I was just watching , on the Web , trailers for the movies of ANNIE , and JERSEY BOYS (In this case , ta too low-volume to make anything out .) , both of which will open later this year ~ I had seen an ANNIE trailer the last time I was at the movies , and I saw 1 or two different JERSEY BOYS commercials .
Both are film versions of Broadway musicals .
In both cases , the promos seemed to be distinctly downplaying the presence of music in the film , de-emphasizing , anyway , that they could be called " musicals " .
The M Word .
This Annie trailer had titles-references to " There's Always Tomorrow " and " Hard Knock Life " , verbally referencing the two best-known Annie songs .
The Jersey Boys one did show the 4 Seasons characters on stage and I think alone singing, and someone shown standing over an orchestra pit (Adjunct Season Bob Crewe ?) ~ But managed to play up the director , Clint Eastwood , and actually found scenes of someone stealing a safe and a car crashing through a window !
I guess there is a perceived " male " problem with musicals (as any cable-TV redbrick backdrop comedian will tell you) ~ that Truly Manly Men Will Not Go To See ~ ucchh ~ Musicals .
Why , they sing out in public and stuff ! Dude , that isn't realistic !
Actually , I'm assuming that the Jersey Boys movie will , in fact , be presented as a backstage musical , perhaps 100% ~ After all , it is a " making it in show business " story , of a famous singing group .
I don't know to what extent the Annie movie ~ which is definitely updated to modern times , not the Depression ~ is presented as a book musical , as the previous 1982 theatrical film , which I just recently saw again , definitely was presented as .
SPOILERS .
FANGORIA used to have a feature(do they still ?) titled " It's Not A Horror Movie ! " ~ covering " borderline " horror , of movies whose agents/other people were in a " don't call it a horror movie , it's a deep psychological study " mode ~ As many movie types will do (Although I don't see , literally speaking , how being covered in famed FANGORIA magazine , with gory monsters all over the cover and interiors , would mollify them even with a heading of that sort . But nevermind .) .
I understand the JB musical to have some plot elements actually from the Seasons' life to be of interest ~ And , though I have some idea of them , I have rather kept myself away from finding out about them , to avoid spoiling .
However , I might ask about them here...........
(Someone on YT has apparently put up the entirety of the San Francisco stage production in 2007 of JB , too...........)
The Annie concept has certainly kept rolling after the musical was first staged in the late 70s ~ a later (Somewhat notorious " large turkey " that went through revisions again and again , but it did get staged in New York eventually) stage sequel , ANNIE II: MISS HANNIGAN'S REVENGE , a made-for-TV refilming of the original musical , a non-musical TV film , now this.........When I first read of this (with Will and Jaden Smith's daughter attached , IIRC) , I thought it might be an " all-black casting " a la Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway in HELLO , DOLLY ! and the like but , though Annie and Daddy are now African-American , that's not so .
It remains to be seen how the Annie film will be ~ It'll be a Christmas release >
Can I , even speculatively" /hoping not " , use the " turkey " metaphor twice ? Don't know .
Replies
My understanding is that the Jersey Boys musical includes a lot of their music, but also has a lot of struggle to the top, and that the movie follows the musical very closely. I greatly enjoyed The Buddy Holly Story years ago, which was in that vein.
When I got around to seeing the stage and movie versions of Annie I was disappointed in that they portrayed her as a helpless victim. The story is an origin story with nothing following it. I'm hopeful that the new version will improve on this. Annie is supposed to have adventures and solve mysteries.
I think men who refuse to watch musicals are really missing out. To me the "singing in public" involves suspension of disbelief, just like Peter's radioactive spider.
Thank you , especially for that last paragraph ~ especially the last sentence !!!!!!!!!!! ~ :-) !!!!!!!!!!! Richard Willis said:
I think if they wanted Jersey Boys the movie to be a musical, they wouldn't have got Clint Eastwood to be the director. For that matter, I think Eastwood the director was more interested in the rags-to-riches aspect of the tale, and that's the movie he made.
...By " a musical " you mean a Sound of Music/My Fair Lady/Hello , Dolly !-style book musical ?
No , I suppose not , but I don't know that , even on the stage , JB was that...
You could hardly make it without the Four Seasons songs (which I think includes some of the outside-material " oldies " that the FS also recorded , even non-related oldies songs/recordings ?).........
ClarkKent_DC said:
I haven't seen it yet, but I think the distinction is that a story about musicians is not a "musical" unless people break out in song when in reality they would be speaking to each other or indulging in a non-musical monologue.
...Well , I made reference to the " backstage musical " as opposed to " book musical " no one asked what I meant , so I assumed that the phrases were recognized..." Book musical " means what I , and you , said above ~ My Fair Lady , Hello , Dolly ! , people burst out into song and passing people on the street sing along and dance .
Suspension of disbelie , as you yourself said it .
" Backstage musical " means (More or less , anyway ?) what many famed movie musicals of the pre-TV era tended toward ~ Basically , stories about people in show business , with almost all of all of the singing situations a performance or rehearsal of a show business moment , maybe two people alone together , maybe even casually singing , or a " monologue " , but ~ Generally , anyway . ~ the realistic situations of people singing in performing circumstances being what starts the songs ~ Busby Berkley's 42ND STREET and DAMES , MGM's MEET ME IN ST. LOUIS and SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (I haven't seen SITR in a while , perhaps it has more semi-" breaking out into song " situations than a strict " backstage musical " tag would imply . MMISL pretty much is all performing or two people alone together , with song breaking out , bar " The Trolley Song " , IIRC , in which we are to accept that Judy Garland and her boyfriend and a perfect mixed vocal group all take the trolley at the same time ! :-)
Suspension of disbelief , like you said .
Rock'n'roll-era things like the Beatles' movies tended to stay away from literal book musical-style singing in the streets rather having either performance situations of the approach we now know as " a music video " .
Many modern directors of movie musical tend to shy away from doing literal breaking-into-song instead setting up " It's all a fantasy in the person singing's head " concepts , like the movie of CHICAGO .
I imagine It's probable the Jersey Boys movie will concentrate on presenting the songs as the groups' performing on stage/rehearsing or in the recording studio/music video-style montages on the screen as the music plays over it .
I tend to think the Annie remake will tend to do less presenting of book musical-style singing of the songs than the stage production or the 1982 version ~ In an earlier trailer I saw what seemed to be " Tomorrow " playing in the background at a big party , perhaps the characters singing it at the party ~ but not totally present nothing in that manner .
Two Bob Fosse creations come to mind. Cabaret (stage version and movie) has all of its singing in the context of performance, even the very disconcerting Nazi one(s).
His semi-autobiographical movie All That Jazz also has all of the singing in the context of performance, whether on stage, in rehearsal, or a special personal performance. All That Jazz is one of my favorite movies.
...Early notices that I've seen of the ANNIE newie (Two full , and the lede of the paywalled San Francisco Chronicle's .) Are Not Good . Apparently the music is quite demphised(sp) .