...But Can They Sing? -- The Movie Thread.

[Osh Manifest]

Well, since no one has made one yet, I thought I might as well make a thread where we can talk about the upcoming movie, and our fears and hopes about whether or not it will be any good...

...and I'm sure the question in the title of this thread will be asked several times over the months to come...

Come here to discuss the actors, possible plot changes, song ommissions, song changes, and all the other things that make transitioning a musical to the big screen such an unpredictable ride.  

[Phantomette]

Hm, I guess I'll just re-post my thoughts from the thread.

I have completely freed my mind of any expectations for this movie. I have made sure that I'm to expect song cuts, watering down of characters and scenes, and a movie that will be very different from the musical. I will go in expecting nothing, and therefore I will not be disappointed.

I seem to be one of the very, very few people who has faith in Johnny Depp. The man dropped out of highschool in order to sing, so he better be pretty damn good at it. However, his band broke up and he chose to pursue acting. I think that he's an excellent actor, even though he is mainstream, which really has nothing to do with skill, just fame. That's alway bothered me. :/

Alan Rickman will be awesome, undoubtedly, as will Cohen. Even though he played Borat, he grew up in theater and I have no doubts that he'll be excellent making Pirelli enjoyable. I love Helena Bonham Carter, but I haven't heard her sing except a little in Corpse Bride. I don't even know if that was her...anyway, I think she should do alright. I don't know about any of the other actors, as I haven't seen or heard them often. I'll have to wait and see.

The truth is, I've kind of been hoping it'll be R. It'll keep a large part of the unwanted illiterate fandom out, and that means gore...I love Sweeney gore with a passion.  

[Delacroix_Ghost]

Release Date: 12-21-07
I don't know if this is old news but I just found out so yay! I can go see it for my 18th birthday! whee  

[cheshire_Christyne]

i know Depp can sing but i'm worried the "his skin was pale and his eye was odd" will be ignore and the character will be portayed as quite attractive and the movie will get a following of fan girls with no intrest in music or in the story  

[-epic!insomnia-]

As a true Todd fangirl, that would be the worst case scenario for me.
Which is why I'm committed to destroying the n00bs who will probably invade the fandom. Join my army!

Question for all- how do you suppose the judge's Johanna will be handled for the movie? They could go all out with the flagellation, or they could include the song but be a little more subtle a la the revival, or they could cut it completely. I'm sorta hoping it doesn't get cut, but if Alan Rickman can't pull it off, I'll be disappointed.  

[Osh Manifest]

I personally hope the song gets left in, although how they handle it will be interesting...did they keep the flagellation in The Da Vinci Code? If Burton is really pushing for an R rating, he may keep it in in all it's glory.

On another point, I can't wait to see Helena Bonham Carter...whether her singing is any good, I can really see her slipping into Nellie's pragmatism...I really want to see her deliver the "Well that's all very well..." line after Epiphany.

And on another note, although I am somewhat worried about Depp's voice, I haven't had any intensive vocal training (outside of being in school choirs) and I can manage most of the score in small bits, and he won't have to sing the whole thing through in one setting.  

[-epic!insomnia-]

I don't think that leaving the flagellation in would necessarily make it R unless there were a whole lot of other parts of the movie that added to it. But I don't know. I don't think that the song should be left in if Rickman can't pull it off. I sort of think that when a Judge Turpin attempts to sound like a sketchy old man (especially during Johanna) they're not doing a good job. The whole purpose of the second Johanna is to show that the judge is in fact conflicted and regrets what he did before. To have the judge sound, well, sketchy while singing it instead of desperate or distressed or horrified at his own actions in my opinion kinda defeats the purpose.
End rant. xD  

[Osh Manifest]

I totally agree. Although I can't really judge it, since I haven't read the entire script, I'm pretty sure that without that song in he seems to just be some nasty old perverted man. As you said, with the song in there it shows that he actually feels bad about those urges. It also makes a nice point to the other Johanna's, with Anthony's being a love song, and Todd' being...sort of a mourning and acceptance.  

