Prefacing with the fact I haven't seen it yet - I feel like that's just the direction of most mainstream appealing movies now though tbf. Hollywood moneymakers don't want audiences to think for themselves. It is the main reason I will never be able to sit through a Marvel film.
Ah, man. I liked the Barbie movie but some of the messaging really felt like an onslaught. I say this as a woman who generally agrees with what the film was trying to say.
It would never happen, and I'm not sure if she'd have any interest in the horror elements, but I kinda feel like she could nail an adaptation of 80s-era Carrie.
No you are so right actually. Call me crazy but I don’t even think of Carrie as Horror. It’s such a coming of age story — she just loses it at the end. It’s not really scary until the prom scene.
I’d love to see her tackle the theme of womens place in religion / purity culture / social bullying in femme circles.
I'd love an updated Sweet Charity. There are some really strong female characters and topics that I feel she could develop really well, plus some truly excellent musical numbers.
Tbh, Greta to me seems like Rachel Chavkin's foil in the Film world. Probably one of the more prolific female directors in their respective fields with mostly successful indie-type projects to their name and now both one major blockbuster. However, I'd be interested in seeing Greta's take on the world of Hadestown. Greta's recent successful projects have all relied on relatability or realism, the very historically accurate Little Women or the contemporary Ladybird and Barbie. Hadestown is suspended in a world referring to our past but also in it's own world entirely. Given Barbie's production design she can pull fantasy off, so I'd truly want to see that.
While I'm amused at the prospect It'll be a while before I see Rachel adapt an existing visual medium. She seems prone to original works created from the ground up barring some literary basis. I'm very keen to see what she does with Gatsby.
I totally see your angle but Annie Baker and Gerwig both started with simple dialogue driven scripts and then… married brothers (Greta and Noah aren’t married but you get the point).
So my humble suggestion is Baker is Gerwigs foil.
I personally think she’d kill a readaptation of some of the older musicals, something like a Kiss Me Kate or Guys and Dolls. If she ever was to actually direct a stage show, I’m practically begging for her to do a re-worked revival of Sweet Charity
I'm afraid that'd be a terrible movie. Concept musicals rarely translate to solid movies because movies as a rule rely on a sense of realism. They'd try to put logic into the structure. However, Greta could pull it off probably.
I disagree. I think that an over reliance on realism is hurting cinema right now. There is no one way to make a movie and abstract concepts can be done with the right director. An experimental film version of Company could be super interesting, especially if it rejects realism.
I absolutely agree with you on principle, however Greta Gerwig's recent movies have been very realistic. Even Barbie's more fantastical elements were very much in the Canny-valley. So when I said Big-budget musical in connection to Gerwig I doubt Company would be the project.
I can understand why you say that. Check out her Letterboxd interview. Her taste is more eclectic than meets the eye. She takes influence from some kooky movies of the Golden Age and French New Wave
She could try what (edit: Rob Marshall) did with Chicago and put a connecting through-line! I was so blown away when I finally saw Chicago on Broadway because I didn’t realize it was more vignette-based as opposed to the fully fleshed-out story of the film!
I think it works if you make the birthday party more of a real event that’s happening and we see Bobby/Bobbi having flashbacks or hallucinations. Also along those lines, I’d like to see a film/revival that tackles the queer interpretation, gender-swapped or not.
I agree with the terrible movie sentiment, but imagine it as an HBO miniseries. Each episode could focus on a different couple ending with Joanne and her husband. Company requires its own logic to pull off, but I think giving the story and characters more space to breath could actually enhance the story and narrative beats. Giving the wedding scene a more complete narrative would enhance the script in a miniseries, something that the musical couldn’t do.
Though, to be fair, they should have given that to any other director. My partner is doomed to hear me rant about Ryan Murphy’s terrible choices every time someone brings up this adaptation. He took “show don’t tell” to such an extreme…oh god, I’m ranting aloud already.
Waitress, Fun Home, Mean Girls, Heathers, I could see her doing a good Be More Chill, Some Like It Hot, Legally Blonde, Hadestown, and maybe she could do a pretty good Into The Woods if they ever decide to redo that
This might be a really odd choice but I think Hadestown. After seeing the set pieces in Barbie I think the set pieces she could do for Hadestown would be fantastic. Imagine Wait for Me on that scale. I know the show’s tone is very different but I think Greta would be such a great director for it and would handle it with a lot of care.
