Lukewarm Off The Presses: Hugh & Amy's Musicals, Diana's Director, Lee's Horror, & Eddie's Operation
Monday, November 24, 2014 at 5:07PM Five stories we didn't share in all the hulaballoo of our trip to Los Angeles, the recovery week's madness and now our Thanksgiving prep. Can't let these stories go unremarked upon since many of them are related to this year's Oscar race as well as 2015 and possibly 2016. Let's get ahead of ourselves!
Barnum by way of Jackson / Amy to play Janis
1. Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum
When I was coming out of Into the Woods the other day and coming out of The Last Five Years back in Toronto, I was wracked with indecision about how I felt. My cinephile self was mounting a civil war with my inner musical theater geek who is deeply devoted to both shows. The former musical is among my top 3 favorite Sondheim shows (the others being Company & Follies) and the latter is literally my favorite original musical of the 21st century to date. The solution to this inner turmoil is surely ORIGINAL SCREEN MUSICALS. We haven't had one since Dancer in the Dark, right? So I'm absolutely excited to see Hugh Jackman belt out whatever tunes they're writing for him as P.T. Barnum in a new musical biopic about the circus pioneer called The Greatest Showman on Earth. Having seen Jackman absolutely slay audiences on Broadway as another flamboyant showman (Peter Allen in "The Boy from Oz"), this could be his Oscar ticket if the movie is good. The songs are by a composing duo you know from "Smash" but before you get too excited it's not from the composers behind the fictional musical "Bombshell," damnit!, but the composers behind the fictional musical "Hit List" which wasn't half as good. (Sigh)
Bette Midler as Janis Joplin (sort of) in The Rose (1979)2. Amy Adams as Janis Joplin
Should Adams be nominated (maybe) and lose (definitely) the Best Actress Oscar for Big Eyes this season she will join the "Biggest Actress Loser Club" that is currently a three-person tea party with Thelma Ritter, Glenn Close, Deborah Kerr. Fine company, don't you think? The solution is UNDOUBTEDLY a Janis Joplin biopic since Amy Adams has a great singing voice, considerable awards momentum, and is still young enough to be interesting to Oscar... for at least another few years. We're far enough away from Bette Midler's wildly acclaimed take on that iconic musician (by another name) in The Rose (1979) that the earlier Oscar run won't be an issue either. [More after the jump...]
Apparently Lee Daniels vacated this project at some recently when I wasn't looking and now Jean-Marc Vallee, who is definitely in demand at the moment after proving so adept at pulling great work from major movie stars in Dallas Buyers Club and Wild will helm. I personally hope they skip Amy this year at the Dolby. She is moving in Big Eyes but it's not a major performance and Oscar triumphs are far more satisfying when the winner has had to struggle at least a tiny bit for recognition and isn't nominated for every one of their would be prestige projects.
In fact if Amy Adams had that Joplin ready this year I'd be willing to bet the house right now that she'd totally trounce Julianne Moore whose profile is too low for such an expected steamroller. Sony Pictures Classics is either keeping things quiet to prep for a major blitz in January or they're being far too overconfident. When people are confused about the name of your movie, it's past time to do some campaigning!
3. Lee Daniels Moves Into a "Demon House"
Lee Daniels keeps surprising us. Who could have predicted ANY of his career moves? He's gone from a thriller about a bi-racial/intergernational assassin romance to an Oscar favorite about a pregnant obese teenager to a misunderstood trashy swamp-noir about violent sex fetishes to a historical epic via the servants in the White House to... a horror movie about demonic possession? I'm not eager for Lee Daniels, who sometimes struggles with overstatement and tonal ADD but really gets stylization and actressexual pleasure, to head directly into Ryan Murphy's wheelhouse (who shares many of the same strengths and weaknesses come to think of it) and especially by way of such a well worn genre (how many demon possession movies does every film year need?). On the other hand -- and I could care less about the many critics who ridicule him -- I love him. Given how transcendent his best movie moments are, how grand the actressing in his movies tends to be, and how unique his voice is, I'll see anything Lee Daniels makes.
