Les Mis

[Olympia]

Lovely!

I'm not thrilled by the song, but I like the idea of it, and it's nice to contemplate a Les Mis song that belongs only to Hugh Jackman. How lucky are we that this charismatic actor is also such a good singer. And as one of the commenters wrote under the article, it's a whole lot better than some of the recent songs put up for Oscars. Remember "It's hard out there for a pimp"? Eeeewwww. I believe the word pimp was "rhymed," so to speak, with the word rent. That song might even have been the winner its year. Ick.

[CoyoteChris]

60 minutes tonight! (or if you misss it, you can watch it on the web)
Hugh Jackman - Scott Pelley profiles the Australian actor known for his "X-Men" role as Wolverine, but who now says he's doing the "role of a lifetime" as Jean Valjean in the film adaption of the musical Les Miserables. Ruth Streeter is the producer.
http://www.cbsnews.com/60-minutes/up-next/

[LRK]

Interviews with:

Anne Hathaway:
http://www.deadline.com/2012/12/osca...anne-hathaway/

Eddie Redmayne:
http://www.deadline.com/2012/12/osca...ddie-redmayne/

[Olympia]

Thanks so much for the links, LRK and Chris! I'll check them out later.

[LRK]

Hugh Jackman featurette:

http://www.deadline.com/2012/12/osca...erables-video/

[CoyoteChris]

This movie just reeks of acadamy award nominations....I saw the Hobbit (mild disappointment) and Lincoln (great) but I think Mis is gonna rake them in.
I think it is fine that she (Anne) likes her short hair....its her hair and no one elses... I dont like it but I dont count. It will be interesting to see what kinds of rolls she gets in the future....so this is 40....

[Olympia]

I think Anne Hathaway is one of the most talented actresses of her generation, and that she'll only get better. She's beautiful, she can do comedy or drama, and she sings like an angel. The only way she can top that is to discover the cure for the common cold.

[CoyoteChris]

Well, we agree on her talants, although as I say, unless you hear her in person, we have no idea if she can really sing...maybe she can, maybe she is so so and the audio track is massaged.....she is certainly a very talanted actress and beautiful woman.

I think Anne Hathaway is one of the most talented actresses of her generation, and that she'll only get better. She's beautiful, she can do comedy or drama, and she sings like an angel. The only way she can top that is to discover the cure for the common cold.

[Olympia]

Here is Anne singing at the Kennedy Center Honors. I don't know what they do to achieve this, whether it's live or lip-synched, but I imagine it gives a good impression of her voice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV7ZD9Gvf_Q

I also love her dress. It manages to combine lavishness and chic with sleeves!

[CoyoteChris]

OH, she can definately sing....it would be interesting to here her live without electronics in the equation. And Russell Crowe. Remember, even Clint Eastwood sang in the musical movie, "Paint your wagon"

Here is Anne singing at the Kennedy Center Honors. I don't know what they do to achieve this, whether it's live or lip-synched, but I imagine it gives a good impression of her voice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rV7ZD9Gvf_Q

I also love her dress. It manages to combine lavishness and chic with sleeves!

[Olympia]

I saw Paint Your Wagon. Trust me, the only person in that movie who really SANG was Harve Presnell, who got a walk-on to sing the gorgeous song "They Called the Wind Mariah." Jean Seberg, Lee Marvin, and Clint Eastwood merely carried a tune. If that. That was from that awful period where producers seemed to feel that a big star was needed to carry a musical, so they couldn't allow an obscure theater performer (with a Real Voice) take the spotlight. Another example: Man of La Mancha, one of the most charming musicals ever on stage, made into a turgid, overblown movie starring--wait for it--Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren. Too bad they couldn't rely on dubbing, the way they used to in some of the old MGM musicals, where phenomenal but non-singing dancers Cyd Charisse and Eleanor Powell were routinely dubbed, and Marni Nixon dubbed part or all of Deborah Kerr's performance in The King and I and Audrey Hepburn's in My Fair Lady.

Thank goodness for 1776, which I watch faithfully every year around July 4. It was a unique production in that I think they used just about everyone from the original cast, who were mostly little-known stage stalwarts including the magnificent John Cullum as Edward Rutledge, William Daniels as John Adams, and Virginia Vestoff as Abigail Adams. I think the only new insert was Blythe Danner as Martha Jeferson.

[Tonichelle]

I LOVE Paint Your Wagon, and Clint did a good job for the type of film/musical it was.

[Olympia]

You know that movie? You are a true buff, Toni!

The only scene I really can say I love is the aforesaid "They Call the Wind Mariah" scene. Beautiful scenery during that interlude, stirring chorus work, and Harve Presnell is just a spectacular baritone. I'm not sure he's even in the rest of the film, but who cares? I can just watch that scene by itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DrOqRQQ9mg

[Tonichelle]

You know that movie? You are a true buff, Toni!

The only scene I really can say I love is the aforesaid "They Call the Wind Mariah" scene. Beautiful scenery during that interlude, stirring chorus work, and Harve Presnell is just a spectacular baritone. I'm not sure he's even in the rest of the film, but who cares? I can just watch that scene by itself.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3DrOqRQQ9mg

He is in the rest of the film, but not as a main or even secondary character.

I love the whole movie, it's so stinkin' funny...

[CoyoteChris]

I used to listen to the sound track...Mariah is an emotional song for me as I live out west and motorcycle tour/camp all around there...but the movie is funny....Lee Marvin was great.
Now the next time you see a medal ceremony at a skating event you can think about the song, "The Best things in life are filthy dirty chunks of gold gold gold.....