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SINGAPORE : We've been swathed by "Dreamgirls", coated in "Hairspray" and left at the mercy of "Sweeney Todd". Yes, the resurgence of the movie musical is a good thing - even if we have had to put up with some that were all polish and misguided intentions (how on earth did "Chicago" win Best Picture at the 2003 Oscars?). The truth is, no matter what the era, musicals have never gone out of style in Hollywood for very long.
Through the years, movie-goers everywhere seem to enjoy watching their favourite dramatic actor and actress break into song instead of prose, belt out in harmony and toe tap their way through synchronised dance numbers. The movie musical might be a Tinseltown staple but it’s still considered risky business for major studios.
"Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street" had a reported budget of US$50 million (S$71.2 million) and grossed only US$52 million in America - all thanks to its star Johnny Depp. Last year’s US$45-million "Across the Universe" made only US$24 million in the United States, despite featuring the songs of The Beatles.
Even big-name musicals aren’t a sure thing. Joel Schumacher’s 2004 adaptation of the musical behemoth "The Phantom of the Opera" is estimated to have cost US$60 million to make, but raked in just US$51 million.
Is the movie musical in danger of being snubbed in the name of business? Don’t worry, here comes Meryl Streep to save the day.
"Mamma Mia!", the Abba-inspired stage musical, has been playing in London since 1999 and boasts of 30 million Dancing Queen fans having seen the show.
Its film adaptation, starring Streep, is doing equally phenomenal business. The movie set a record for the biggest premiere ever for a movie musical (US$27.6 million to "Hairspray’s" US$27.5 million a year ago). Internationally, "Mamma Mia!" has earned a whopping US$309 million, making it the top-grossing movie musical of all time.
If that doesn’t boost Hollywood’s confidence in the power of song, we don’t know what will. Sing it with us now: “Money, money, money ... It’s a rich man’s world.”
TODAY has the exclusive interviews from three of the stars of the show, when they spoke in Athens, Greece, a few months ago.
One Hot Mamma!
Meryl Streep on wearing spandex and possibly having to move to Alaska
How did this start for you?
My agent called and said: “This is nothing that would probably interest you but it’s great that they asked.” And I said, ‘What is it?’ He replied: ‘Mamma Mia!’
And I was like: (Shouts) ‘Oh, my god! Say yes!!!’
You accepted at that instant?
Oh, yes. I loved that musical. I’d seen it on Broadway ... actually, it was right after 911. I think that was just after the show opened and I found out, subsequently, that they were terrified. One of the girls who helped me with the dancing had worked on the Broadway production and said, ‘Well, you know, we just didn’t think anybody would come’ - in the most dreadful, dark days in New York.
But they did, of course, because it was a tonic.
What was the reaction of the family when you told them you were going to do the film?
(Laughs) The girls were saying, ‘Mum, mum, you are not going to wear spandex. Please tell us you’re not going to wear spandex!’ And there was a lot of talk of ‘I’m going to have to move to Alaska when this comes out ...’
Without giving too much away, there’s a fantastic scene where you are all dressed up, Abba-style, with the spandex and platform boots. What was that like?
Oh god, it was terrifying! I thought: ‘Yes, this is what my daughters feared more than anything else! I’m giving it to them here!’ But it was so much fun dressing up like that. And that was our last day and it was sad and I was completely overwhelmed because it felt like, there it is, it’s over, we take the costumes off and go home.
But that’s the life of an actor. You gather for a few weeks or months and then you’re off – on to the next thing. You must be used to it?
Yeah, but you don’t always have as much fun and you don’t always have that feeling of ‘Oh, it’s a shame it’s over.’ It was great. It was hard. It was a long day dancing wearing these platforms that were so high. I got back home to the US a couple of days later and the whole pad of the bottom of my foot was a blister. I couldn’t actually put my foot down to walk because I’d been dancing in those boots the whole day and it was an eight-hour shoot.
The Singing Bond
Pierce Brosnan on how he didn’t have to stuff his spandex
Did it take a lot of persuasion to get you to agree to star in the film?
The call came in on a February evening, and my father had passed away just a few days before. I was sitting in the living room with the priest, planning for the funeral. I said: ‘We’ve got to have bagpipes at the funeral.’ The phone rang. It was the boys from Creative Artists Agency. They said, ‘Mamma Mia! Meryl Streep. Greece.’ And without missing a beat I said, ‘Count me in.’ I didn’t even ask how much I’d be getting paid.
My father was a great man from Scotland and he loved the bagpipes. I actually put my father’s tartan on the bagpipes that Meryl carries in the film. It’s not a sad story I’m telling you. It’s just one of those poignant stories about how you get to land a job.
Have you always been an ABBA fan?
Sure. I grew up listening to them. I was at the Drama Centre in London when I watched them win Eurovision with Waterloo in 1974. I marvelled at how these four Swedes could wear such outrageously ridiculous outfits, singing this song that even Benny (Anderson; one of the two males members of ABBA) can’t explain the meaning of to this day.
You have a moment towards the end of the movie when you appear in spandex and platform boots. How did you feel wearing that gear?
That was a day of reckoning, believe me ... I thought, ‘This really could be the end of your career. This could be your Waterloo, old son.’ I minced and hobbled out into the corridor to meet my colleagues, who looked equally ridiculous. So we all swanned down the slippery, squeaky corridor and I thought, ‘Now would be a good moment to bump into Daniel Craig’, and I would say, ‘Hi, Daniel. Bond won’t last forever. You have all this to look forward to. All you see is genuine. There’s no sock hidden down these spandex trousers.’ (Laughs)
Shining Bright
Colin Firth on being terrified by Abba-speak
Did you have any qualms about taking on the role of Harry Bright?
I don’t have any history of singing. Anyone that’s been within 10 metres of my shower will know about my shortcomings as a singer. I certainly don’t have a history of dancing ... So I was a bit scared, to say the least. On the first day of the shoot, I was filled with something close to terror. Pierce (Brosnan) was as frightened as I was. The only thing that made him feel better was that he could see the terror in my eyes. He knew he wasn’t alone. They didn’t cast John Travolta and Patrick Swayze. They cast us. I think they really wanted some ropey old amateurs.
Were you immediately captivated by the script?
I might have been, had I understood it.It might as well have been written in Chinese considering how little I understood about it. ‘Boat arrives. People get out of the boat. “Mamma Mia, how can I resist ya? ...” Greek chorus enter left. “Voulez-vous?” ...’ It was a total leap into the unknown.
Why do you think "Mamma Mia!" connects so powerfully with audiences?
It’s easy to assume that it’s some kind of throwaway, powder-puff idea. And maybe it is, but I think trivial is very hard to do well. There was the thing Oscar Wilde said about him being at his most substantial when he was at his most superficial. I’m not comparing "Mamma Mia!" to "The Importance of Being Earnest" but they both have a witty quality to them.
Mamma Mia! opens nationwide on September 16. - TODAY/ra
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