Jim On Film - Jan 9, 2003

Jim On Film
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The Songwriters
Right now, there is a host of extremely talented composers and lyricists making headway in New York. Jason Robert Brown (Parade and the additional music for the upcoming stage version of Urban Cowboy), Michael John LaChiusa (Marie Christine and The Wild Party), Paul Gordon (Jane Eyre), and Frank Wildhorn (Jekyll and Hyde and The Scarlet Pimpernel) are just some of the songwriting talent who are ripe for the picking. Disney’s most prolific writers from the past decade have all come from Broadway, including Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Time Rice, and Stephen Schwartz. Of course, the temptation would be to return to the extremely gifted Alan Menken; however, to diversify talent would help create a diverse body of work. In other words, it might be a good idea to expand into a style different from Alan Menken’s for some films.

The Directors and Choreographers
For Newsies, Disney picked choreographer Kenny Ortega to co-choreograph and direct because he had done work for the studio on other projects, including the musical television series Hull High. Head East. Newsies was a wonderful film, but if Disney were to create another live-action musical film, they should do what they did for their television productions and for Miramax’s Chicago, get someone from Broadway. Kathleen Marshall, the amazing choreographer who set everyone’s feet dancing in their rows during the recent Kiss Me, Kate revival is doing choreography for The Music Man. If Disney starts to produce live-action musicals again, continue this trend.

New Stories
There has been some talk about a possible live-action film version of the stage version of Beauty and the Beast. This would be wonderful to see (and, one might hope, also a film version of Aida starring its three amazing original leads), and no doubt, it would be a smash success for the studio.


(c) Disney

But with the recent turn toward film revivals of Broadway shows, Disney would do better to turn to original material. Not, of course, that there isn’t room for a great film version of many stage musicals, but Disney would do best to create its own stories so that, in the end, its profits are its own.

If the studio were to turn to remakes of Broadway greats, then they should stick with the original book of the show. Only topped by miscasting the leads with big names with little musical talent, the biggest mistake any studio ever made in making film versions of stage musicals was moving too far away from the original book.

Once upon a time, Disney was the leader in setting trends. Disney set the trend for family films, for theme parks, for children’s television, for family adventure films, for animated musicals, and for computer animated films. With the recent box office success of Moulin Rouge and Chicago, audiences are ready for more live-action musicals. Disney has a ready family audience, the audience that would probably be most receptive to the idea of a musical appropriate for families. If it was done right using true musical talent, Disney could stumble upon another trend to lead to box office encores.

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-- Jim Miles

A graduate of Northwestern College in St. Paul, Jim Miles is an educator, play director, and writer.  In addition to his column for LaughingPlace.com, he is currently revising an untitled literary mystery/suspense novel as well as a one-man play.  He is also producing an industry reading for an original dramatic musical work, for which he has written the libretto and lyrics.  After having created theatre curriculum and directed at the high school level, he writes and directs plays and skits for his church. 

Jim On Film is published every other Thursday.

The opinions expressed by our guest columnists, and all of our columnists, do not necessarily represent the feelings of LaughingPlace.com or any of its employees or advertisers. All speculation and rumors about the future of Disneyland and the Walt Disney Company are just that - speculation and rumors - and should be treated as such.

-- Posted January 8, 2003

Copyright Jim Miles. Licensed to LaughingPlace.com.

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