As a seasoned gamer and musical theater enthusiast who has spent countless hours immersed in both virtual worlds and the real-life stage, I can wholeheartedly appreciate the intricacies that go into creating a captivating production like Wicked. The challenges faced by director Jon M. Chu and his team in bringing Elphaba’s iconic black hat to life on screen are nothing short of mind-boggling.
Ever since its debut in November, the musical “Wicked” has been a blockbuster at the box office, drawing crowds of fans from the Broadway version (naturally) as well as sparking renewed curiosity about “The Wizard of Oz.” As you might be aware, “Wicked” offers a fresh perspective on Dorothy’s story in Oz by portraying Glinda and The Wicked Witch of the West in novel ways. In this adaptation, we find ourselves feeling compassion for the latter, who is now known as Elphaba (skillfully played by Cynthia Erivo). Despite the challenges it presents for the production team, many essential elements from the “Wizard of Oz” mythology must be incorporated into “Wicked.
One such classic from the source material is the black, pointy hat that Elphaba wears in The Wizard of Oz, with Wicked giving that article of clothing some backstory. It turns out that Glinda (Ariana Grande) passes the hat down to her roommate, Elphaba (Erivo), after it’s deemed too hideous for the “Good Witch” to wear. Maybe the hat should have been the inspiration for the Wicked popcorn bucket? Because when Wicked director Jon M. Chu appeared on TopMob’s official ReelBlend podcast, he spoke about the hat, the important emotional qualities that it had, and the challenge he had simply keeping the tall hat in frame!
Jon M. Chu told ReelBlend:
Paul (Tazewell) needed to create a hat that embodied its distinctive shape without literally being it. We collaborated extensively with cinematographer Alice (Brooks) due to the hat’s tall stature, which prompted questions like, “How do we manage this expansive negative space?” or “Should we crop the hat in certain shots? Can we make adjustments to accommodate it?” Ultimately, we decided that while the hat was significant, it shouldn’t overshadow the main focus. Fortunately, Cynthia and Ariana share the same height, providing a consistent baseline for framing purposes.
I find myself yearning to revisit “The Wizard of Oz” once more, to examine how the original director, Victor Fleming, skillfully framed the legendary black witch hat in his shots from 1939. It must have been a fascinating challenge. Moreover, it made me ponder the difficulties a director might encounter when dealing with actors of varying heights, as our current director, Jon M. Chu, seems to have mastered by aligning his actresses effectively, as seen in this photograph.
As Jon M. Chu delved deeper into discussing the hat, he revealed other challenges that came along with it. He explained the “tricky choices” that had to be made right from the start, even going as far as considering the shape of the hat’s brim during the conversation with ReelBlend.
In the realm of Oz-Dust, we needed to capture each scene in a single take as she couldn’t break down her performance into parts. It was overly complex for her, so we opted for extended takes lasting 15 minutes to get these performances, filmed from various angles – close ups, medium shots, wide shots, and tracking her movements. This required a staggering 700 lighting adjustments as we moved around her. We even did a full 360-degree turn here. Alice and her team were constantly on their toes, readjusting for every camera movement, considering factors like the size of her hat brim while ensuring that her eyes remained visible throughout. Despite appearing straightforward, numerous technical aspects had to be managed smoothly.
As a die-hard fan, I’m absolutely captivated by these backstage tales about the creation of “Wicked”. Stuff like, “Why are Fiyero’s eyes blue in this movie?” These questions have me on the edge of my seat! Sadly, it seems we’ll have to hold our breaths until “Wicked: Part 2” arrives for those answers. But hey, if “Part 1” is anything to go by, I think we can all agree that the wait will be worth it, as long as the sequel lives up to its predecessor’s brilliance.
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2024-12-04 04:07