Imzadi
♥ Saved by an angel in a trench coat!
- Joined
- Oct 29, 2004
It's on 49th, between 7th and Broadway. It's a block up from Book of Mormon/Chicago.
Thanks. The next time I'm headed that way for the subway, I'll have to remember to look up.
It's on 49th, between 7th and Broadway. It's a block up from Book of Mormon/Chicago.
WooHoo!!! I get to see an advanced screening of Les Mis on Black Friday!!
Billboard near Times Square!
I saw this today when I was taking my daughter to the Lion King theatre. It looks awesome!
Question - do people expect Anne Hathaway to be nominated for 'Best Actress' or 'Best Supporting Actress'? Just curious, because although Fantine is a pivotal character, she's only in what, like 30% of the book/play/film? Much less than Javert, for example, but I would expect he would be a 'supporting actor' catergory (not saying Crowe would be nominated, but speaking theoretically). Basing solely on the play, adult Cosette is in more of it than Fantine is.
She was submitted by the studio for "Best Supporting Actress", along with Samantha Barks and Amanda Seyfried. Everything I've heard from the screening so far is that Hathaway is going to walk away with it easily.
They're submitting Russell Crowe for consideration as 'Best Supporting Actor' and Hugh Jackman for 'Best Actor.'
Waiting for your review!
WooHoo!!! I get to see an advanced screening of Les Mis on Black Friday!!!
A friend on mine is on the SAG Awards Nominating Committee and she has invited me to several screenings of various films. One of them is Les Mis!
I'll report in after I've seen it. I'll have to buy an extra box of Kleenex to make it through the movie. I've seen the Broadway show 3 or 4 times. Cried each time. I can't wait!
Waiting for your review!
http://www.awardscircuit.com/2012/11/24/les-miserables-embargoed-quick-thoughts-from-ny-screening/
(this guy actually did review it, but took it down due to the embargo) He said this before it was taken down (it was posted somewhere else):
Les Miserables is not only stunningly powerful, and beautifully crafted, it’s the best stage musical adaptation since Rob Marshall’s Chicago (2002). Incredibly moving and featuring some of the most powerful musical numbers ever constructed, Tom Hooper tops his previous film The King’s Speech (2010) with artistry and passion.
http://www.deadline.com/2012/11/oscars-les-miserables-huge-reaction-first-hugh-jackman-interview/
This one refers to it as "the 800-pound gorilla" in this year's Oscar race after the reaction to the screenings yesterday:
Filled with stunning imagery and performances, Les Mis is musically a masterpiece thanks largely to the decision to have the actors sing it live as they were filming rather than pre-recording the songs as is the norm for most, if not all, movie musicals. But bottom line is this is the kind of fully realized triumph that Academy voters traditionally eat up, and it joins a race that has suddenly become one of the most interesting and competitive in years.
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/les-miserables-wows-first-screening-393758
No movie musical has seriously contended for the best picture Oscar since Chicago (2002) won it a decade ago, though several have tried, including The Phantom of the Opera (2004), The Producers (2005), Rent (2005), Dreamgirls (2006), Hairspray (2007), Mamma Mia! (2008), and Nine (2009). But, judging by the loud applause that followed every one of Les Mis' big numbers -- which were divvied up between stars Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Samantha Barks, Eddie Redmayne, Amanda Seyfried, Helena Bonham Carter and Sacha Baron Cohen, respectively -- and the raucous standing ovation that the film and its key talent received once its credits started to roll, that could certainly change this year.
Hugh has an incredible and strong voice. have seen him in a number of shows- Oklahoma, beauty and the beast as gaston, boy from oz. have also seen him sing on tv a lot- maybe the way he was 'directed'. the arrangement may be deliberately different.
I've seen les mis a few times and my thoughts were he could do it standing on his head from my. experience
I've seen Hugh Jackman on Broadway 9 times, and as delightful of a singer as he is, I know full well that he's not in the range of a Colm Wilkinson or Alfie Boe vocally, so I'm not expecting him to sound like either of them. He's a wonderful actor though (and still a great singer!), and to see him playing that character, not just how he was on stage, but as Hugo wrote him, is something I can't wait to see.
But I am surprised at your comments on Hugh. I know he has been in stage musicals (Boy from Oz) and he has had his own one man show, so I know he is no stranger to singing. I was expecting a great performance from him.
What was it like working on the Les Miserables feature film?
Ive done some film and tv work before, I think The Tudors for example was a great thing for me to do because it helped me get familiar with the technical requirements of working on a movie. All the waiting that you have to do and the methodology that goes into this discipline is very different to someone who is in theatre.
