11 x why you can't wait to see ‘Wicked’
It seems like it has been years in the making, and now it is finally happening. Well, almost. On December 5th, we will all be treated to an extra gift, because from that date the film ‘Wicked’ will be in theaters. And besides the fact that I am just very curious about the story (sorry, I really have no idea what this film is about...) there are a few more reasons why we are all so obsessed with ‘Wicked’.
We want to see the sparks fly between Ariana and Ethan with our own eyes
Come on, we have been waiting so long for this. Since it became known that Ariana and Ethan were separating from their then-partners, we all want more info about the couple that has put the set of ‘Wicked’ on stilts together. We are getting far too little from them: where are the photos and the stories? In short, we will have to judge for ourselves: do we see the sparks flying or not?
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The blooper with the Mattel Dolls
What a fantastic idea to make Barbie dolls of the main characters from the film. They will surely do very well with the younger audience. Only, it might not be so smart to put a link to a porn site on the box. Oops. All the dolls have now been pulled from the stores. It will be a time-consuming and expensive joke to replace all those packages.
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Ariana is credited with her real name
Everyone who thought Ariana Grande was her real name, raise your hand. I assume I wasn't the only one who was unaware that Ariana actually has a different name. In the credits of the film, you will not see Ariana Grande, but Ariana Grande-Butera. The reason she chose to have her full name included in the credits is that she loved the story of ‘Wicked’ so much as a little girl. It is a kind of tribute to the little girl she once was.
Diversity was important in the casting
Nessarose, Elphaba's younger sister in the film, is in a wheelchair in the story. Strangely enough, this is the first time that the actress cast for this role is actually a wheelchair user herself. Marissa Bode, the actress playing Nessarose, is very happy about this: she explains how important it is for others to see themselves represented on a red carpet and in the film. It shouldn't be remarkable that an actor or actress is cast who is in a wheelchair, and Marissa hopes this will happen more often.
Ariana changed her voice for her role
There was quite a commotion about it: Ariana suddenly started speaking with a much higher voice since she began with Wicked two years ago. Because she has a lower voice naturally, she received criticism for this (because, why not, people always have to criticize something). The reason she gave is that it is better for her vocal cords to speak at that pitch, but also because she wanted to ‘erase as much of herself as possible for the role of Glinda’. Sounds pretty drastic.
Ariana and Cynthia are true soulmates
Usually, during press moments surrounding new films, you see a few bored actors sitting there who are actually tired of talking about the project, but know it is in their contract to be present, or else they can kiss their money goodbye. With Ariana and Cynthia (Erivo, who plays the ‘wicked witch’), the opposite is true. The two can't stop lovingly talking about the project and each other. In almost every interview, they sit together crying when asked what they enjoyed about working together. Super cute, and of course also nice to see how that bond comes across from the big screen.
The story isn't entirely new. It is based on the popular book series by Sara Shepard (yes, the writer of PLL).
If, like me, you have no idea what ’the Wizard of Oz’ or ‘Wicked’ is actually about, then it is quite necessary to buy a ticket for yet another version of this classic. The only reason you have to give in: you miss out on quite a lot if you don't. You don't want to have to say for the rest of your life that you only know ‘defying gravity’ and never took the effort to engage with the story, right?
If you enjoyed part 1, you can already look forward to part 2
So I had no idea, but it turns out that the director and the rest of the creative team did not want to cut too much music from the story, which made it necessary to split the film into two parts. That is cozy news, because who doesn't love an extra part of a film they like?
The dresses.
The wardrobe of the characters in this film has been made with so much attention and love, and that is reflected in the stunning dresses of the witches. Because we had to wait so long for the film, we are at least treated to a glimpse of the design and production process.
A whole new character is being introduced
Fans of the original story, the Broadway musical, will also be in for a treat, because even for them, there is a surprising twist in the film: a whole new character is being introduced. Miss Coddle, played by Keala Settle, is a role that was specially created for this new version of Wicked. What this character will do for the storyline remains to be seen. No official details have been released yet.
The LIVE singing of all those fantastic songs
Normally, the singing in films is pre-recorded in the studio, among other reasons because it is quite intensive to have to do that multiple times in a row if you need to play a scene just a little differently as directed, then recite all your lines from the script and sing a fairly complicated number again. In this film, everything is sung live. Really incredibly impressive, and also extra fun to watch, because you have the feeling that you are just as ‘there’ as if you were watching on Broadway.