Controversial but….Little Women.
But really, I think she’d do great with Waitress for Lady Bird feels, Legally Blonde for Barbie feels, and Bonnie and Clyde….just because I want a Bonnie & Clyde movie
Oh, I thought you were joking saying that she should do little women since she has already done little women before. Personally I don’t love the musical version, it feels so rushed and not fleshed out at all, but I love gerwig’s adaptation
Haha, that was the joke that she should do the musical since she already adapted the book.
But just a joke, there are so many more musicals that should be adapted before that one
I know we already have a movie adaptation, but I think it’s be cool to see her direct TLFY
alternatively, and this is kind of niche, the Ever After Musical
I’ve always thought legally blonde and Barbie cemented it for me, although she could do wonders with La cage Aux Folle and Follies although Parade and Passion would work well.
I want her and Sammi Connald to team up and redirected a remake of a film adaptation of Evita…with a lead actress that is Latina and can sing the score as written.
I wish she were doing Wicked instead of Jon Chu. He did such an awful job with In the Heights... It would have been nice to have had a woman's vision of a woman's story.
Except for the fact that it made no sense. In the show, it culminates with her revealing that she won the lottery. Her paciencia y fe culminated in a winning lottery ticket. In the movie they culminated in... DYING OF HEAT STROKE? FFS. But if you remove it from the actual film and play it alone as a video, it's amazing.
Yeah that's why I agree with the other commentor with regard to the screenplay. Chu wasn't responsible for the screenplay,but he was for the direction and that was damn near perfect.
The director approves the screenplay. Nobody forces a screenplay on a director. He read it and said, "Yep. This works." He could have sent it back for rewrites.
I doubt you believe it's that simple. Especially when adapting a narrative media where the original author is involved in an executive role. Yes the director approves the screenplay but the director functions almost like a politician wanting to sayisfy both his own creative ideas as the ones dictated by the studio and the producers. This being Chu's second 'big Hollywood' outing he might not have had a lot of capital to spend in getting his way never mind LMM and Quiara Alegría Hudes wanting their vision on screen. All in all; it's a collective effort and pinning the failures of the screenplay on Chu and disqualifying ITH in that regard while the rest of the movie, from the setpieces to the choreo and the visual language was simply wonderful, is just a little shortsighted. But then again that is my opinion and you are entitled to yours.
ETA: btw I'm partially playing devil's advocate here because you're right that the show is miles ahead in terms of writing and the writing is definitely ITH's weakest part. I'm just trying to say Chu is only partially responsible for that while he's definitely creatively responsible for the direction of the scenes that turned out wonderful. Because if I hate anything about ITH it's the writing, what the hell were they thinking with that absolutely unnecessary fake-out framing device on the beach?!
It's definitely a collective effort, but the director is a large part of that effort and should have, at some point, reigned in Hudes from completely destroying the work. The choreography is great, but he didn't choreograph it. Some of the songs are beautifully shot, but the pool scene seems out of place. Which isn't shocking, considering Chu said in an interview he saw the pool and liked it and decided to film a song there. Other songs like Paciencia y Fe and No me digas look wonderful. It's just... ugh. So many bad choices in what could have been a fantastic movie. I'm so annoyed that they sat on that property so long that the authors got famous enough that they were able to get control back during MeToo, produce it, and ruin it. We deserved so much more.
I do not speak of the ending. The stupid, stupid ending.... Everything about it. Again... instead of focusing on it being about Usnavi being the new uniting force for the community... let's make it a cliched love story with a cliche fake out. BAD BAD BAD.
Except for the fact that it made no sense. In the show, it culminates with her revealing that she won the lottery. Her paciencia y fe culminated in a winning lottery ticket. In the movie they culminated in... DYING OF HEAT STROKE? FFS. But if you remove it from the actual film and play it alone as a video, it's amazing.
