Les Miserables - the movie

[cruisin]

What other big musicals are out there to be filmed after this? I know Wicked is still in the plan to be filmed, but I have not heard any songs from that show.

Maybe they can get Kristin Chenowith to reprise her role as Glinda. The woman doesn't age!

[Kruss]

I can return to the thread now because I finally saw it today. I loved it! I agree that Russell Crowe isn't a singer, but I thought he did a good job in the acting department. Everyone else was stellar IMO. Anne Hathaway's Fantine absolutely broke my heart (in the best way possible). I don't think that she overacted at all.

I adore the stage version, the 10th Anniversary and (except for the awful JoBro) the 25th Anniversary. However, a stage production can't show the grit and grime of the story in the way a visual movie can. I think this raw storytelling brought so much to the story. I really enjoy both stage and movie now, with no comparisons between them.

At the end, being a huge Eponine fan, I was surprised she wasn't with Fantine here. I always thought that Eponine showed up at the end on stage as a representative of the one whose only love was Marius (as a counterpart to Fantine whose only love was Cosette). However, the more I think of it, I think this movie ending is better. It makes so much more sense. And, given that this story is about redemption (as much as other themes), having the Bishop there was a perfect completion of the redemption angle for me.

And crying? Oh boy, did I cry!! As in, gut-wrenching, teeth-baring, tears sliding down into my cleavage crying! I even started crying all over again during the credits. I love it when a movie does that for me.

[chipso1]

What other big musicals are out there to be filmed after this?

Barbra Streisand is heading up a "Gypsy" remake with herself as Mama Rose, and she reportedly wants Lady Gaga to play Louise.

Back to Les Miserables, Oscar nominations are due this week, and IMDb has an interesting look at the projected favorites: http://www.imdb.com/list/--Aj0TA7c14/.

[martian_girl]

What other big musicals are out there to be filmed after this? I know Wicked is still in the plan to be filmed, but I have not heard any songs from that show.

Into the Woods (which is probably my all-time favorite musical) is also in the pipeline with Rob Marshall directing. No word on casting yet, but they were hoping to get Meryl Streep (isn't everyone ).

[peibeck]

I thought Jackman was a lot better than you did. In any case, he has some stage-cred, so its not like they just went with a "big star" for the sake of it.

If I want Broadway-level singing, I'll watch one of the concert DVDs. For a movie version of a musical, I tend to forgive the singing if the acting is excellent.

Jackman's biggest stage cred is really playing another Aussie, Peter Allen in "The Boy From Oz," where the arrangements were lowered from Allen's original key to something better suited to Jackman's range. The other big musical parts he played on stage were baritone roles (in "Oklahoma" in the West End and a concert version of "Carousel"). His vocal range is not that of a high tenor, which is what this role requires. As to his acting, I thought his acting and comprehension of the character were good. But when the entire libretto is sung-through, I don't think that is enough. This is a 60+ MILLION dollar production, not bad community theater.

I wonder if Tom Hopper and the producers realized early into the filming that Crowe wasn't working out, but Crowe was too big a star to fire without it being a big distraction. I can't imagine them looking at the dailies and thinking that Crowe was good in the role.

What other big musicals are out there to be filmed after this? I know Wicked is still in the plan to be filmed, but I have not heard any songs from that show.

They would have had to buy out Crowe from his contract, plus it would have been horrible publicity. So I seriously doubt that even if they realized Russell Crowe was not the right actor as Javert that they would have gone to the expense to recast the role.

As for other musicals in the pipe, Rob Marshall, the director of "Chicago" and "Nine" has a version of Stephen Sondheim's "Into the Woods" reportedly in the works. Remakes of both "Gypsy" and "Damn Yankees" have been in development hell for ages, and this summer there was a rumor that George C. Wolff was going to direct a movie version of "In the Heights" which won the Tony for Best Musical several years ago, however that seems in limbo as well since Universal put the picture in turn-around.

[orbitz]

This is my favorite number from the film: Redmayne's Empty Chairs.

These two are good too : Hatheway's I Dream A Dream, Barks' On My Own.

[paskatefan]

I remember Todd Eldredge skating to it for an exhibition show, not his Les Mis medley competition number but just Empty Chairs at Empty Tables. I'd have to dig out my old tapes to find it though. lol

Todd skated to it in a show called "Skaters' Tribute to Broadway" in October 1998. I *think*the show was aired on A&E. I seem to recall that Viktor Petrenko skated to it as well in COI (?), and maybe in a pro or pro/am comp?

Haven't seen the movie version of "Les Mis" yet, but hope to get to see it within a few days.

[jenny12]

Into the Woods (which is probably my all-time favorite musical) is also in the pipeline with Rob Marshall directing. No word on casting yet, but they were hoping to get Meryl Streep (isn't everyone ).

Into the Woods is a brilliant musical, but I wonder if it will be a big challenge to adapt it to screen-how could they have a narrator without using voice-over? Perhaps they will just use voice-over, but that often comes off as cheesy.

[Gazpacho]

I've been listening to the soundtrack, and it basically confirms what I already knew from the trailers: Russell Crowe absolutely cannot sing, and it is unacceptable for him to have been cast as Javert.

Eddie Redmayne doesn't have the powerhouse voice of Michael Ball, but he has a nice tone and is worlds better than Nick Jonas. One valid interpretation of Marius, when he sings Empty Chairs at Empty Tables, is a young man still shell-shocked and fragile. Redmayne's version expresses that very well.

