaim their glory days and champion the women of the island in a call to liberation ("Dancing Queen"). Sophie finds the men aboard Bill's yacht, and they take a trip around the gorgeous island of Skopelos ("Our Last Summer") and tell her stories of Donna as a carefree girl. Upon their return, Sophie musters up the courage to speak with Sky about her ploy, but loses her nerve. Sky and Sophie sing passionately to each other ("Lay All Your Love on Me"), but are interrupted by the bachelor party that has descended upon Sky to kidnap him for his last night of freedom. At Sophie's bachelorette party, Donna, Tanya, and Rosie perform in a surprise one-night-only event as Donna and The Dynamos ("Super Trouper"). Sophie is delighted to see her mother rock out, but becomes nervous when the festivities are interrupted by the arrival of Sam, Bill and Harry. She decides to get each of her three prospective dads alone to talk. The young bride uses the confusion of her amorous girlfriends' dancing with the men ("Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)") to speak with Sam about his love for Donna. Next, she's on to Harry about his desire, if any, for children. Finally, Bill reveals that the old woman who gave Donna the money to invest in her Villa was his Great Aunt Sofia, and Sophie guesses she must be her namesake. That's it! Bill must be her father! Sophie asks him to give her away and to keep their secret from Donna until the wedding. Over the moon, Sophie returns to the party. But her happiness is short-lived as Sam and Harry each tell her they must be her dad and will give her away ("Voulez-Vous"). A shocked Sophie can't tell them the truth and, overwhelmed by the consequences of her action, faints on the dance floor. In the morning, Rosie and Tanya reassure a frantic Donna they will take care of the men. Donna confronts Sophie in the courtyard, mistakenly believing Sophie wants the wedding stopped. Sophie angrily says that all she wants is to avoid her mother's mistakes and storms off. An upset Donna is accosted by Sam, full of fatherly concern at Sophie getting married so young. Donna dresses him down, and both realize they still have feelings for each other ("SOS"). Meanwhile, on Bill's boat, Bill and Harry are about to confide in each other, but are interrupted by Rosie who is startled to find Bill, naked, making breakfast. Similarly, pulses are racing down on the sandy beaches as Tanya and young Pepper (Philip Michael) continue their May-December flirtations from the previous night ("Does Your Mother Know"). With her plans falling apart and wedding in jeopardy, Sophie knows it is time to come clean to Sky and ask for his help. He reacts angrily to his fiancée's deception and Sophie must turn to her mother for support. As Donna helps her daughter dress for their wedding, the rift is quickly healed and Donna reminisces about Sophie's childhood and how quickly she's grown ("Slipping Through My Fingers"). Then and there, Sophie decides the only parent she's ever known is the only one who should give her away. As the staff and bridesmaids accompany Donna and Sophie to the chapel, Sam lies in nervous wait. Donna waves the wedding party on, and he begs Donna to talk. She cuts him short, however, revealing the deep pain she felt over losing him ("The Winner Takes It All"). After the ceremony begins, Donna can hold her tongue no more. She confesses to Sophie that her father is present but he could be Sam, Bill or Harry. Sophie, in a shocker of her own, admits she invited them. The three men concur that they would be quite happy to be one-third of a father for such a girl. The surprises keep coming when Sophie tells Sky they should postpone their wedding and travel the world, as they have always wanted. It appears that preparations have been in vain until Sam steps in with the final curveball: he proposes to Donna. She accepts ("I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do"); Sam and Donna then go through an impromptu ceremony, surrounded by the churchful of guests. At the wedding reception, Sam sings to Donna, who he has loved for 21 years ("When All Is Said and Done" [in the film only, not the musical]), which prompts Rosie to make a coy play for Bill ("Take a Chance on Me"). All the couples present proclaim their love and, magically, water from Aphrodite's fountain of love bursts through the crack in the courtyard at Villa Donna ("Mamma Mia!"). The story concludes as Sophie and Sky bid farewell to Skopelos island and sail away to a new life together ("I Have a Dream"), one full of hope and promise. Donna, Tanya, and Rosie reprise "Dancing Queen" during the first part of the credits, then launch into "Waterloo" with the rest of the cast. Finally, Amanda Seyfried sings "Thank You for the Music". Cast * Meryl Streep as Donna Sheridan, Sophie's mother, owner of the hotel "Villa Donna." * Amanda Seyfried as Sophie Sheridan, Donna's daughter and Sky's fiancée. * Julie Walters as Rosie, one of Donna's best friends, an unmarried fun-loving author. * Christine Baranski as Tanya, one of Donna's best friends, a rich three-time divorcée. * Pierce Brosnan as Sam Carmichael, Sophie's possible dad #1 and an American architect. * Colin Firth as Harry Bright, Sophie's possible dad #2 and a British banker. * Stellan Skarsgård as Bill Anderson, Sophie's possible dad #3, a Swedish sailor and travel writer. * Dominic Cooper as Sky, Sophie's fiancé, designing a website for the hotel. * Philip Michael as Pepper, Sky's best man who likes Tanya * Ashley Lilley as Ali, a close friend of Sophie. * Rachel McDowall as Lisa, a close friend of Sophie. * Benny Andersson (cameo) as Piano player during "Dancing Queen" * Björn Ulvaeus (cameo) as Greek god * Rita Wilson (cameo) as Greek goddess * Other production crew members (cameo) as Greek gods and goddesses Musical numbers See also: Mamma Mia! The Movie Soundtrack Featuring the Songs of ABBA The following songs were included in the soundtrack of the film, but only 17 are on the soundtrack album (omits "Chiquitita" as well as "Waterloo" and "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do"): 1. "I Have a Dream" - Sophie 2. "Honey, Honey" - Sophie, Ali, and Lisa 3. "Money, Money, Money" - Donna, Tanya, Rosie, Greek Chorus and Full Cast 4. "Mamma Mia!" - Donna 5. "Chiquitita" - Tanya, Rosie and Donna 6. "Dancing Queen" - Donna, Tanya, Rosie and Greek Chorus 7. "Our Last Summer" - Sophie, Sam, Harry, and Bill 8. "Lay All Your Love on Me" - Sky and Sophie 9. "Super Trouper" - Donna, Tanya, and Rosie 10. "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" - Donna, Tanya, Rosie and Cast 11. "The Name of the Game" - Sophie and Bill 12. "Voulez-Vous" - Cast 13. "SOS" - Sam and Donna 14. "Does Your Mother Know" - full cast: Tanya, Pepper, and the Guys 15. "Slipping Through My Fingers" - Donna and Sophie 16. "The Winner Takes It All" - Donna and Sam 17. "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" - Donna, Sam, and Company 18. "When All is Said and Done" - Sam, Company and Greek Chorus 19. "Take a Chance on Me" - Rosie, Bill, Harry, Sam and Greek Chorus 20. "Mamma Mia" (Reprise) - Cast 21. "I Have a Dream" (Reprise) - Cast 22. "Dancing Queen" (Reprise) - Cast 23. "Waterloo" - Cast 24. "Thank You for the Music" - Sophie, Sam, Harry and Bill The soundtrack album was released July 8, 2008 by Decca. Because the film is based on a stage musical, the songs are new renditions, not performances by the ABBA group. Many of the songs have been changed, with some words changed to better fit the plot, or have sections spoken as dialogue, or were rearranged for orchestral backup, with guitar and Greek bouzouki (as in the final performance of "I Have a Dream"). "Thank You for the Music" is also placed during the closing credits. "Under Attack" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You" appear in the film as instrumentals during scene activity, and the wedding march is a version of "Knowing Me, Knowing You" performed by a brass ensemble. The prologue of "I Have a Dream", "Chiquitita", "Waterloo" and "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" were filmed and remain intact but are not included on the soundtrack. Sophie and Bill's song "The Name of the Game" was recently announced as having been cut from the final version of the film. The scene will be included in the deleted scenes of the DVD release. "The Name of the Game," however, remains on the soundtrack. "Thank You for the Music" appears as a hidden track. "When All Is Said and Done", the lead single in North America from ABBA's final studio album The Visitors (1981), was included in the film as a new song that was not present in the stage musical. "When All Is Said and Done" was ABBA's last top 30 hit in the United States. Amanda Seyfried (Sophie) recorded a music video for the song "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" that was released in Europe and other countries. Production Most of the filming was done on the small Greek island of Skopelos(during August/September 2007), and the seaside hamlet of Damouchari in the Pelion area of Greece. On Skopelos, Kastani beach on the south west coat was the film's main location site. The producers built a beach