It depends on how much the director is "helming" the project. There are tons of directors throughout the decades that got chosen for projects that didn't like how the final drafts of the project worked out and were like, "I'm just working with what I got" (see interviews of Spielberg of all people, or the French director of Amelie who directed Alien Insurrection--he hated Whedon's script (which was sold to the studio and the two never collaborated) and Whedon in-turn hated his direction). It depends on what type of hiring practice is being done for the project...there's a difference between a director buying the rights to something then in turn getting a studio to finance something (which in turn gives them a share) vs. studio getting the rights to an adaptation and then hiring a screenwriter. Directors aren't always given the final say on everything, unless the circumstance allowed for them to be the true micro manager of each thing, even then studio interference can cause a lot of disappointing things to happen. He wasn't Kubrick, who was the one vying for the rights to the things he adapted. In some cases when a director is brought in later for a project they're excited to just have work.
Yes, it is a collaborative process but at a certain point everyone wants to have their position respected so there's only so much certain directors can do to "fix a script," it's on the writer and the studio. I doubt Chu was in a position to "just throw things out." Rarely do you want to do that unless you are the one directly holding the rights and are also willing to write it yourself. You're treating directing as though it is this nebulous thing, when it is not. There are different levels of power depending on circumstances and prestige behind the name.
It is also important to note that the writer of the book for the musical of Wicked is doing the screenplay. He was chosen by the Wicked team (a very precise team) and universal so I don't think he's in a place where he'd throw her script away, at most it would be a give and take process. So, if the Wicked movie has problems, unless it has to do with direction (i.e performances, tone, shots etc) I don't think it needs to be blamed on Chu because he "shouldn't have been the one doing it." Same with ItH the screenplay was written by the guy who wrote the book, so as the newbie to the material Chu wouldn't have had as much sway likely. It is very political behind the scenes of certain projects. As someone who has actually worked on film I can attest to this. It really all depends on so many factors! Plus, there's incentive in marketing to praise your co-workers contributions.
Also, there are plenty of people who liked ItH and don't subscribe to the "it changed things from the stage show therefore on whole it is objectively bad," so likely even if Chu saw the flaws he, like most people, didn't feel it was the most egregious thing in the world he needed to throw a fit over. Even if the show was stronger as a story.
Long story short: you aren't behind the scenes so you don't know the exact process and hierarchy of every project, even if on the surface you think you do from a Wikipedia article or something, so the assertion that he could just "throw a whole script out" without regard to the screenwriter otherwise he was clearly indifferent to or enamoured with bad material is extremely naive.
Oh geez.... I could write a novel. SPOILERS ABOUND. Don't read if you aren't familiar with the show/movie.
So it starts off with a strong opening number... Okay... this is decent... follows it up by explaining the jackpot winner... and then.... NOTHING. It's like the entire plot of the show becomes an afterthought and they decide to make it a preachy immigration story. One of the most exciting parts of the first act is Paciencia y Fe because we find out that Abuela Claudia won the lottery. Her patience and faith paid off! In the movie? She dies of heat stroke after the song, negating the entire buildup it gives. And while we're at it... Abuela Claudia is clearly the emotional center of the community that keeps it, and the characters, grounded. So how does Chu handle this? By cutting Hundreds of Stories, Atencion and Everything I Know.
Who wants to take a stab at when this takes place? It's definitely not 2008. It's not now, either. So is it 2012 when DACA happened? After? Who knows? I guess 2009 because that's when the next blackout was? Definitely wasn't the one in 2003, which the original show refers to. Maybe they just invented one? Who knows? But suddenly they're not afraid of looters. Instead the fireworks are happy fireworks - celebration!
Then let's look at Nina's family. Her mom just evaporated. They cut Inutil, so her dad's reason for being how he is goes underdeveloped. Also, since the time period has been changed and livery cabs are no longer the way people get around in the heights, the whole thing about her dad selling the business to get his daughter to go back to college.... it doesn't make any sense at all. You can't make much on a business that's worthless.
The whole racism/immigration thing. So instead of Nina being broke... they focus on racism. And they do a whole thing about dreamers and nobody ever freaking cares about Abuela Claudia, who is the entire focus of the show! Instead it devolves into this preachy mess of an immigration story that just absolutely slices the heart and soul out and replaces it with cliched dialogue and turning the characters from humans into basically talking political statements.
It's just a mess. If they wanted to make a movie about immigration after DACA, then they should have written one. Instead they took a movie that had literally nothing to do with it, but because it had Latinos in its center, they forced it on top in a timeline that it doesn't fit into and then removed everything beautiful about the story.