4. Wonder Woman's Female Director
I am a feminist and have long rooted for women to succeed in every aspect of showbiz -- the history of this site more than proves it. And yet I do find this contemporary notion, surely born of justifiable anger over inequal opportunities, that women will automatically be better suited to directing female projects suspect. Why do we have to limit artists like this? This also extends to movies about people of color. Do we really want Kathryn Bigelow to stop directing movies about men? I don't. She does it so well!!! Would I want to live in a world where anyone BUT Ridley Scott directed Thelma & Louise (nope. That movie is awesome as is). Would I want anyone besides Spike Lee to have directed The 25th Hour which is an excellent movie about white guys? No.
Anyway, DC wants a female director for Wonder Woman (update: It's officially done) and Marvel apparently doesn't want a female or a black director for Captain Marvel or The Black Panther. Okay, okay. That's not fair. That's an assumption but I make it on the grounds that cagey statements mean "no - we'll stick to what we're comfortable with!" if any cagey statements throughout the history of press conference recorded time mean anything! But you know I'd just as soon have a female director or person of color for Dr Stranger or Thor 3 than I would have them behind Captain Marvel or The Black Panther. Great artists are capable of transcending their physicality and ethnicity and gender to just make great art, or great entertainment or whatever, no matter what it's about. Disclaimer: artists who make art primarily about their hermetically sealed lives (Sofia Coppola & Woody Allen for example) are exempt from this conversation but a lot of fine artists aren't that internally focused. Ang Lee, a director of color, has proven again and again that he can basically direct the crap out of a movie about basically anything starring basically anyone taking place basically anywhere and get to the heart of it.
And, yet, if we have to go through this phase where we believe that only women are good at female stories and only men are good at "masculine" things and only people of color are good at ethnic stories and so on to get to a more level playing field than fine. It'll be worth the reductiveness! Still I'm with female director Lexi Alexander who infamously said she'd never direct Wonder Woman (even though she wasn't asked) because her reasoning about not wanting the blame (ha ha) is sound.
5. Eddie Redmayne's Trans Project
Fact: Eddie Redmayne is an adorable person: super friendly, unfailingly humble, accessible, and interesting. Or great at pretending to be all those things which is a distinct possibility but amounts to the exact same thing. Focus is smartly putting him out there everywhere to fish for Theory of Everything votes and trophies this season. Even if he doesn't win for Best Actor this coming Oscar night, he has The Danish Girl coming up in which he'll play a trans woman, the first to undergo gender reassignment surgery, and it doesn't get baitier than that. Just ask Jared Leto, Felicity Huffman, John Lithgow and so on back through Oscar time. The movie which was once an Oscar vehicle for various actresses including Nicole Kidman is finally out of development hell and will be directed by Eddie's Les Miz friend/guide, Tom Hooper. But question: Given the rise of actual transgender thespians on TV which (I think) kicked off with Candis Cayne back in the day on Dirty Sexy Money (2007) and has lately exploded in TV with Laverne Cox as "Sophia" on Orange is the New Black, Erica Ervin as"Amazon Eve" in Freakshow and Alexandra Billings as "Davina" on Transparent, how long before there starts to be backlash every time that well known actors take these roles? Leto got a little of it but Leto isn't as cuddly a celebrity as Redmayne and he was definitely more tone deaf to the LGBT community. Do you think this project a) avoids backlash b) actually sees movie screens and c) wins Oscars?
FIVE TOPICS!
Too much for one comment thread but have at it!
Reader Comments (53)
Re: the Barnum composers, I'll say a word on Pasek and Paul's behalves: their contributions to "Hit List" were perhaps not the strongest (and really that was an amalgamation - they only did 3 of thosee numbers). BUT - they made a lovely stage musical out of the movie "Dogfight". Wonderful stuff, well worth looking up. I'm less familiar with their other work but I understand they are well regarded in the theater world - so I'm excited to see them get a higher profile (read: not just NYC) shot at exposure. And for original movie musicals in general.