bar and jetty along the beach, but removed them both when they left. Other parts of the film were produced on the 007 stage at Pinewood Studios, where lighting and temperature could be controlled. Production offices for the film were based at Pinewood Studios. The part of the film where two of the characters miss the last ferry to the island was filmed at the old port of Skiathos. Both composers Benny and Björn appear in minor, uncredited roles in the film. Benny, dressed as a fisherman, plays the piano in "Dancing Queen" as the cast dances; Björn is a Greek god (with lyre) showering the girls with gold dust during the closing credits. Actress Meryl Streep had taken opera singing lessons as a child, and as an adult, she had previously sung in several movies, including Postcards from the Edge and A Prairie Home Companion. The Mamma Mia! trailer was released the week of December 10, 2007 first on Entertainment Tonight, then released to the internet. A high quality version can be found on the film's official site. Release ABBA appeared together in 2008. Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Fältskog joined Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson at the Swedish premiere of the film, held at the Rival Theatre in Mariatorget, Stockholm, owned by Andersson, on July 4, 2008. It was the first time all four members of ABBA had been photographed together since 1986. Reception Mamma Mia! received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes reported that 54% of critics gave the film positive reviews based upon a sample of 125 reviews, with an average rating of 5.6/10. The Times gave it four stars out of five, as did Channel 4 which said it had "all the swing and sparkle of sequined bell-bottoms." BBC Radio 5 Live's film critic Mark Kermode delivered an all-singing, all-dancing review, describing the experience as 'the closest you get to see A-List actors doing drunken karaoke'. The Guardian was more negative, giving it one star, stating that the film gave the reviewer a "need to vomit". The Daily Telegraph stated that it was enjoyable but poorly put together ("Finding the film a total shambles was sort of a shame, but I have a sneaking suspicion I'll go to see it again anyway."), whereas Empire said it was "cute, clean, camp fun, full of sunshine and toe tappers." The casting of actors not noted for their singing abilities led to some mixed reviews. Variety stated that "some stars, especially the bouncy and rejuvenated Streep, seem better suited for musical comedy than others, including Brosnan and Skarsgård." Brosnan, especially, was savaged by many critics: his singing was alternately compared to "a water buffalo" (New York Magazine), "a donkey braying" (The Philadelphia Inquirer) and "a wounded raccoon" (The Miami Herald), and Matt Brunson of Creative Loafing Charlotte said he "looks physically pained choking out the lyrics, as if he's being subjected to a prostate exam just outside of the camera's eye." Box office As of November 25, 2008, Mamma Mia! is the sixth highest grossing film of 2008, with a worldwide total of $566,523,540. As of October 26, 2008, it is the highest grossing movie musical of all time worldwide, and the 48th highest grossing movie of all time worldwide. It is the third highest grossing film of 2008 internationally (i.e. - outside of North America) with an international total of $422,760,585 and the ninth highest gross of 2008 in North America with $143,762,955. As of November 25, 2008, Mamma Mia! has grossed £68,116,092 in the United Kingdom making it the second highest grossing film ever in the UK just behind Titanic (which grossed £68,532,746 there). When released on July 3 (2008) in Greece, the film grossed $1,602,646 in its opening weekend, ranking #1 at the Greek box office. The film also opened at #1 in the U.K, taking £6,594,058 on 496 screens. It managed to hold onto the top spot for 2 weeks, narrowly keeping Pixar's WALL-E from reaching #1 in its second week, and went on to become the biggest box office hit of 2008 in the UK. The film made $9,627,000 in its opening day in the United States and Canada, and $27,605,376 in its opening weekend, ranking #2 at the box office. At the time, it made Mamma Mia! the record-holder for the highest grossing opening weekend for a movie musical, surpassing Hairspray's box office record in 2007. On October 26th, High School Musical 3: Senior Year took a weekend total $42 million, surpassing the record made by Mamma Mia! Possible sequel Because of Mamma Mia!'s huge financial success, a Hollywood studio chief told The Daily News that it would