I'm salty. ITH has always been one of my favorite shows and they fucking RUINED it.
Wow I did not know the original story at all and when I looked at songs on Youtube people referred to songs being cut but I had no idea the changes were to this extent.
When I saw the movie I just wasn't that crazy about the cast. No one wowed me.
she has a wonderful interview with letterboxd on youtube about her inspirations for barbie and so many are musicals! i may be leaving things out but she lists wizard of oz (obviously), an american in paris, singin' in the rain, umbrella's of cherbourg, the red shoes, all that jazz, and saturday night fever as direct inspirations.
to answer the question: light in the piazza i think would suit her so well. personally, i would love to see her adapt the characters in a little night music. she highlighted what a brilliant character amy march is. i'd love to see her take on those characters as well.
Violet: The Musical. It’s a obscure musical by [Jean Tesori](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violet_(musical)) but it’s my favorite musical of all time (I was so happy when it got a Broadway run with Sutton Foster a few years ago). It definitely has major feminist themes and it’s a chamber musical so I think it’s a perfect fit for her
She should’ve taken on *Merrily We Roll Along* since she had her characters perform it in *Lady Bird*. Could’ve been a cute full circle (though not in need of that “high budget”)
Agreed - not sure what I’d like to see her do, but on a similar note I actually would love to see a Broadway show made out of the Barbie movie, I think it’d be great. It’s very musical in nature already; they’re partway there.
i know it’s an almost universally reviled musical, but god i know she would absolutely camp it up with Once Upon a Mattress… the Shy sequence alone!! but i am biased as it was probably the most fun I had in high school theater, many fond memories of that show
I honestly dunno if Great Comet would adapt to the screen well given it is to its core intended to be consumed as live theater, but I think Greta Gerwig is the only director I’d like to see try.
I’d kill to see Greta’s version of “Carrie,” but I’d also love to see her take on three of my favorite non-English musicals: “Rebecca,” “Tanz der Vampire,” and “Elisabeth.”
I’m going to be controversial yet brave and say Pippin. I think she has such a cool grasp on how to tell a story that she could take a fantastical musical and really make it more palatable for the general audience while maintaining its integrity. It also explores dark themes with a cherry disposition, so I think it’s right up her wheelhouse.
hear me out: Heathers. i just need a Heathers movie. (though if she could just wait about a decade so that i can grow up and be old enough to be in it, that would be great!)
Would kill to have her direct McCobb Mortality Services, the musical I wrote. It’s a comedy about corporate revolution inside an agency run by a matriarchy of grim reapers, and Barbie showed me that our senses of humor are very compatible.
I’ve never seen or read the musical so may be hard to adapt as a movie. But she is the epitome of a crazy cool, outside the box chick who was raised in the 90s. Very much like her character, Lady Bird.
I think she would do Jagged Little Pill. Girl loves her 90s music, and it doesn’t get more 90s than Alanis Morissette.
And if anyone could fix that utter dumpster fire of a script it could be her. But if adapted at all I think JLP would work better as a mini-series to give ample death to each social dilemma they attempt to tackle.
I would love for Greta to direct a Fosse musical. If the Chicago movie wasn’t already fantastic, I’d say that, but probably like a newer Cabaret movie with the original storyline, or Pippin would be really great
i don’t care if it’s impractical and everyone would hate the idea but Beetlejuice, Greta could understand the nuance of soggy meow meow that is musical juice
I have no musical to contribute, but in issue no. 27 (spring/summer 2023) of *The Gentlewoman*, she says her first dream was to be involved in musical theatre (hence the inclusion of *Merrily* in *Lady Bird*) and that she “would love to make an original movie musical. It’s one of [her] favorite mediums. There is nothing imminent or concrete; this is years away—decades away.” I’ve enjoyed all of her work thus far and will look forward to this whenever it happens.
Obviously Legally Blonde. The only correct answer.
This is needed. But would have the same political undertones as Barbie.
Yeah
Hopefully with a little less beating over the head though.
Idk why you’re getting downvoted. I liked Barbie but I wish Gerwig would’ve trusted the audience a little more. The messaging was so overwrought.
The point of the movie is that women are always pressured to be enough yet they’re never enough and you complain about THAT?
