Greatest Showman for pre-production/filming soon!

Rebecca Ferguson has now been announced in the role of Jenny Lind.

Please see thread on the topic.

LOL - I absolutely have no idea how Hugh Jackman, film Adonis, will be profiled physically in this movie.

It is likely a dramatic musical, with strong characterizations ( Michelle Williams does not usually take roles which are light and breezy if that is an indication...also there should be a great deal of acting involved)... and since the final script was written by Oscar winner Michael Arndt, I am confident the storyline will be strong and well-written and characterizations well-defined. I recall that even the role for which Zac was in talks then would have some dramatic elements. Hopefully, there will also be a shared musical number between Barnum and his ringmaster/assistant.


Given that they "borrowed" some great Broadway voices for the final reading ( including Jeremy Jordan, Cynthia Erivo, Keala Settle, Alison Luff, Caroline Bowman, Andrew Keenan Bolger, etc,), it will likely have a beautiful and bountiful musical score ( with Barnum probably taking the lion's share of the singing). We saw the concert staging of THIS IS ME ( via some YouTube uploads), and even if that song is not meant for Barnum but for circus freaks -- you can discern the dramatic elements in the lyrics -- it is the song of people who have been turned away because they look different!


...and it will likely have some dance spectacle numbers ( Michael Gracey's forte includes choreography although he may not do it himself here, but he is likely going to be the strong guiding light for that aspect of the creative design). I can't imagine a portly-looking Barnum doing all those sing-and-dance numbers 



It will likely carry the period-piece look! Hugh does well with period piece roles, complete with costume and wigs ( Les Miserables, The Prestige, Kate and Leopold, the Conquistador part of THE FOUNTAIN trifecta ...even with ...er...Beauty and the Beast )

I am not familiar with the general practice for movie musicals. For stage musicals, there is the extended rehearsal period ( maybe 2 months or so), followed by live previews before a show has its official opening night. It is a little more secretive when it comes to studio movie musicals 

But if they are following what Les Miserables did ( a fairly large group of us here on IMDB were following most details during pre-production, filming, and post-production ) before principal photography ( filming) takes place, there could be an extended amount of rehearsals, especially for lead actor Hugh Jackman ( As Jean Valjean, I think he was rehearsing for something like 8 weeks or so...although the others had to rehearse for only 4-5 weeks), and likely as well as for many action and dramatic scenes. Btw, Les Miserables was a sung-through musical ( hardly any dialog -- everything was sung, from songs to recitatives, aka dialogs) so that was likely the reason for the extended rehearsal period. But Les Miserables did not have any dance scenes, which would be a likely difference with GREATEST SHOWMAN.

Also, this is likely the phase for official pre-production ( completion of casting, production design and building of sets, costume and makeup design, choreography plan, cinematography plan, sound design, studio and outside filming locale engagements, etc.) before they actually start filming. What has been shared so far publicly is that the working script seems to have been completed ( final screenwriter is Michael Arndt) while the musical score by Pasek and Paul is ready enough for filming? Film scoring will likely happen towards or during post-production.

But there is another aspect that has been mentioned before that is not similar to Les Miserables and will have to take place before filming -- the songs will be recorded in a sound studio and will be the basis for the lipsynching ( vs live-singing for Les Miserables) as the actors act out their scenes. I am hoping that this will also be the basis for a movie soundtrack album!


I think someone here mentioned earlier that he/she has heard an early November start of filming. I have heard similar things -- so maybe it might happen then?

Let's hope Hugh will fill us in on the developments as they go along 

We were lucky with Les Miserables -- it was not only media (mainstream and social media) which provided many details on developments but also the actors themselves who shared freely of their own experiences. Russell Crowe was particularly funny and shared a lot of details. So did Samantha Barks and the Barricade Boys ( the young rebels), including details on how many takes they had to do for particular songs! Tom Hooper was also allowing early promo clips as they were filming. Hugh was not doing too many tweets but he would occasionally have a clip on what was happening on set or when he had a particular message which he recorded on set. Maybe he will share more this time? Maybe Zac will also share something? Or Zendaya?


Unless they use the same promo strategy of total secrecy like what FOX, director James Mangold, cast led by Hugh Jackman, have adapted for Hugh's finale Wolverine movie, now tentatively known as WOLVERINE 3 -- complete blackout! We don't even know the official title of the movie (which is due out in early March 2017) -LOL!

Hugh and his family have been residents of New York City since late 2008. Hence, you see him in informal photos moving around the city. He is as much a Broadway performer as he is a film star, and living in NYC makes it easy for him to accept theatre roles ( although he has been on Broadway only 4 times since 2003 but he has participated in theatre-related activities like hosting the TONY awards 4 times).

We don't know where they will be rehearsing nor where they will be filming. There was mention of New York City as the filming locale. Maybe the choice has something to do with tax credit privileges. And maybe it might be because Barnum lived mostly in Connecticutt ( and probably moved around the tri-state area) and period architecture will be available in the tri-state. Plus the New York area is very rich in performing talent, especially for musical theatre on Broadway, in case they need to cast from this pool. Of course we do not know whether there will be any outside filming at all ( they may film inside sound stages most of the time?).

I think filming is generally done in an almost secretive manner...so the chances of seeing anything or anyone might not have a high probability.

I do not know about Zac Efron -- whether he likes to go around the area when he is not filming ( to see or visit places and friends).

Hugh is much easier to meet when he has a theatre engagement as he does meet fans at the stagedoor usually before and after each performance. But I think he is not usually seen too much when he is filming movies, except when he visits places of interest.

Maybe when the movie has been completed and promotion starts, there might be a number of talk show appearances in the New York area - and there may be chances to wait for these actors outside the TV studio?

I do not know whether media is able to cover filming activities ( maybe not) but sometimes they are allowed set visits and interviews -- that is when he do get updates on the filming.

When they were filming Les Miserables in England, there were many social media updates from fans and/or the cast themselves ( Russell Crowe was the funniest with his tweets). Not sure how this cast are prone to share filming details? Hugh might share something occasionally through his twitter or Instagram accounts?