take a while, but there could be a potential sequel. The co-chairman of Universal Studios, David Linde, told the news that he would be delighted if Judy Craymer, Catherine Johnson, Phyllida Lloyd, Benny Andersson, and Bjorn Ulvaeus agreed to the project, noting that there are still plenty of ABBA songs to use. Themes The overarching themes in Mamma Mia! include extensive use of ABBA music and classical Greek comedy: * All ABBA, all hits - The entire scope of the film, with the musical score and parts of the dialogue, is based on songs of ABBA, plus other music written by former ABBA member Benny Andersson. The songs are not just those which happen to fit the plot, but cover most of the major hits recorded by the band ABBA. Even the song "Super Trouper" was included by presenting it as a staged number, whereas the plot would not have matched the original song lyrics ("When I called you last night from Glasgow..."). * Classical Greek comedy - Another major theme of the film is to structure the story as a Greek comedy (see: Aristophanes), including patterns of strophe and antistrophe, a chorus representing the common people, and costumes matched to moods of the characters, including masks and the phallic props typical of Greek comedy. * The Greek chorus is provided by the dual role of the common townspeople or bystanders, causing some doubletakes when others sense hidden messages being mentioned. Differences from the stage production * In the musical, Bill Austin is Australian; in the movie he is Swedish (like Skarsgård who plays him) and his last name is aptly changed to "Anderson". * In the musical, Harry came out openly, but in the movie, his homosexuality was hinted as he was looking at another man during the wedding ceremony and dancing with that same man at the after party. DVD and Blu-ray Disc release Mamma Mia! was released in Australia and New Zealand on DVD on November 6, 2008, and will be released on Blu-ray on December 3, 2008. It was released on both DVD and Blu-ray in the UK and Norway on November 24 and November 26, 2008 respectively. It will be released in US on December 16, 2008. On November 24th Mamma Mia! became the fastest-selling DVD of all time in the UK, according to Official UK Charts Company figures. It sold 1,669,084 copies on Monday's release date, breaking the previous record held by Titanic - based on DVD and video sales - by 560,000 copies. The DVD is released in a single-disc edition and a two-disc special edition. Single-disc features * Sing-along * "The Name of the Game" deleted musical number * Feature commentary with director Phyllida Lloyd Two-disc special edition features The widescreen single-disc includes a bonus disc which includes: * Digital copy * Deleted scenes * Outtakes * The Making of Mamma Mia! featurette * Anatomy of a Musical Number: "Lay All Your Love on Me" * Becoming a Singer featurette * Behind the scenes with Amanda * On Location in Greece featurette * A Look Inside Mamma Mia! featurette * "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" music video * Björn Ulvaeus cameo Blu-ray Disc edition exclusives * Universal Studio's U-Control * Behind the Hits (details and trivia of the music while the musical performance plays) * Picture-in-picture (access to cast and crew interviews and behind the scene while the movie plays) Discuss. -----signature----- Chief of Staff - The SWC Rebel Scum
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Zaz Title: Manager, The Ampitheatre Registered: Oct '98	Date Posted: 11/28/08 3:15pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" (2007)
	"Mars Attacks" used to be the worst movie I've ever seen in a movie theatre. Until I was forced to see this. Godawful doesn't cover it.
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hansen Registered: Apr '03	Date Posted: 11/28/08 3:19pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Mama Mia" (2008)
	Bought the dvd of this one today actually and I quite like it. -----signature----- Hansen: An "Oct 01" in disguise... "I will not be subjugated by the common perception of night and day"
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darth_frared Registered: Jun '05	Date Posted: 11/28/08 3:44pm Subject: RE: The Movie Musicals Thread: Now Dis. "Mama Mia" (2008)
	i actually didn't mind so much. i didn't think it did anything partickly wrong, it just isn't for people who don't like abba... i watched it in a cinema full of tipsy women who were cheering a lot, which i guess helps with enjoying it. -----signature----- are you out of your vulcan mind?
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