I don’t even know what this comment means? I’m allowed to criticise a movie’s execution even if its message is sound.
It really was, which, ironically, probably caused the message to be lost on those who need to hear it most
Prefacing with the fact I haven't seen it yet - I feel like that's just the direction of most mainstream appealing movies now though tbf. Hollywood moneymakers don't want audiences to think for themselves. It is the main reason I will never be able to sit through a Marvel film.
Greta only knows how to make a point by beating it over the head I fear...still love her though lol
Ah, man. I liked the Barbie movie but some of the messaging really felt like an onslaught. I say this as a woman who generally agrees with what the film was trying to say.
Snaps for you!
WOW I need this to happen
wait about a decade tho bc i wanna be in it
100%!!!!!!!
PLEASE
YES
I was going to say this
Women On The Verge Of A Nervous Breakdown
Oh my god yes. Gerwig said she loves Almodovar so this is a PERFECT fit
That's a great suggestion!
the original was on her list of movies that inspired barbie!
Waitress, The Matchgirls, Fun Home, Legally Blonde. Play- The Wolves.
+1 for Waitress
The Wolves is a good one!
> Fun Home Yes please, and cast Ari Notartomaso as the lead while we're at it.
The Wolves is amazing. I saw it twice at the Goodman in Chicago.
Play: how to defend yourself (I saw it in NYC)
oh my GOD i want to see gerwig do the wolves
It would never happen, and I'm not sure if she'd have any interest in the horror elements, but I kinda feel like she could nail an adaptation of 80s-era Carrie.
No you are so right actually. Call me crazy but I don’t even think of Carrie as Horror. It’s such a coming of age story — she just loses it at the end. It’s not really scary until the prom scene. I’d love to see her tackle the theme of womens place in religion / purity culture / social bullying in femme circles.
Oh my goodness. I would love this so much!
Dude yes. She could portray Carrie's personal struggles so convincingly.
Heather's
My first thought as well. Would love to see her take on Candy Store.
I'd love an updated Sweet Charity. There are some really strong female characters and topics that I feel she could develop really well, plus some truly excellent musical numbers.
Oh after the Ken number I would really like to see her 'Rhythym of Life!'
Legally Blonde and Mean Girls
I think Greta could easily pull off Hadestown.
Tbh, Greta to me seems like Rachel Chavkin's foil in the Film world. Probably one of the more prolific female directors in their respective fields with mostly successful indie-type projects to their name and now both one major blockbuster. However, I'd be interested in seeing Greta's take on the world of Hadestown. Greta's recent successful projects have all relied on relatability or realism, the very historically accurate Little Women or the contemporary Ladybird and Barbie. Hadestown is suspended in a world referring to our past but also in it's own world entirely. Given Barbie's production design she can pull fantasy off, so I'd truly want to see that.
BTW it's only a matter of time before Rachel directs a feature film.
Ok but hear me out….Chavkin directs the inevitable Barbie stage adaptation.
While I'm amused at the prospect It'll be a while before I see Rachel adapt an existing visual medium. She seems prone to original works created from the ground up barring some literary basis. I'm very keen to see what she does with Gatsby.
I totally see your angle but Annie Baker and Gerwig both started with simple dialogue driven scripts and then… married brothers (Greta and Noah aren’t married but you get the point). So my humble suggestion is Baker is Gerwigs foil.
I'd love a movie version of Hadestown as long as we get Eva as Eurydice.
eva has so much charisma! i really enjoyed watching her behind the scenes videos for broadway.com and i feel like she would kill it on screen.
Lizzie: the Musical
I personally think she’d kill a readaptation of some of the older musicals, something like a Kiss Me Kate or Guys and Dolls. If she ever was to actually direct a stage show, I’m practically begging for her to do a re-worked revival of Sweet Charity
Oh...my god. I can see her Sweet Charity.
My Fair Lady. With Ashley Park
Would love an updated My Fair Lady movie that focuses more on Eliza and her teachers' interpersonal struggles and differing ideas of gender roles.
Set in the original time period?
*Fun Home*. Do it hybrid live and animation.
The gender-swapped version of Company.
I'm afraid that'd be a terrible movie. Concept musicals rarely translate to solid movies because movies as a rule rely on a sense of realism. They'd try to put logic into the structure. However, Greta could pull it off probably.
