As a seasoned movie critic with a lifelong passion for musicals and a soft spot for iconic tales reimagined, I must say that the making of “Wicked” has been nothing short of a magical journey, filled with twists and turns that would make even Dorothy’s path to Oz look straightforward.
The film adaptation of “Wicked” we ended up with might have been drastically different, considering the numerous paths its development from a beloved novel to Broadway musical to movie almost took. Interestingly, the Wicked movie was nearly not a musical and had potential stars like Demi Moore and Whoopi Goldberg in contention, alongside director Robert Zemeckis.
In a recent chat with Vanity Fair, longtime producer Marc Platt shared fascinating insights into how the Wicked movie nearly took a different path since the publication of the Gregory Maguire novel in 1995.
Who Else Was Nearly Involved in the ‘Wicked’ Movie?
According to Platt, he aims to recall the exact sequence of events, but recollects that he assumed the role of President of Production at Universal when the project was already in place. He noted that the project was initially optioned by Demi Moore’s production company first.
Besides her, there were others who showed interest as well. Among them were Whoopi Goldberg, Claire Danes, Salma Hayek, and Laurie Metcalf, according to Macguire. However, it was Demi Moore that he was particularly enthusiastic about. He often said, “I can envision Demi Moore naked and green on the cover of Vanity Fair,”, a reference to her famous photoshoot with the magazine.
During the progression of the film as a conventional drama, it seemed that no one involved in the project was particularly enthusiastic about its direction. In fact, Maguire admitted, “While I have immense respect for screenplay writers—and let me clarify, I’m not one myself—I must confess that I wasn’t overly fond of those scripts.
As a music-loving film buff, I stumbled upon the captivating tale that a friend recommended. Intrigued and inspired, I decided to transform this story into a musical spectacle – a challenge many dismissed, especially during the late ’90s when Hollywood musicals were deemed an improbable, outdated trend. Undeterred by these skeptics, I was determined to breathe life into this enchanting narrative through song and dance.
But Schwartz was convincing enough that Platt eventually agreed, too. As the VF piece puts it:
Schwartz remained determined to transform Maguire’s book into a musical production, so he contacted Platt to discuss potential options. As Schwartz explains, “My proposal to him was for a stage musical, and if that proves successful, we would then adapt the stage musical for a film.
[Platt] didn’t immediately agree during our first encounter, instead expressing, ‘I’ll take some time to think about what we discussed.’ It seemed he was anticipating the second draft of the screenplay and wanted to carefully consider our conversation. Initially, I walked into that meeting with little hope, thinking, ‘There’s no way a major studio head will alter their plans, especially since they’ve already invested in screenplays for this as a drama.’ Yet, I was determined to try my luck because I really wanted it. Remarkably, it turned out that the person I met was Marc Platt.
Platt shares that his decision was, “‘I’ll take a left turn and not start it as a film initially,'” leading Schwartz and later writer Winnie Holzman to debut it on stage first. He had always envisioned it as a film due to its ties with “The Wizard of Oz” and the fact that it’s a world to explore visually, but he’s grateful for waiting as it eventually became a musical. If not for the Broadway musical’s success, we might never have witnessed the hit movie starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, which was named the best of 2024. This demonstrates that sometimes, you need to follow the right path where it leads.
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2024-12-20 04:33