You mean English-language original screen musicals, right, because we all love Christophe Honoré's Love Songs, which has fantastic songs, great cast and completely nails the lightness of movie musical performances without fearing themes like death and mourning.
I'll say it: Amy Adams is too old to play Janis Joplin. She missed that boat by about ten years. That's not me being cruel, or age-shaming, or judgmental of the fact that Amy Adams is a human being who has dared to get older. I just can't imagine critics and audiences being able to suspend disbelief that she is a 27-year-old woman. It's a bit silly, not to mention as big an awards grab (post-Jenna on 30 Rock) as Kate Winslet's win for a Holocaust drama after spoofing her thirstiness on Extras.
So once again, I'll say, Amy Adams, you are wrong.
I am not sure I see Amy Adams truly succeeding as Janis Joplin... Nothing she has ever done has given me a sense of the chameleon in her acting ability...probably better to give an unknown actress a shot?
Cal Roth - and it's less loved companion, "Beloved"! Yes, although a few exceptions doesn't disprove a general lack. Technically we could count things like "Once" or "Begin Again", or even "Joyful Noise" and "Sparkle"... although I suspect Nathaniel is thinking of more traditional musicals, with original songs and stories not about performers (so as to explain away the singing).
Dave - you are correct. I thought Beloved was a mess but I do love Love Songs. And obsess over ONCE. but i was thinking of traditional musicals.
I think the world is changing. Even since Jared Leto won an Oscar earlier this year, Laverne Cox has been on the of Time and she was nominated as an actress at the Emmys. It's a thought-provoking question, but I think we're moving closer to the time when it's going to be met with backlash every time a trans character is played by a cis person. I think these stories too seldom get told and even then, told sensitively and with humanity. I totally understand the backlash that an aspiring transgender performer might feel watching this cycle.
I'm certainly tired of Amy Adams being in so many movies. I think she is
Destined for the Ritter/Close/Kerr club...
I'm certainly tired of Amy Adams being in so many movies. I think she is
Destined for the Ritter/Close/Kerr club...
For more on #5, I recommend listening to Jill Soloway's interview on KCRW's The Business, as she talks about this very thing and the troubles casting Jeffrey Tambor as Maura in Transparent. FTR--I'll watch Eddie in anything...
Re #2. Not sure the mood is right for a Janis Joplin pic. Perhaps they can make one movie about the tortured artists who-took-too-many-drugs-and-died-before-they-were-30 (sounds like a VH-1 program, right?). That said, Amy will be fine. And, she looks way younger at 40 than Janis did at 27, so who cares. But, the woman who got nommed for a Tony certainly had a great Janis voice.
Despite the fact that I'm fine with MM getting to direct WW, I 100% agree with you about number 4. All filmmakers should be given projects based on their level of talent not their gender/race/ethnicity.
"...the former musical [Into the Woods] is among my top 3 favorite Sondheim shows (the others being Company & Follies)..."
My Top 5 (music & lyrics by Sondheim):
1. A Little Night Music
1. Company
1. Follies
1. Sweeney Todd
5. Merrily We Roll Along (yup)
That is in fact a four-way tie for the top spot (they are listed alphabetically).
Good luck giving a better performance than Bette Midler in The Rose. #sorrynotsorry
#1: I'm not sold on Jackman doing musicals after the horror show that was Les Miz. He can be wonderful on stage, but he doesn't understand his limitations so I'll wait and see on that.
#2: Midler rocked that role and it still stands up. Her voice, look, everything about her is/was closer to Joplin than Adams and with the average age of the academy, they will remember so the only way it works for Adams is if she tops Midler by a mile.........and I don't think she has it in her. (I like Adams, I just don't think this is a good idea.)
#3: I'm in. He will show Murphy what Murphy is doing wrong.
#4: Stupid argument. I think they are trying to create drama for the sake of drama.
#5: That project will never get off the ground. The argument that only trans actors should play trans parts is the wrong fight. They should be fighting to be seen for any part they are suited for. But I do understand the desire to be honestly represented.