I prefer the great stage versions of I Dreamed a Dream when Fantine is despondent but not yet on her death bed--she still has some fight in her. But in the movie, they moved the song so that Fantine is inches from death. So Hathaway's version makes sense. (Side note: Hathaway's technique is generally fine, but her running scale in IDAD is a textbook example of poor technique. I'm shocked her vocal teachers didn't correct that before filming.)

But I can see no justification for Russell Crowe's "singing". His tone and diction are awful, and he sounds uncomfortable, unsure, and lacking command. It is everything Javert isn't.

Jackman's biggest stage cred is really playing another Aussie, Peter Allen in "The Boy From Oz," where the arrangements were lowered from Allen's original key to something better suited to Jackman's range. The other big musical parts he played on stage were baritone roles (in "Oklahoma" in the West End and a concert version of "Carousel"). His vocal range is not that of a high tenor, which is what this role requires.

That begs the question, why not lower the songs an octave to suit Jackman's voice? Jackman can sing--he's proven that many times. But like you said, this isn't his natural range. Valjean was originally written for a lower voice, but they raised it to fit Colm Wilkinson's natural range, so why not lower it back to the original?

[cruisin]

That begs the question, why not lower the songs an octave to suit Jackman's voice? Jackman can sing--he's proven that many times. But like you said, this isn't his natural range. Valjean was originally written for a lower voice, but they raised it to fit Colm Wilkinson's natural range, so why not lower it back to the original?

Very good point. I have seen Les Mis on Broadway twice. Once with a Valjean with a deeper voice. He hd no problem, because they did exactly what you suggest. They made it work with his range.

[Alixana]

You all will love this: best wedding entertainment ever. Of course it helps to have friends who can sing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ziBJ...are_video_user

Fabulous!!!

[jenny12]

Here's a theater critic's take on the film version of Les Miserables:
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/20...to-screen/?hpw

[Gazpacho]

Here's a theater critic's take on the film version of Les Miserables:
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/20...to-screen/?hpw

From the article:

Michael Cerveris, now on Broadway in “Evita,” wittily tweeted as much: “Inspired by Hollywood,” he wrote, “actors all over town ARE SINGING LIVE today. And tonight. 8 times a week. Every week. No second take.”

[Alixana]

^^ Awesome!!

[UGG]

Hugh Jackman reminds me of Garry Morris who played Valjean on Broadway, I believe after Colm Wilkinson. He is also on the Symphonic Recording.

Not saying they sound exactly alike-but that is who I thought of.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbmVAfYTeKo

[MR-FAN]

I remember Todd Eldredge skating to it for an exhibition show, not his Les Mis medley competition number but just Empty Chairs at Empty Tables. I'd have to dig out my old tapes to find it though. lol

Todd skated to it in a show called "Skaters' Tribute to Broadway" in October 1998. I *think*the show was aired on A&E. I seem to recall that Viktor Petrenko skated to it as well in COI (?), and maybe in a pro or pro/am comp?

Haven't seen the movie version of "Les Mis" yet, but hope to get to see it within a few days.

Thanks guys!!

*Runs to hunt them down*

[Gazpacho]

Very good point. I have seen Les Mis on Broadway twice. Once with a Valjean with a deeper voice. He hd no problem, because they did exactly what you suggest. They made it work with his range.

The octave for Enjolras was also changed from the 10th anniversary concert (Michael Maguire, a high bass who over the yeas has become a mid-bass) to the 25th (Ramin Karimloo, a tenor), and both sounded terrific and looked totally comfortable. But imagine if Maguire had to sing higher and Karimloo had to sing lower. What a disaster that would have been!

So why didn't Jackman demand that they do that? Singing higher than one's natural range for an extended period of time is bad for the vocal cords too.

This is my favorite Jackman performance. I love the low notes he hits at 2:10 and 2:40. Also notice that his final note in the song is at the border of his falsetto, and that's around the lowest note in Bring Him Home when sung by a mid to high tenor.

I really think there may be something to the "conspiracy theory" that they made him sing worse than his potential to compensate for Russell Crowe's ineptitude.

[Wyliefan]

Right, because directors of big-budget prestige projects are known for deliberately coaxing substandard performances out of their big-name stars.

(I'm not counting George Lucas.)

[cruisin]

So why didn't Jackman demand that they do that? Singing higher than one's natural range for an extended period of time is bad for the vocal cords too.

He may have tried. But, since most of the "popular"performances of Valjean have been tenors, maybe the decision was to keep it that way. Dumb, I think.

This is my favorite Jackman performance. I love the low notes he hits at 2:10 and 2:40. Also notice that his final note in the song is at the border of his falsetto, and that's around the lowest note in Bring Him Home when sung by a mid to high tenor.

Mmm, nice!

[Gazpacho]

Another possibility, not mutually exclusive of the "conspiracy theory": Certain conditions aren't conducive to the voice. Air temperature, air humidity, time of day, tiredness level, etc. all affect singers. Doing take after take, as is common in films, is terrible for the voice. Doing that day after day takes a serious toll.

I don't know what order the scenes were shot in, but it's more than plausible that Jackman's voice was wiped out by the end of shooting or by the umpteenth consecutive take, especially considering that he's singing above his natural range. I noticed Samantha Barks' voice also wasn't as resonant as I know she's capable of.

If Tom Hooper didn't take measures to help the singers (air quality, filming schedule, rest periods, etc.), then that was reckless.