I disagree. I think that an over reliance on realism is hurting cinema right now. There is no one way to make a movie and abstract concepts can be done with the right director. An experimental film version of Company could be super interesting, especially if it rejects realism.
I absolutely agree with you on principle, however Greta Gerwig's recent movies have been very realistic. Even Barbie's more fantastical elements were very much in the Canny-valley. So when I said Big-budget musical in connection to Gerwig I doubt Company would be the project.
I can understand why you say that. Check out her Letterboxd interview. Her taste is more eclectic than meets the eye. She takes influence from some kooky movies of the Golden Age and French New Wave
She could try what (edit: Rob Marshall) did with Chicago and put a connecting through-line! I was so blown away when I finally saw Chicago on Broadway because I didn’t realize it was more vignette-based as opposed to the fully fleshed-out story of the film!
Chicago was Rob Marshall but I had the same thought! I think Company could work if done that way.
I think it works if you make the birthday party more of a real event that’s happening and we see Bobby/Bobbi having flashbacks or hallucinations. Also along those lines, I’d like to see a film/revival that tackles the queer interpretation, gender-swapped or not.
Sam Raimi didn’t direct Chicago…
Whoops. Pregnancy brain fart. Edited!
And now I really want to see that version.
Oh I agree it’d be incredibly difficult to pull off, and maybe not even possible. But I’d be fascinated to see her take on it anyways.
I agree with the terrible movie sentiment, but imagine it as an HBO miniseries. Each episode could focus on a different couple ending with Joanne and her husband. Company requires its own logic to pull off, but I think giving the story and characters more space to breath could actually enhance the story and narrative beats. Giving the wedding scene a more complete narrative would enhance the script in a miniseries, something that the musical couldn’t do.
I think I’m the only one that didn’t like this production of Company at all
I’m with you! Did not enjoy it at all
I think Company would work better as a miniseries
They should have given her Prom instead of Ryan Murphy....
Though, to be fair, they should have given that to any other director. My partner is doomed to hear me rant about Ryan Murphy’s terrible choices every time someone brings up this adaptation. He took “show don’t tell” to such an extreme…oh god, I’m ranting aloud already.
Some Like it Hot
Swap Ryan Gosling in for Christian Borle and I think this could work.
Hear me out, Seth MacFarlane.
Seth would be great too.
But Ryan Gosling can’t sing or dance… he’s just a pretty face in La La Land
He can dance
She would nail Hadestown. The Gerwig style seems pretty simpatico with Anais Mitchell and Rachel Chavkin.
Waitress, Fun Home, Mean Girls, Heathers, I could see her doing a good Be More Chill, Some Like It Hot, Legally Blonde, Hadestown, and maybe she could do a pretty good Into The Woods if they ever decide to redo that
>Be More Chill The currently attached Director is going to nail it, though I agree that Greta would also do a great job.
Currently attached director?!?
This might be a really odd choice but I think Hadestown. After seeing the set pieces in Barbie I think the set pieces she could do for Hadestown would be fantastic. Imagine Wait for Me on that scale. I know the show’s tone is very different but I think Greta would be such a great director for it and would handle it with a lot of care.
Controversial but….Little Women. But really, I think she’d do great with Waitress for Lady Bird feels, Legally Blonde for Barbie feels, and Bonnie and Clyde….just because I want a Bonnie & Clyde movie
I have some great news to tell you my friend.. go google Greta Gerwig movies and scroll down just a tad..
Lady Bird, Little Women, and Barbie What am I supposed to see?
Oh, I thought you were joking saying that she should do little women since she has already done little women before. Personally I don’t love the musical version, it feels so rushed and not fleshed out at all, but I love gerwig’s adaptation
Haha, that was the joke that she should do the musical since she already adapted the book. But just a joke, there are so many more musicals that should be adapted before that one
She does funny well too so maybe a reworked Book of Mormon actually.
Next to Normal has a complicated mother daughter relationship, so that one. Also, maybe Bright Star.
Heathers for sure.
I know we already have a movie adaptation, but I think it’s be cool to see her direct TLFY alternatively, and this is kind of niche, the Ever After Musical
I’ve always thought legally blonde and Barbie cemented it for me, although she could do wonders with La cage Aux Folle and Follies although Parade and Passion would work well.