Im used to walking out on a stage, starting from that moment and going through my whole journey in a two hour period. I stay in that zone and that place. A film is more stop and start and you do different scenes out of sequence so it becomes a lot more challenging. The Bishops role is not huge but it was very gratifying to be welcomed by these big time Hollywood actors who seemed genuinely delighted to have me there. I have a lot of respect for them, this is a difficult process with early mornings on strange locations and it is very repetitive. The thing I had to be most aware of was the way I would project. In theatre you project a lot but in movies you cant do that because of all the close up shots. I learned a lot about how to handle a camera and how much to emote. I would love to do more of it.
Weve heard a lot about how the actors are all singing live is that true? What was it like?
It is true and the first time its ever been done. Its extremely difficult because you only have this tiny earpiece and youre singing to an electric piano in strange locations and often inclement weather. You dont have the track that they would normally have, they were matching the track to what we did after the fact. So Hugh Jackman had to sing the Prologue to just a tiny electric piano and I cant even imagine that. For me you need that weight of the orchestra behind you for that song, it gives you a lift and a blanket and something to coast on. Hearing a tinkly piano that sounds like its miles away is very different, and Hugh has my total admiration. Its unbelievable the discipline and work ethic they all have.
Did you give any of the film stars singing tips?
Not really obviously Hugh Jackman and I worked together more than the others, but they didnt need vocal coaching from me. Instead the experience was a bit of coming full circle for me, because the Bishop hands the candlesticks to Valjean at the beginning of the movie and sets him off on his journey, and now I get to send Hugh off on his own journey. Its a great way to pass the torch and end my association with Les Miserables.
Lets talk about two of your co-stars: the first is Colm Wilkinson, who plays the bishop a man who gives Valjean a shockingly generous gift that allows him to reinvent himself. Wilkinson originated the role of Valjean on Broadway and in Londons West End, so it seems appropriate that he gets to play this critical part in Valjeans evolution.
He was that first week of shooting, so it felt odd because Colm was one of the most famous people to ever play the role. I saw him a year before when I did the film, when I was doing my one-man stage show, and it was great to meet him and work with him. There was this strange feeling of him saying, Hey man, its all yours. Its all good.
Since he played Jean Valjean for years, was there anything valuable you picked up from him?
I did ask him a couple questions, but I remember him saying at one point, It doesnt matter in the end. What matters is you do it your way. He said, Ive been to some shows, and I see them trying to do it the way I did. And I actually didnt do it the way it was written. In the end, the way it was written didnt really serve me, so I changed it. And now people think thats how it was written, when it wasnt.
What a very Valjean thing to do defy the rules.
Thats absolutely right! The other thing he said was he used to read the book periodically when doing the show, because its like dipping into gold. Id read the book a couple of times, and I marked it up so I would read the scene written in the book the night before I would go on and act the scene in the film.
That featurette about the live singing really explains it - it's sung differently because it's an entirely different medium. They don't have to project to the mezzanine because a film is a much more intimate setting.
It comes back to the debate over how Hathaway is singing "I Dreamed a Dream" - there are those who think it's all wrong because she's not belting it out like Fantine has done on stage. But it's true to where her character is at that point. She's dying, she's lost everything. It's coming from the absolute pit of despair. There's no need for her to belt it in that setting on film.
I'm not talking about them belting or not belting.
The interview is interesting though.
However, when Colm was originating the role, I think think one does end up making it different than it was written. I've been to playreadings at various stages of production. The purpose is so the writer can HEAR the dialogue and whether it works as it is coming out of a real person and if it works. They rely on the performers to help them flesh out a new/beginning work.
And I did say that many of you will like Hugh Jackman's version. _I_ don't care for it, as of right now. I may if I see it again. Jen, you sound like you are trying to debate me about whether I should like how Hugh did the film?
No, not debating at all. Just discussing the differences in adapting to different mediums and referencing a few things the actors have said about the changes they've made from the stage. Certainly not trying to change your mind - especially since I haven't even seen the movie myself yet!
I've been to readings and rehearsals of shows too, and seen the way they've changed along the way. And with a long-running show like Les Miz, there have been so many actors bringing their own thing to the role. It's always been one of the things I've loved about live theater. And those roles are as much about the acting as they are about the singing.
And I'm adaptable with Hugh - I loved his version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" at his one-man show last year, even though it was a different version of the Judy Garland version.
And I'm adaptable with Hugh - I loved his version of "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" at his one-man show last year, even though it was a different version of the Judy Garland version.