My top five Sondheim (music and lyrics)
Follies
Assassins
Company
Into the Woods
Sweeney Todd
(Not a Day Goes By wins top individual song, but in the original form.)
Henry, mostly good points all around. If you are trans, then this doesn't apply. If you're cisgender, I think you should check your privilege and consider how it sounds for you to be telling a currently marginalized group that an issue many feel strong about is "the wrong fight". I say this with no malice. Just saying...
Re: Joplin. I hate to say it, but if Jennifer Lawrence could sing (and by all accounts she can't), now this would be the ideal role for her.
The fact that Adams is 40 now and filming hasn't commenced and Janis Joplin was 27 when she died wouldn't really matter with the proper actress, that isn't Adams, since Joplin looked every bit of 57 when death claimed her. The bigger problem as I see it was that Janis was a tough, hard chick with an underlying vulnerability along with a vibrant spirit. There is nothing of that in Adams makeup that she's ever shown. She can be sour, dour and angry, both on and off screen if those round tables she's an all too frequent part of are any indication, or fluffy and light but a loose, manic, hard charging and hard living free spirit I don't see.
Also the very large shadow of Bette Midler and the all but in name bio "The Rose" will hang over any production since the film, while not perfect, and Bette's performance, very nearly perfect, stand as a pretty vivid portrait of her.
The thought that Adams will almost assuredly be joining that rarified club of Thelma, Deborah and Glenn is galling because it doesn't feel earned. It's not that those three ladies didn't each have a nomination that was for a less than classic role but having seen all Adams nominated work the only one that seemed even close to worthy of a nod was her last in American Hustle. She's been over-acknowledged at the expense of more deserving work, becoming a default nominee for acceptable work that any competent actress could have turned in.
I actually think Jennifer Lawrence is perfect for the role of Janis Joplin, even her voice. I can't imagine Amy Adams pulling off that distinctive raspy voice of Joplin.
When I see those photos of Hugh and Amy side by side, I long for them to do a new musical together, with music by Adam Guettel and directed by someone fun, like Peyton Reed.
I want my Nicole Kidman Danish Girl movie. I hate that it's now a phantom movie in my head. I will watch almost anything she participates in because I trust her judgment for outlier vehicles.
I love love LOVE The Rose. Bette Midler is fantastic in it and the title song is one I will love forever!
Pasek and Paul are excellent composers who were asked to write a generic rock theater score for a TV show. Their actual theater work is far more rewarding. Edges, A Christmas Story, and especially Dogfight have really good scores.
Totally agree Joel6!
Joel6: If you honestly don't think Adams was "close to worthy" in either Junebug or The Fighter, I can't really respect your opinion on acting at all. She would have been a very worthy winner for either of those. Adams was also nomination worthy in Enchanted, Sunshine Cleaning, and Her. Not sure if she can pull off Janis Joplin, but it's always surprising to me that there is this very vocal minority of internet commentators that goes just way over the top in criticizing Adams.
Yeah, don't see Adams for Joplin at all. Wasn't Nina Arianda at one time attached to a competing Janis Joplin biopic? She would KICK ASS at that role and she's not that well-known to the public, which would be to her advantage.
Personally, I'm getting a little sick of Amy's annual buzz-worthy late fall/December prestige pic that Academy members blindly check her name off because of habit. Her last two nominations were very generous, in my opinion. It's baffling to me that she'll potentially have as many nominations as Blanchett, Winslet, Maggie Smith, Vanessa Redgrave, Thelma Ritter, Deborah Kerr, Sissy Spacek, and Glenn Close. This is weird, right?
Aaron - yes, it is extremely weird to think about. And soon, potentially as many as Ingrid Fucking Bergman.
1 - Isn't there already a musical about the life of P.T. Barnum which goes by the name "Barnum". I know because Glenn Close was part of the original Broadway staging. So is "The Greatest Showman on Earth" an adaptation of Barnum or an entirely original musical?
4 - Michelle Maclaren is an excellent choice for Wonder Woman, she's been churning out fantastic work on TV.
