Did anybody notice the little blurbs on that? In the one on Javert, it quotes Hooper as saying that he was lucky that Crowe "had a background in musical theater." Given all the fuss about Crowe's voice, that caught my eye. Anybody know what he's talking about?
Well, apparently Crowe was in a Kiwi production of The Rocky Horror Picture Show, way back when he hadn't peaked in Hollywood just yet (I think there's a YouTube video of him singing in it), as well as some other stuff. He's also been a lead in multiple bands (more famously in The Ordinary Fear Of God and in 30 Odd Foot Of Grunts) and did many live shows, so at least he knows how to carry a tune. Whether or not his voice is appropriate for Les Mis is another thing, but we can't deny he's got relevant experience. Cheers, Lauré
Yes, but as far as I know, Gerard Butler hadn't recorded anything of his previous performances, so we were absolutely in the dark about what he would bring to the role of the Phantom (I appreciated his efforts, but that's neither here nor there), while at least with Crowe we have lots of points of comparison, including live singing in shows/awards/interviews (just go to YouTube and type "Russel Crowe Singing" and you'll get quite a number of hits), which should be at least minimally reassuring. I'm just trying to look at it with an open mind, and I'll not judge him before I've heard him sing in Les Mis. For all I know, he may well tank, but I'd like to give him a chance in case he does surprise us all and deliver a good performance. Cheers, Lauré
Depp doesn't have the best vocal range either, but he did Sweeney Todd well enough IMO. A tougher grittier Javert might work better with Crowe's vocal style.
This could go either way. I'm a little iffy on Seyfried. She has not impressed me thus far. I think Hathaway will be just fantastic, and Jackman has a really good voice. And hey, I'm glad Crowe is getting work again.
Depp doesn't have a powerful voice really, but he was on pitch and didn't sound like he was straining. Crowe just doesn't sound in that clip like he is at all comfortable with singing that part.
I like her. She's not the world's most fabulous actress, but I thought she was fun in Letters to Juliet. And I liked her voice in Mamma Mia.
She's a decent singer, and she looks pretty so she has the required bases covered to do a musical movie. Amy Adams could of course have performed admirably in this movie, she has experience of musical films.
I just don't think Adams would have been a good fit for any of the roles, though. Also, the first reviews are in: http://collider.com/les-miserables-audience-reactions/213369/ Though it mentions an original song? WTF.
It's a long-standing tradition for movie versions of musicals to add songs, mostly so they can be eligible for the Oscar for Best Original Song. Presumably because they feel like as a musical they should be honored for musical things. This is usually a song for the credits. Yes, it's a stupid notion.
I'm looking forward to this. I've never seen the play, but I have read the (abridged) novel, and this movie looks DAMN good.
I have to make a confession here: I haven't seen the play, nor did I hear one song from it until I saw the trailer. But... I indeed read the whole behemoth of a novel quite a few years ago (granted, I did skip some passages, not being all that fond of the history of the Paris sewers, amongst a few examples), so I'm quite looking forward to see how the adaptation manages to do the original justice. Crossing my fingers and knocking on wood, as it were... Cheers, Lauré
Well here's the thing: book Les Mis and play Les Mis aren't really equals. I haven't managed to finish Les Mis yet, but while the play gets some of the basic story across, it's not a direct adaptation. It's like comparing Book!Wicked to Musical!Wicked. They're both wonderful, but not alike at all. Even comparing that 90s Liam Neeson version of Les Mis to the musical isn't the same. However, if you love musicals, then you'll love Les Mis. THIS. Like Cats and Evita, Les Mis is a sung-through musical, meaning there is little to no spoken dialogue. It's essentially almost an opera of sorts.