[Phantomette]

I'm torn with whether I think Burton will leave that in or take it out.
On one side, he likes to make his audiences sympathize with people that you normally wouldn't, so I can see him making a big fuss over it. On the other hand, I can see him cutting it out to keep his villain a major villain, which he also likes to do to intensify the judge's character as evil.

I want to see who he pins as the villains and who he wants us to sympathize with, or if he's going to drag us around the entire movie trying to figure out who we think is good and we think is bad.  

[-epic!insomnia-]

Yeah, I've read the libretto. And I've concluded that a good Turpin must be creepy without sketching us out, pitiable, attractive enough that we almost believe a shave could make him appealing to a 16 year old girl while still being old enough that it would never really happen, able to take off his shirt without making small children cry, and able to take pain.
I thought way too hard about that.

Oh, and for your enjoyment, love. Can't have our thread Sweeney without a script, can we?

I really hope they leave it in. Simply because not even Turpin's detestable.
Though I'm still with Sweeney. xD  

[Nudge Nudge]

I'm not quite sure whether I'm more worried about Sweeney or about the new Hairspray movie, so I'll compare them:

Hairspray, on the one hand, has a cast made of a lot of newcomers(Tracy, Seaweed, etc.) but also a lot of celebrities, and it's definitely not as deep as Sweeney. I am... confident about it, but still a little leary(LOLQUOTINGLYRICS) since it's got Zac Freaking Efron and Amanda Bynes in it.

Sweeney, on the other hand, has a lot of famous people in it with some newcomers playing the not-so-central characters(Johanna, Anthony, Tobias), but it is undoubtedly hard material to work with. Whereas in Hairspray you could probably get away with someone not being able to sing that well, Sweeney NEEDS a cast of good singers. I'm very excited to see Depp's portrayal of Sweeney himself, and also to see Cohen and Rickman, but for the most part I have NO idea if any of the cast can sing well enough. ><

(Frankly, the Judge's Johanna creeps me out enough just listening to it. >_>; I kinda hope they leave it in, but on the other hand...)

And another thing! (This is getting to be a very long post.) You've probably seen how Burton's OTHER stuff has been merchandised(how could you NOT? NMBC and Corpse Bride stuff COVERS any Hot Topic you walk into). But do you think he'll go as far as making Sweeney backpacks, notebooks, etc.?
I for one REALLY REALLY hope not. As much as I'd like a Sweeney or Ms. Lovett doll, I'd rather make one myself and not have something that the mallgoths will be all over just because it was in Hot Topic. Hopefully Sondheim will step in and prevent that from going too far, eh?  

[Osh Manifest]

Thanks for the script epic!

The Hairspray cast has actually restored my faith. Both Nicki Blonsky and Elijah Kelley are really good, and Zac Efron is a whole lot better than High School Musical would have us believe. The big surpirse was Amanda Bynes, who had a surprisingly good singing voice.

I'm betting that we will be pleasantly surprised by the singing voices in the the Sweeney movie...and even if we're not, I'm agreeing with Phantomette and just not going in with any assumptions.

As for the merchandising...*shudders*...that thought just really scares the bejeesus out of me...that and the thought of all the fangirls who will be coming just to see Depp, but we've talked about them before...(including what they'd taste like if they were baked into a pie!)...but I think Sondheim sold the rights, so I don't know how much control he has over merchandising.  

[-epic!insomnia-]

While I was watching Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, I kept imagining Rickman singing, and found it quite easy to see. His speaking voice is somewhat melodic at times, so I could imagine his singing voice fairly well. And I think he'll actually do a pretty good job.
3nodding
I also couldn't help but think "whipaction" every time I saw him. xDD  

[80sreject]

heh, you all pretty much voiced my thoughts

i'm definitely excited for the movie to come out, but i'm scared that the cast is going to butcher the music... eek

still, acting wise, it should be pretty good. 3nodding  

[cheshire_Christyne]

The movie posters are up online. Depp looks good not overly hot and Helena Bonham Carter looks like mrs. lovette should. One is of the two characters and the other is very burton style showing sweeney walking away.