A little Olivia trivia about XANADU
I've been an Olivia fan since the mid 70s, and remember going to the movies to watch this in 1980 (I was 16 then). Anyhow, here's a little bit of trivia for Olivia fans who may be old enough to remember this.
I must say I'm not sure how much of it was just rumor (because there were a lot of rumors floating around at the time over this project) but it has come up from time to time while discussing this movie's past...
After the success of 'Grease', ONJ and her team was looking for another musical for her to star in under RSO. At the time (1979-80), Stigwood and his theatrical partner Andrew Lloyd Webber were trying to get the musical 'Evita' (the biggest hit on B'way back then) to the screen. A number of musical actresses were bounced around (including Liza Minnelli) for the starring role, but the one actress they both wanted for the lead was Streisand. However, Streisand had no interest in the movie - she didn't like the story, the music (she has never recorded anything from this musical) nor the woman Evita Peron.
While the project was being tossed back and forth and getting nowhere (at one point, there was an early 1980 press release saying Streisand was going to star opposite Marlon Brando), Streisand suggested to the producers they should consider her friend ONJ as EVITA. It didn't take much for ALW to say yes, as he always loved her version of '...Argentina' from her 1977 album 'Making A Good Thing Better'. ONJ was (allegedly) very interested in starring in the movie.
However, others felt ONJ was not right for the fiery Evita Peron, and production stalled and stalled and stalled....which is when XANADU came her way. After XANADU initially flopped at the box office, they were less convinced ONJ would be a hit in EVITA. The musical stalled again, until 1982 when her name was mentioned once more - as producers were focused on Liza. ALW was still rooting for ONJ over Liza, and the production dragged on and one - while ONJ eventually made 'Two of a Kind'. (Theater star Patti Lupone was also considered to reprise the role on film, but she wouldn't do a screen test - as she felt this was an insult to her.)
As we all know, the 80s came and went - no ONJ in 'Evita', and in 1995-96 Madonna took the role for the movie.
Again, not sure how much of this is rumor (though ALW used to tell this story when Madonna was filming the movie,and Patti Lupone has talked about this as well.) But this was the 'gossip' coming out of Hollywood at the time.
"Splodey heads keep splodin' " - Sarah Palin, 7-1-16