DrewB -I agree completely with you, thank you for comment. Actresses have enough stacked against them without people who wish them to fail before a project even starts. Amy Adams is a gifted actress with a great role and a good director. A Janis Joplin bio will be interesting to see, and I wish them all the best. Based on her past performances I think she has at least a fighting chance of pulling it off. American Hustle & The Fighter demonstrated that she is capable of more than meets the eye. Actresses should be allowed to stretch and even fail -that's a quality to be admired not scorned.
Reese Witherspoon would be a better Janis than Amy Adams.
Mustafa, it's going to be a new original musical and the press releases (or the reporting) tend not to mention the other Barnum.
For the people questioning Amy's age, have you seen any pictures of Janis Joplin? That lady looked like a 60 years old before she died. I think they'll only focus on a certain period of Janis's life. Age isn't an issue.
You don't think Amy's nominations are worthy? That's a joke. She certainly deserved her nominations for Hustle, Junebug, The Fighter and The Master. I know some people did not like The Master but it was my favorite PTA movie.
If you don't think Amy has what it takes to be Janis. Just watch On the Road and The Fighter. In fact, she looked a lot like Janis in the movie.
Lastly, keep on underestimating Amy. She'll always surprise you!
Marion Cotillard was dubbed in La Vie en Rose and won the Oscar (and she's a very good singer). Lawrence would be PERFECT as Janis.
I love Bette's performance in The Rose...having said that, I'm also open to Amy tackling the Joplin role. She's excellent in American Hustle and Enchanted. That aside, I do notice the commentors here tend to dislike Amy and Meryl and a few other actresses...am I sensing it right? And they love Viola Davis and Kidman, etc. I admire Viola very much to the point that I faithfully watch HTGAWM even though I admit that's a really crap TV series in my opinion (but what I can do? She has no lead movie roles...sigh)
I also don't think age will be an issue at all. I have great hopes now that Vallée is on board.
"She'll always surprise you."
If ever once anything about Amy Adams has surprised me other than her uncanny ability to get nominated for Oscars, I'd agree with you.
When Midler was cast in The Rose, she wasn't a movie star yet. Rydell insisted on casting her. Can you imagine if they had gone the easy route, and cast one of the big stars of the day? Streisand or Minnelli as The Rose? No way. Adams is great. I'm just not sure if she's right for the role. It would have been more appealing to give it to an up-and-comer with lots of live rock performance experience. But I'm sure Adams will give it a hundred percent, as she does in everything.
HAYDEN -- LOL. Yes, "Surprising" is not a word I would generally associate with Adams either, though I do think she is very talented. I HATED her performance in On The Road so I'm hoping her dishevelled druggy raw Janis Joplin take will be much closer to her work in The Fighter (only raggedier and more energetic) which is my favorite of her performances outside of Junebug.
i *really* don't want her to be nominated for Big Eyes. She's good in it for sure but "good" shouldn't win you Oscar nominations. You should have to be "great". I think this is the thing that causes the backlash for frequently nominated actors -- the thing that Streep & Adams and other frequently nominated actors' fans don't understand. Nobody is one of the five best of the year every single year. Nobody. There are too many talented actors in too many good movies each year for that to be true.
MUSTAFA -- but didn't people say this about those Game of Thrones directors who did Thor The Dark World? That wasn't exactly a tirumph of direction when they transferred mediums.
AARON - i keep waiting for some filmmaker to realize what they've got in Nina Arianda but so far only small roles on film. She's totally memorable in the new Al Pacino movie "The Humbling" but it's a fringe part again.
What is happening with Nina Arianda's Janis film with Sean Durkin? It's still listed as "announced" on her IMDB. Are we to assumed that it is a lost cause?
Nathaniel - I'll be honest with you here, I grew up on DC comics, Marvel for me was all about X-Men. So it should come as no surprise that i have yet to watch any of the Thor films. there are several similarities between Wonder Woman and Thor, mythology, son/daughter of the gods. So its interesting to see how it all pans out.
