Tag Archives: film

Peter Pan-ned.

Let me start out with a fact about myself: I LOVE musical theater. I grew up doing musicals in high school and college, and I listened to every cast album I had access to. One of my favorites? Cats. No judgement. Many television reviewers don’t seem to get musical theatre, which is fine because they are television reviewers. They are not fond of NBC’s recent attempts to bring musical theater to the masses.

There is a reason for that.

Peter Pan was bad.

I didn’t watch The Sound of Music last year because I am a huge fan of the 1965 movie, and I just knew I wouldn’t be able to watch it without over-judging it. Carrie Underwood is very talented, but Julie Andrews / Mary Martin she is not. Many of the complaints I heard, aside from the issue of Underwood not being a great actor, were issues that live theater always deals with. Things fall. Curtains don’t go up. People make mistakes. IT’S LIVE!

I was hopeful for Peter Pan  because I thought Christopher Walken was a good choice for Hook, and I hoped my son would enjoy it because he loves Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Well, the movie lost me a few minutes in. It was Sslllllloooooowwwww. There was very little energy, except among members of the ensemble, and they dubbed the tap dancing, which didn’t even match up with the dubbed sounds.

However, I think NBC’s intent is lovely. Broadway musicals are not accessible to many, either because of price or distance. When schools need to make budget cuts, arts programs almost always go first. Event programming is fun too! Gathering around the TV with the whole family to watch something really special is a nice way to spend the holiday season.

Here are my ideas for future NBC live musicals:

1. Pick a musical that is known, but not overdone.

Peter Pan has been done a million ways from Sunday. There is a Disney treatment (without the same music) and the Mary Martin / Sandy Duncan / Cathy Rigby versions, all of which were parts of every musical kids’ childhood. There are ample chances for disappointment. While The Sound of Music has just the one movie version in addition to the stage show, the film won the Oscar for Best Picture (1965), and is one of the highest grossing films in America.

NBC is planning to air The Music Man next year (while Fox is going to produce Grease, which will probably sound like Glee). YES. THIS is the type of show it should try. People know it, since most high schools put it on every few years, but it can be easily made into a vehicle for someone.

2. Really do it live.

Don’t pre-record things. Find a way to make the tap dancing (or Marian the Librarian foot stomping) heard live. Encourage an energetic performance.

3. Cast Broadway stars

There are loads of people right in NYC (where NBC broadcasts these musicals from) who are full of real energy and talent and very accustomed to performing live 8 times a week. I feel like the ensembles come from this core, but cast more of the leads this way, please. Peter Pan‘s Smee / Mr. Darling is an alum of Legally Blonde, and it was evident in his performance.

4. Start at 7pm

11pm is late for most people, especially school age children. I realize the show will have to be three hours with commercials (and most musicals are kinda long), but you need to meet your audience half way. DVR’s work, but NBC is going for a live event.

5. Give people a reason to watch aside from hate-watching.

To be honest, most people without children who are watching are doing so only so they can bash it the next day at the Keurig machine. I don’t have a solution to this yet, but there has to be a way to increase expectations.

6. Film it like a movie or a live event, not both.

In live theatre, everyone’s expressions are exaggerated and movements are different than in film because the audience is so much further away. With a live TV event, energy is there with the camera right in the actors’ faces. It’s awkward.

There is another problem that NBC can’t really get around. Many of the classic musicals that are family friendly are also seriously outdated. Many articles have already noted the changes to Peter Pan to be more sensitive to Native Americans, but the gender relations are pretty pathetic, and kinda weird considering you have a young woman playing a perpetually young boy. For some reason, many of the “classics” take place between 1890 and 1914. 4 of the 5 high school musicals I did were set in that time period, including The Music Man. More modern “family friendly” musicals are just adaptations of movies (ElfShrek). Musicals that are compelling to the 18 – 49 demographic are too heavy for primetime network TV (see: AssassinsUrinetown, Company). It’s a complicated programming issue that has no single solution.

I want to see NBC continue this live musical idea, but they need to work on some of the core issues that made Peter Pan weak. Bringing more traditional forms of the arts to television is an important public service, in a way, and I hope NBC doesn’t lose their nerve.

 

The Lady Americanist on Transnational Hollywood.

Star Trek: Into Darkness; Monsters University; Fast and Furious 6; Despicable Me 2.

A curious trend has been sweeping the American film industry.  Well, perhaps not that curious once one investigates further.  While art-house film buffs and critics have bemoaned the end of American film for quite a while, the average movie-goer is also starting to wonder if the end isn’t near for the artistic side of the movie experience.  It seems as if every movie at the multiplex is part of a larger franchise.

