chances. It seems La LA land might take the Oscar trophies this year. Ryan Gosling won at the Globes which means he's a sure lock for an Oscar nom as well. So because of all this coverage and buzz that LLL is getting, seems like Greatest Showman will get the shaft next year, cause the Academy's not going to award the same type of film two years in a row.
shareDoes lightning ever strike twice
In 1964 and 1965 it did, at the Oscars! My Fair Lady won Best Picture in1964 and The Sound of Music won the same award in 1965!
http://magazine.foxnews.com/celebrity/10-movie-musicals-won-best-picture-oscar
Of course, that was a very long time ago -- but those two movie musicals are real classics -- both on film and on stage!
But what is important now is that they do make an excellent artistic and entertaining movie with THE GREATEST SHOWMAN! It looks like there are many elements present which augurs well for this film project --
*The script is written by Oscar winner Michael Arndt, with inputs from Bill Condon ( of the well-received film adaptation of DREAMGIRLS and currently helming the other 2017 big musical Beauty and the Beast) and Jenny Bicks whose initial script emphasis was on the Jenny Lind controversy)
*The musical score is composed by the hottest musical team at the moment - Pasek and Paul who were lyricists for LalaLand and have just opened with the latest Broadway musical hit Dear Evan Hansen
*The cast is very strong -- Hugh Jackman is a triple threat who proved his worth in a film musical, Les Miserables ( for which he received an Oscar nod), and of course on Broadway and the West End in London; Michelle Williams who has been thrice-nominated for an Oscar and who was in a fairly recent revival of the musical Cabaret; Zac Efron who grew up before our eyes with his High School Musical series and later co-starred in Hairspray; Rebecca Ferguson who broke out in Mission Impossible but who has Jenny Lind's Swedish nationality and who also has a musical training background; and Zendaya who has charmed with her singing and dancing. Keala Settle and a few others represent the Broadway community in this film project.
*The direction is by Michael Gracey, admittedly a newbie in film directing but who has made a name for himself in spectactular commercial ads ( such as Jackman's own Lipton Tea commericial), film visual effects, and dazzling choreography. Gracey has also been with the project for its many years of development, including the final workshops with Broadway actors, in which the final greenlight from FOX was secured for the project!
*It will be the first studio-produced and -distributed original movie musical in decades! It has the full support of Fox, which gave us many movie musicals in the past, including Moulin Rouge which revived the genre in recent years! Fox even gave the movie a Christmas Day release this year, a sign that it is going to be touted as a family-friendly movie musical and the other side of the coin for yearend holiday-releases : that it may want to attract the attention of the awards community!
Of course, no one can say for sure that this is surefire Oscar bait! But given all those factors, THE GREATEST SHOWMAN's dice seems well-loaded
On the other hand, LOGAN (Hugh Jackman's final Wolverine movie) given its universal appeal due to the first trailer and all other artistic aspects so far disclosed may just sneak in and run away with Oscar glory! It has been touted for its realism and artistry in the hands of James Mangold (whose diversity in his film-making has been recognized)...Hey, it is holding its world premiere at one of the most prestigious film festivals known for its arthouse orientation, the Berlinale, but also said to be the best-attended of all film festivals! I am sure there is a general appreciation for Hugh Jackman's longterm commitment ( 17 years!) to that franchise, which revived the most successful movie genre at the moment! Hey, remember how he got a standing ovation when he hosted the Oscars, in which his finale lines were " I am Wolveriiiiiinnnnnnnnnnnnnne!".
Who knows what the future may bring -- I think so long as the cast, creative team, and crew worked their very best on THE GREATEST SHOWMAN...that that could already be the best artistic ( and hopefully, commercial) satisfaction for them and the fans!
We'll see...keeping my fingers crossed
Probably there's no chance to win, but he will still compete maybe
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