Now Michelle Maclaren directed the hell out of those Breaking Bad and Game of thrones episodes. I can say with absolute certainty that I wont be the only one looking to WW development cautiously because as Lexi Alexander said it is a lot of pressure to helm a groundbreaking female superhero motion picture and if god forbid the movie tanks then who do you think the critics and studio will blame for its failure, but yes i'm hopeful, and ecstatic about her announcement.
The one wishful thinking I have is that they get Uma Thurman to play Hippolyta
cal roth, since I brought Lawrence into this conversation, I'll grant you that both Cotillard and Foxx won Oscars lypsincing musical icons in biopics within the past ten years, so it's not unheard of. But I can't see Lawrence snatching the role of Joplin from Adams at this point. Too bad, though, because it would be one of the few time outside of the Hunger Games films and Winter's Bone that I would consider her perfectly cast in a major role.
Can't someone like Evan Rachel Wood play Janis Joplin? You know, someone who could probably be great and needs the kind of break that Amy Adams already received many times over?
I like Adams, but her popularity has led to her being miscast quite a bit. So talented, more appropriate actresses are being pushed out at the beginning for not a good enough reason. I mean, what the hell was she doing in Man of Steel, Doubt or The Master? And two of those got her undeserved Oscar nominations. It's frustrating.
I can't even believe that directors are excited to work with Adams, besides David O. Russell. At this point casting her is like lining up a distributor when it comes to Oscar attention. I haven't seen Big Eyes, but if Helena Bonham Carter had given the exact same performance in that role I highly doubt we'd be talking about her for the fifth slot.
Also, now I'm imagining recasting her roles and it occurred to me that Anne Hathaway NEEDS to play a nun. It's too perfect with her Julie Andrews rubber-stamped career genesis and general openness and vulnerability onscreen. Where is her Dead Man Walking?
Hayden - if there's an actress who needs to stop getting cast in movies is Jessica Chastain. She needs to give other wonderful actors like Bryce, Evan Rachel, or Michelle a chance. She talks about why Lange doesn't get good roles. Well, why can't she help her fellow peers by giving up one or two roles? Talking about being a hypocrite! She's hording all these Oscar bait roles. She often gets miscast in her movies.
Based on interviews/articles I have read, the directors just love her. Paul Thomas, Spike, Russell all sing high praises for her like they got some kind of crush. Her co-stars like Lawrence, Streep, the late PSH all love her. Even the Great Cate loves her. I guess working with someone in real life and getting to know the person is different than us the movie goers? I didn't get why the directors love her until I read the interviews.
Please don't put Amy Adams in the same sentence as Meryl Streep unless you're listing the cast of Julie & Julia or Doubt. The thought that Adams would be in the same company as those aforementioned actresses is almost sacreligious!
David M- stop being an annoying Meryl stan. People can put Meryl in a sentence with any other actresses if they want. In fact, I was reading an article she was in the sentence with Felicia Jones. Another article put Meryl in the same sentence with Lindsay Lohan. You need to grow up and stop your childish behavior.
I think what trips people out about Amy and her success is that she is talented without the typical actressy drama. Meryl is lowkey, but she had some drama early on. Amy is simply a working actress with that movie star IT. A rare thing.
Amy Adams didn't deserve any of her nominations? What the hell ever. The only questionable nod is for "Doubt." Other than that, I'll applaud any of her nods (and she should have been nodded for "Enchanted" too). I don't think the "too old to play Joplin" holds much water, b/c as already said before, she looked middle age by the time of her death. Pretty Amy might have to actually do some makeup deglamming to pull off her look then.
Lee Daniels out Ryan Murphying Ryan Murphy? I'm so here for that!
Don't really care about a trans character getting the role of "The Danish Girl." I personally want to see if Eddie Redmayne can pull this feat off, since he hasn't impressed me in anything I've seen from him in film yet.
I thought Hugh Jackman was stellar in "Les Miz," so I'll all in on the "Barnum" musical biopic. Get that Oscar, Hugh!
Don't care about Wonder Woman.
Is that it? I think so. Oh, one more thing . . . it's "I couldn't care less," not "I could care less." If you could care less about something, then you'd do just that. Grammar Nazi here.