Why must every decent musical be turned into a big screen film? Why can't the movie industry leave anything alone? I feel like beautiful musicals are being butchered here and nobody else seems to care about this issue. Please somebody out there prove me wrong.
It all started with Rent and I don't think that is going to end anytime soon. Dreamgirls...Hairspray ...these are horrible screen adaptations with pathetic attempts at acting and even worse attempts at singing. It is an insult to the stage versions. It is so sad that these tweens are eating this rubbish up like it is going out of style. I really wish that it would go out of style.
As a former musical theater major and someone who has been involved with the performing arts her entire life I must say that this is an issue that hits close to home for me. It is bad enough that they only musicals that seem to be Disney gone Broadway but now all of this Broadway to movie crud. I am hoping that the High School Musical generation will have a major revelation about what real talent is so this can all be over with.
I think that the movie industry needs to stop trying to take over everything. America is going to hell in a hand basket. The whole industry has become about only money. Where is the beautiful art that there once was. I feel like the only time I get to see any of that in film is if I fo to a independent film festival.
Broadway to the Big Screen...Why?!
By Guest - Posted on April 15th, 2008
Tagged: Entertainment. entertainment industry
• social
Hairspray was originally a film by John Waters from 1988 - the musical was an adaptation of that film, not the other way around.
Both versions are fine, but I prefer the original all the way. It just seems wrong to see a straight scientologist try and play Mrs. Turnblad, that'll will always be Divine to me :).
I agree with you though. The "performing arts" these days don't have any artistic merit to them. They're just a bunch of commercial crap pumped out to make people money and get people famous. It's pathetic...
Dreamgirls was awful - the characters were shallow, annoying, and petty and I couldn't wait for that movie to end.
Personally, I can only stand so many musicals, so I tried to stomach Rent when it came on TV once, but I just got annoyed. I'm sure the live Broadway version is much better :). I usually go for rock musicals, like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" or "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" myself ;).
Maybe some of us can't afford to see musicals on stage and can only get the CDs from the library? Seeing it acted out, even in cheap movie format, is a treat. Oh, and not all adaptations are bad. See: Cabaret, Sweeney Todd, etc.
T.k.
I thought Rent and hairspray were both very good adaptations. Yes, Rent was not a rock opera as it was originally meant to be on stage, but that just made it different, not bad. And I'm not sure how you could say that they were poorer singers than the originals, considering many of them were the same people. Idina Menzel especially had improved. The acting and singing in Hairspray was fantastic in my opinion, even the famous actors, and The girl who played Tracy, which was her first movie role.
By making musicals into movies, it makes these musicals more accessible to those of us who cannot see these productions live in New York, or even when they go on tours. The standards of Broadway are lowering, but most of us don't notice because when we go it is a once in a life time opportunity. When I saw Wicked at the Gershwin, I was less that happy with some of the actors, but I was viewing them from the back of a Broadway theatre in New York City, so I was thrilled. As for HSM, please don't connect it in any way with Broadway, that is equal to blasphemy towards broadway. But that is a whole different topic.
Actually, it started with Chicago, not Rent.
And I gotta agree with the others. I love the fact that even though I can't afford to buy tickets to a Broadway show, I can go see an adaptation of it and get the same basic feel out of it. Some shows I hope they don't adapt (like Wicked... I don't see that being a good movie).
And it goes the other way around too... as someone mentioned before, Hairspray was a nonmusical movie with Rikki Lake back in the 80's, and Legally Blonde, now on Broadway, obviously was originally not a musical.
~C
Check out the latest entry in the Between The Lines column!
Want the highest rated list to change? RATE those blogs, then!
I really liked Rent....
I think having musicals on film is a good thing for a couple reasons. The first is, it's a more lasting medium. Plays and musicals are very much of the moment, but movies can be played over and over again. Two, it introduces the younger generation to musicals. Third, movies are more affordable.
~ *~
This is a signature, an automated thingy that pops up when I comment, not a demand to see my blog!
Mind Control is Easier Than You Think
Yeah, I mean, I suppose I even should have been a little more clear in my own comment... But I very much agree that a majority of screen adaptations of Broadway musicals are not bad. I think it's a good thing for the same reasons as others have mentioned - a more lasting media, availability to a wider audience and to serve as opportunities for people who will never be able to see a Broadway show live get to enjoy a similar experience. I also think that a screen adaptation can, at times, add things to the film that may not have been achievable on a stage.
I personally thought that Sweeney Todd (Burton's version), Chicago, and even the most recent adaptation of Hairspray were either awesome or not bad (see: Hairspray).
I'm planning on going to see Wicked this summer, so hopefully it will be an enjoyable experience :).
High School Musical = insult to musicals. It was complete bullshit; I couldn't even watch more than like 15 minutes
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/srhs-bandchic
^^^^ Take a peek ^^^^