Could THE GREATEST SHOWMAN Head to Broadway?
By: A.A. Cristi Dec. 22, 2017
In a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, director of the new movie musical The Greatest Showman, Michael Gracey, discusses the difficulty of shooting some of the film's complex musical numbers, as well as the possibility of a future Broadway run.
On shooting the film's impressive love duet, he explains, "You'd have this beautiful shot of Zendaya flying around Zac and Zac's in the foreground and it's just perfect. And just as she's about to sing the line that you need in that moment, the rope twists and her whole body moves and that line you want, she's facing away from camera! It's things like that you're like, 'Ughhh!'"
He adds, "All of a sudden what's meant to be balletic and slow and wonderful effortless feel, all of a sudden becomes incredibly brutal and violent as these bodies go slamming into each other. That was a lot of takes and a credit to Zac and Zendaya - they were so bruised but they just kept going again and again and again."
As to the possibility of a Broadway run, he says, "When I was pitching the film, the great thing about doing a musical film is you have this amazing piece that could then go straight to Broadway. Instead of CG animals, you could do puppets like War Horse or The Lion King. I think that's an incredibly appealing idea. It would depend on the success of the film but I do believe it would make an incredible stage production."
Starring Academy Award nominees Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams with Zac Efron, Zendaya and Rebecca Ferguson, THE GREATEST SHOWMAN opens in U.S. theaters today. The film is directed by exciting new filmmaker, Michael Gracey, with songs by Academy Award winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul ("La La Land") and starring Academy Award nominee Hugh Jackman. Jackman is joined by Academy Award nominee Michelle Williams, Zendaya, Zac Efron and Rebecca Ferguson.
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