"Wicked" Film Adaptation (2024/2025)

[ShortCutie7]

3 hours ago, BenjaminNicholas said:

That was his choice, clearly.

In the book, that wasn't the case. 

More to that, Fiyero was originally written for the musical as very dark, somewhat dangerous, which is exactly why they cast a non-pretty boy in the original role (Norbert Leo Butz).  

Over the years, the role has homogenized to square jaw, pretty teeth, nice ass, pop voice.

Yes, homogenized to the extent where there is literally a height minimum in the casting breakdown!  Norbert would be “typed out” if he auditioned for Fiyero in today’s musical theatre market.

[+ ApexNomad]

20 minutes ago, ShortCutie7 said:

Yes, homogenized to the extent where there is literally a height minimum in the casting breakdown!  Norbert would be “typed out” if he auditioned for Fiyero in today’s musical theatre market.

Which would be a shame because Norbert is a terrific (two-time Tony award winning) theater actor.

[Rod Hagen]

Even from the original Authors backstories are bulky and unnecessary, but especially from those blocked writers who swoop in once the story enters the common domain (or the greedy family grants permission) to flush out details and characters. 

They should flush it alright.

 

Edited December 3, 2024 by Rod Hagen

[+ Lucky]

Norbert Lee Butz is a great actor. I love watching him.

He is a two-time recipient of the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, and is one of only nine actors ever to have won the award twice. Wikipedia

[d.anders]

On 11/24/2024 at 1:04 AM, BenjaminNicholas said:

It really surprised me how much I enjoyed it.

I have heard this comment from a lot of people, especially people who aren't keen on musicals. I never saw the show on Broadway, but I'm thinking about catching this.

[+ ApexNomad]

It’s always odd when a film racks up major Oscar nominations—like Wicked earning 10—but the director gets snubbed. It creates this strange disconnect, as if the movie directed itself. The Academy has a history of this, though (Argo and The Color Purple come to mind). Maybe they assume the magic just happened without someone at the helm.

[+ poolboy48220]

sounds like it's going to be on Peacock for free pretty soon.

[d.anders]

I finally saw the movie last night, and I managed to stay awake for the whole thing, but barely. It is an overly long movie with a simple, dragged-out plot. The visuals are a spectacle to look at, especially the last 10 minutes, but it's still a traditional musical, and not a very good one. I was pretty surprised by how slow the movie moved, and how lame and unmemorable much of the music was. I once loved the score from Godspell. 

"Popular" reminds me of a cheaper version of Annie's "It's a Hard Knock Life." Annie has much better songs. "Defying Gravity" is the only other memorable song, and it's mostly memorable for its vocal screaming. I was reminded what I didn't like about what I had heard about the Broadway score, songs designed to be sung by amateur screamers on American Idol.

I have to say the whole movie thing is way over-hyped. Seeing this film did not change my life, and I have no desire to see it again. It's a lot of colorful cotton candy with very little substance. The concept is interesting. I could see why creators wanted to play in the background of the Oz story. But the whole endless school theme seemed like a borrowed attempt to capture Harry Potter mystique. 

There were a few moments, very few, when I felt the spirit of Judy Garland, and my heart jolted. But in the end, I was mostly bored, and the actors look and sound like they are lip-syncing in an over-bloated, old-fashioned, movie-musical production. The original Munchkin Land in Judy's Oz felt far more clever and creative. Even the dance numbers in Wicked seemed out of place and superfluous. The background characters mostly looked way too normal to be in Oz.

I had forgotten there's a second movie to come. Good grief. I guess I'm glad the performers are employed.

 

[+ sync]

I concede that it's petty, but it bothers me...perhaps someone can explain why in Defying Gravity "graviTy" is sung as "graviDy."

[d.anders]

4 hours ago, sync said:

why in Defying Gravity "graviTy" is sung as "graviDy.

Not sure about this one, but in the entire film they did weird things with words, attempting to possibly create their own language. I actually found this a bit annoying, and a great way to fuck with a child's vocabulary. Perhaps a bit too bah-humbug on my part.

[+ ApexNomad]

1 hour ago, d.anders said:

Not sure about this one, but in the entire film they did weird things with words, attempting to possibly create their own language. I actually found this a bit annoying, and a great way to fuck with a child's vocabulary. Perhaps a bit too bah-humbug on my part.

Oh no, not a child’s vocabulary! Next thing you know, they’ll be making up words like supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and society will crumble.

[d.anders]

19 hours ago, ApexNomad said:

supercalifragilisticexpialidocious

LOL. That was just one word that no one could spell. Wicked is an entire 3-plus hour script.

[shinj518]

On 12/2/2024 at 12:20 PM, BenjaminNicholas said:

That was his choice, clearly.

In the book, that wasn't the case. 

More to that, Fiyero was originally written for the musical as very dark, somewhat dangerous, which is exactly why they cast a non-pretty boy in the original role (Norbert Leo Butz).  

Over the years, the role has homogenized to square jaw, pretty teeth, nice ass, pop voice.

I thought Norbert was cute and pretty back when he did Wicked, the last stage of his twunk years before he quickly transitioned to a more mature bear/daddy status. He's one of my favorite Broadway singers/actors. Such an incredible singing voice.

Jonathan Bailey is nowhere near as strong as singer as Norbert but he definitely makes up for it with his charm, dancing, smile, and good looks. I want to be Cynthia singing to him in As Long As You're Mine in the next movie 🥰.

[+ SundayZip]

I saw it with a couple friends who insisted on going. I sat through most of the movie thinking; Oh My God,  why the F*** am I sitting here watching this trite bubblegum fluff? It was all cutesy special affects with songs and performances perfect for a teenage girl into pink valentines and roses. I was hating it. That said, I did enjoy the last scene and Cynthia Erivo's terrific performance of Defying Gravity -- but not enough to recommend the movie to anyone over the age of twelve.   

[BuffaloKyle]

‘Wicked’ live musical special coming to NBC with Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande | CNN

WWW.CNN.COM

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“Wicked” the film was so popular that a special is coming to the small screen.

 

[+ ApexNomad]

Official trailer for Wicked: For Good.