Les Miserables

Starting this topic since I'm sure there are some fellow Broadway nerds who'll be seeing this Christmas Day and bawling like a baby.

The extended look has me SO excited. It looks beautiful and I think Hathaway and Jackman are going to knock it out of the park.

I wish we had a clip of Javert though. I'm still a little iffy there.

Holy.

Fuck.

I wish we had a clip of Javert though. I'm still a little iffy there.

I'm still worried too. I tear up and get the tingles watching both the trailer and this, BUT I mean we even heard/saw some of Amanda Seyfried, but nothing from Crowe that I caught. Hmm. I liked his attitude, I just wish I had better sense of how good he can sing than 30 Odd. Seyfried surprised me, I had no idea she could sing at all much less that well. I just want this to be as good as the footage looks.

Seyfried did her own singing for Mamma Mia, so it wasn't a surprise really, but I was still pleased to hear how well she did here.

Agreed - we need some sense of Javert.

swsa wrote:who'll be seeing this Christmas Day

Huh. So, they've moved the release date. I had been wondering who's bright idea it was to open on the same day as The Hobbit.

Oh my. Won't be seeing it Christmas Day, but you better believe it'll be part of my holiday plans.

You know...I might go see this on Christmas Day. There's always lot of family around and it can get quite stressful, so seeing the movie would be a nice break from all of that.

Oh my god. I am going to need like 8 boxes of tissues for this.

Anne Hathaway seems okay (I've actually never seen one of her movies, nope not one, so I have no previous opinion of her) but "I decided not to pretty up the song" is always in musical circles "I couldn't hit the notes."

I gotta say, it looks better than I expected. And did anyone notice Frances Ruffelle? She was the blonde-ish woman behind Anne Hathaway in one of the first shots.

There's been nothing from Sacha Baron Cohen or Helena Bonham-Carter yet either, not even a sound bite, weird.

Anne Hathaway seems okay (I've actually never seen one of her movies, nope not one, so I have no previous opinion of her) but "I decided not to pretty up the song" is always in musical circles "I couldn't hit the notes."

I took it to mean that "I Dreamed a Dream" is sung at a full belt in most recordings when, if you listen to the lyrics, it's a song of defeat and loss, which hardly merits the bombast most people bring to it. And in the first trailer, where she sounds great, she is not "singing to the back row".

I think that's what she meant too. But I don't think she could sing the song at full melodramatic power if she wanted to, is what I'm saying. I'm not saying I mind either - I liked Daphne Rubin-Vega's "I Dreamed a Dream" too, but no way could she sing the song at full belt either.

Everyone sounds pretty good (though like others I wish they'd had some Crowe singing.) I have to say I love that they are singing live. There is always a disconnect in movie musicals (especially the more recent ones since the vocals tend to be so sweetened) because of the lip synching.

I also just love the look of it. I'm not always a fan of "gritty" but it fits with the time period/characters and it looks like it will be lavish where appropriate.

inversed wrote:Oh my god. I am going to need like 8 boxes of tissues for this.

That's basically my reaction to the extended trailer. I am more of a fan of the book than the musical, but I'm fully expecting to cry and hold my hand to my heart through more than one viewing of this thing.

I remain unconvinced by Hugh Jackman. I know that he has lots of stage experience and charisma, but having grown up with Colm Wilkinson's Valjean, I brook no substitutes. I can't imagine anyone coming close to his version of 'Bring Him Home.'

I was disappointed with Amanda Seyfried. Weak and wobbly. But she's only playing Cosette, so I don't really care much.

Samantha Barks sounded amazing and looked lovely - she's going to be brilliant.

I wanted to like Hugh Jackman's Valjean, and I probably will, but I was distracted by what sounded like cut lines on the bit he sung. Hopefully it was just how they cut the preview.

Still not keen on Anne Hathaway's 'I Dreamed a Dream' - problem is, I partly disagree with the 'sing it on set' thing. I can see what they're trying to do, and for some singers and some parts it will work, but I'd rather it sounded good than sounded real and I don't want to hear a wobbly rendition in the name of realism. Still, we shall see. Nobody can say Anne Hathaway hasn't done her best for the part - it's not like she didn't commit!

I cannot wait for Jackman. Crowe is the one I'm really worried about, because I grew up with Philip Quast who I thought was perfect.

Anne Hathway, I had my reservations about, but what I've heard of her "I Dreamed a Dream" damn near broke my heart on the first few notes. I thought it was pretty enough to do justice to the song while still being realistic. We'll see how it sounds in its full version but I have a feeling it's going to be high on my list of renditions of the song. Nothing will beat Lea Salonga for me, though (as I prefer her Fantine to her Eponine).

I'm surprised we've seen no Thernardier or Mme Thernardier footage, though.

From what I've heard, Helena Bonham Carter and Sasha Baron Cohen had scheduling conflicts so all of their scenes were filmed last, so that's probably why they aren't included here.

I actually didn't like Barks at all here. She's SLIGHTLY less annoying than in the 25th Anniversary concert, but I can't stand the overenunciating, pop-Broadway style singing that so many Eponines have had since the 90's. She mostly looks like every high school girl belting this out for for her choir concert solo to me. I get no sense of character at all. I hope Hooper can get a real performance out of her since that's my favorite role in the show.

I didn't love her rendition in the 25th anniversary concert, either. I thought she was fine, but nothing special. But: she's not Taylor Swift. So there's that.

I wasn't too fond of Barks in the 25th Anniversary concert either. My joy at Barks being cast had more to do with the NOT TAYLOR SWIFT YIPPEEEK KAI YAY!!! factor. My favorite Eponine is still Frances Rufelle--Lea Salonga has a prettier voice and is better technically but Frances' version has a plaintive longing which really makes the song for me.

Am I naive to think they would have never cast Taylor Swift? I was never worried about it because I was 99% sure they'd never go there.

I thought she WAS cast. Wasn't she already in the rehearsal process when they changed their minds and went with Barks instead?

I don't know if it got that far, but she was definitely on the short list. I like to believe that Mackintosh wouldn't have cast her, but then I'd also like to believe that Mackintosh wouldn't have let her name get that far along in the process, either. To that end, I choose to believe that her name was on the short list as a negotiating point, or as a means to appease the studio on some level. But we'll never know for sure, I think. All we do know is that her name was mentioned, and seriously.

The rumor is that she went through the same grueling audition/casting process as all the other actors and that Hooper was okay with her. But when she actually went to London to start rehearsals, she was suddenly out and a Hollywood no-name who already knew the part was suddenly in. Putting the pieces together, I'd say she was cast until they actually really put her to work/Mackintosh saw her, and they realized it was never going to work. If she wasn't cast, I don't think Barks would've ever landed that role. She sticks out like a sore thumb amongst the rest of the cast, imo, because they ran out of time to find someone of Hathaway/Jackman's stature who could do the role on such short notice.

Did everyone spot Frances Ruffelle in the video? She's a whore - literally - standing next to Anne Hathaway at the start. That may have been my favourite part.

Yeah, you can see her here.

She's actually my favorite Eponine. She was the one who actually seemed like a bratty street urchin to me. So many of the others just come off as too refined and sweet to me.