Has Hollywood run out of ideas?  Doubtful.  Certain filmmakers are still creating fantastic new worlds and weaving nuanced narratives that engage and excite.  Woody Allen still produces an average of one film a year; Wes Anderson takes his time to sketch complex characters who live in deliberately-designed environments, right down to the perfect soundtrack.  The only thing these directors are missing is the massive profits of their sequel-driven counterparts.
In May of 2012, Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom, one of his best received films, made over $66 million worldwide on a budget of $16 million.  Not bad.  It profited and recouped its budget a few times over.  It even tapped into some of the more elusive audiences, appealing to families with older children and teens.  Earlier that same month, the superhero superband film The Avengers came to theaters all over the country. On it’s budget of $220 million, The Avengers made $1.5 billion worldwide.  Billion.  With a “B.”  What did The Avengers have going for it?  Big stars?  Well, while The Avengers had Robert Downey Jr., Chris Helmsworth, and Scarlett Johansson, Moonrise Kingdom had Bill Murray, Edward Norton, and Bruce Willis, who have all been attached to some huge movies in their careers.  Big name director?  Both Joss Whedon and Wes Anderson are pretty well-respected auteurs of creative films.  Awards season fanfare?  Both films were nominated for just one Academy Award, but won other industry honors.
The big difference between The Avengers and Moonrise Kingdom is how they translate abroad.  If a film has nuanced dialogue that is difficult to translate (both in word and emotion), its worldwide appeal drops.  Movies like The Avengers don’t rely on dialogue, but on impressive special effects, action-packed sequences, and characters with notoriety.  The characters of The Avengers are already well-known, requiring no introduction.  The Avengers is also essentially a giant sequel for about six franchises.  Abroad, sequels are keeping Hollywood afloat.
Recently, on NPR’s All Things Considered, Hollywood producer Linda Obst discussed her new book, Sleepless in Hollywood.  She has a lot of tales to tell, but she spent much of the interview discussing “the new abnormal.”  As DVD sales have dropped off, a industry that used to comprise 50% of film revenue, Hollywood has shifted its attention to the profitable international market, which now makes up 80% of the market.  Sequels are especially lucrative: While the profits on the Ice Age films stayed the same with each release (still impressive), each sequel doubled upon the last internationally.  As Obst put it, studio heads certainly understand the “business” part of “show business,” but they have lost the “show.”
Obst does not leave us without solutions.  She suggests making one less “tentpole film,” or films that are guaranteed moneymakers such as the superhero movies or Harry Potter that support the industry financially, and using that $200 million to make a few more small films that attract more ignored audiences.
I would suggest using our consumer power to speak out, but only being 20% of the intended audience puts Americans at a disadvantage in that respect.  Movie theaters and distributers need to re-democratize the movie-going experience as well.  The World War Z $50 ticket is a move in the opposite direction of what most movie-goers want or can afford.  As ticket prices decrease, theaters will see increased audience numbers.  Simple as that.  Theaters should also bring back matinee, student, and other specialty pricing.  Tap into the audiences that have the free time to see films with lower prices.  Audiences will still come in large numbers to evening showings because that is when the average working American has the opportunity to see movies.  That will not change.  Additionally, with lower ticket prices, theaters will see increased activity at the concession stand.
Take, for instance, our local West Shore Theater.  It is a rehabbed 1940s one-screen theater that is packed most evenings.  It only shows two movies a night, one at 7 and one at 9 or 9:30.  Ticket prices are a reasonable $3.50, and concessions are just as inexpensive. I took my mother to see The Hunger Games last summer for less than $10, including a drink and popcorn.  In Philadelphia, its difficult to even get into the theater alone for less than $11.  The West Shore Theater shows late / last run movies.  For example, it is showing Iron Man 3 and The Great Gatsby this weekend, and The Muppets (2011) for a charity fundraiser.  The theater is attempting to raise funds for a digital projector, as most studios are converting to an all-digital format.  The large numbers at the West Shore are evidence enough of what lowered prices will do for attendance.
Sequel-itis is just a symptom of a larger issue in Hollywood.  There is no room in Tinseltown to be a risk-taker; if it isn’t a guaranteed profit maker, especially in the international sector, studios are reluctant.  Even most of the art-films are helmed with veteren directors (Allen, Anderson, Mann, Coppola), so they have something of a built-in audience.  Hopefully profits won’t bury one of America’s most important art forms, allowing creativity and quality to rule the day once more.
Additional Reading:

Pivotal Film: Annie Hall

Woody Allen’s 1977 classic Annie Hall is widely considered to be one of Allen’s best films, along with Manhattan (1979), Hannah and Her Sisters (1986), and Sleeper (1973).  The film is semi-autobiographical, based on the real life relationship between Allen and his leading lady, Diane Keaton, which ended in 1975.  That same year, Allen turned 40, prompting him to evaluate his life, and he began to write Annie Hall.  The film was critically acclaimed, and Allen’s top grossing film until the 2011 release of Midnight in Paris.  The American Film Institute put it at #35 on its 2007 list of Top 100 Films, and at #4 on their list of funniest films of all time.  Finally, it was given the Best Picture, Best Actress (Diane Keaton), Best Director (Allen), and Best Original Screenplay (Allen and Marshall Brickman) Oscars at the 1978 Academy Award ceremony.  In addition to these accolades, Annie Hall marks an important shift in the American perceptions of gender following the feminist movement of the late 1960s, a point thatannie hall poster.jpeg is reflected in Alvy Singer and Annie Hall’s modern romance.

Annie Hall tells the love story of Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) and Annie Hall (Diane Keaton), which is a reflection of both the new 1970s relationship, as well as the actual romance between Allen and Keaton during the early 1970s.  The film addresses new sexual attitudes, new perceptions of gender, and increased equality in relationships.  Although the film ends with Annie and Alvy breaking up (something that is stated in the first minutes of the film), it is still considered by many to be one of the best romantic comedies in American film.  

The women of Allen’s films tend to be of the modern and liberated variety, and Annie is certainly the archetype   She and Alvy (played by Allen) meet on the tennis court, and after a terrifying car ride back to Annie’s apartment, she invites him up for a glass of wine.  She is educated, intellectual, and very much her own person.  While the relationship has its peaks and valleys, Annie becomes dissatisfied when she realizes that Alvy is holding her back, and they break up so she can pursue a career in music.  Alvy encourages her to sing, take college classes, and pursue her other interests, but his neuroses keep him from being as supportive as he could be.  He tries to get her back, but she stands her ground.  
anniehall2.jpg
Alvy is also indicative of the “new man,” who is free to be more sensitive and in touch with his emotions.  With the rise of the feminist movement, men could feel free to be liberated from the social construct of masculinity.  They no longer felt the pressure to have a dissatisfying career in order to be the breadwinner, especially since their wives could just as easily support the family while the husband found a more satisfying job.
alvy with lobster.jpeg
On a more personal note, Annie Hall has been one of the pivotal films of my life.  It introduced me to the genius that is Woody Allen.  The film was one of the three featured in my Masters thesis, and I believe there are so many levels to his films.  While gender is a hot topic in American studies, as well as general films studies, I took a different approach to Annie Hall in my Masters thesis.  New York is unique in that many New Yorkers live without the use of a personal car.  They rely on the subway, cabs, or just their legs.  New York is a city that is incredibly walkable, and during the years leading up to Allen’s film career, that trait was under attack.  Robert Moses’ goal to make New York City a city for cars was moving forward at a frightening pace.  He had cut the Bronx in two with the Cross Bronx Expressway; the Rockefellers had dismantled Lower Manhattan through the creation of the World Trade Center and its “superblock;” and the financial crisis was shutting down public transit in all five boroughs.  Allen speaks out against these changes throughout Annie Hall (as well as his other New York films).  
First, Allen uses the “walk and talk” in numerous scenes.  The first time we see Alvy in the narrative setting (he has spent the first part of the movie doing a talking head scene and flashbacks) as he is walking with his friend Max through Manhattan.  He and Annie have many meaningful conversations while briskly moving along New York’s sidewalks.  He emphasizes the importances of foot travel in the city through these scenes.
Secondly, driving becomes a running joke throughout the film.  Alvy first talks about how he got his anger out as a child at his father’s bumper car ride in Coney Island, and as a result does not drive.  Annie herself is a TERRIBLE driver, mirroring the stereotypical contemporary distracted driver.  She doesn’t have a cell phone, but she is searching for discarded food, trash, gum, and basically doing everything but keeping her eyes on the road.  When Alvy and Annie visit her family in Wisconsin, we discover that Annie has an emotionally disturbed brother, Dwayne.  Dwayne confesses to Alvy that he has a fantasy of crashing his car.  Cut to Dwayne driving Annie and Alvy to the airport, which is one of the funniest and most memorable scenes in the movie.  Finally, when Alvy travels to Los Angeles to find Annie, he is forced to rent a car, and promptly crashes it, and finds himself in jail.
Annie Hall addresses a few of the most important issues of the 1970s, both on nationwide and city-wide levels.  Woody Allen is considered a “New York” director, along with Martin Scorsese and Sydney Lumet.  The issues of New York tend to be the issues of the nation, and therefore Annie Hall is definitely a pivotal American film.