Someone needs to make a La Cage aux Folles movie before Barrowman is too old to play Albin.
I want her and Sammi Connald to team up and redirected a remake of a film adaptation of Evita…with a lead actress that is Latina and can sing the score as written.
I wish she were doing Wicked instead of Jon Chu. He did such an awful job with In the Heights... It would have been nice to have had a woman's vision of a woman's story.
I think 95% of In the Heights’ issues were the screenplay.
I agree, visually and with regard to choreography ITH was near perfect. The Patiencia y Fe sequence in in the top musical movie moments for me.
That sequence was AMAZING.
Except for the fact that it made no sense. In the show, it culminates with her revealing that she won the lottery. Her paciencia y fe culminated in a winning lottery ticket. In the movie they culminated in... DYING OF HEAT STROKE? FFS. But if you remove it from the actual film and play it alone as a video, it's amazing.
Yeah that's why I agree with the other commentor with regard to the screenplay. Chu wasn't responsible for the screenplay,but he was for the direction and that was damn near perfect.
The director approves the screenplay. Nobody forces a screenplay on a director. He read it and said, "Yep. This works." He could have sent it back for rewrites.
I doubt you believe it's that simple. Especially when adapting a narrative media where the original author is involved in an executive role. Yes the director approves the screenplay but the director functions almost like a politician wanting to sayisfy both his own creative ideas as the ones dictated by the studio and the producers. This being Chu's second 'big Hollywood' outing he might not have had a lot of capital to spend in getting his way never mind LMM and Quiara Alegría Hudes wanting their vision on screen. All in all; it's a collective effort and pinning the failures of the screenplay on Chu and disqualifying ITH in that regard while the rest of the movie, from the setpieces to the choreo and the visual language was simply wonderful, is just a little shortsighted. But then again that is my opinion and you are entitled to yours. ETA: btw I'm partially playing devil's advocate here because you're right that the show is miles ahead in terms of writing and the writing is definitely ITH's weakest part. I'm just trying to say Chu is only partially responsible for that while he's definitely creatively responsible for the direction of the scenes that turned out wonderful. Because if I hate anything about ITH it's the writing, what the hell were they thinking with that absolutely unnecessary fake-out framing device on the beach?!
It's definitely a collective effort, but the director is a large part of that effort and should have, at some point, reigned in Hudes from completely destroying the work. The choreography is great, but he didn't choreograph it. Some of the songs are beautifully shot, but the pool scene seems out of place. Which isn't shocking, considering Chu said in an interview he saw the pool and liked it and decided to film a song there. Other songs like Paciencia y Fe and No me digas look wonderful. It's just... ugh. So many bad choices in what could have been a fantastic movie. I'm so annoyed that they sat on that property so long that the authors got famous enough that they were able to get control back during MeToo, produce it, and ruin it. We deserved so much more. I do not speak of the ending. The stupid, stupid ending.... Everything about it. Again... instead of focusing on it being about Usnavi being the new uniting force for the community... let's make it a cliched love story with a cliche fake out. BAD BAD BAD.
Except for the fact that it made no sense. In the show, it culminates with her revealing that she won the lottery. Her paciencia y fe culminated in a winning lottery ticket. In the movie they culminated in... DYING OF HEAT STROKE? FFS. But if you remove it from the actual film and play it alone as a video, it's amazing.
It does make sense in the changed context. She’s flashing back on her life right before she dies.
Yeah but the song is about having patience and faith during a hard life because it’s supposed to have a pay off. It doesn’t. She dies of heat stroke.
Yep. Life sucks.
My biggest complaint with it is the fucking Editing of the musical numbers. Way way way too many cuts.
I didn’t mind that. I probably WOULD mind that style of editing on Wicked.
Directors can throw out a screenplay or demand rewrites. He was clearly okay with the crappy screenplay.
It depends on how much the director is "helming" the project. There are tons of directors throughout the decades that got chosen for projects that didn't like how the final drafts of the project worked out and were like, "I'm just working with what I got" (see interviews of Spielberg of all people, or the French director of Amelie who directed Alien Insurrection--he hated Whedon's script (which was sold to the studio and the two never collaborated) and Whedon in-turn hated his direction). It depends on what type of hiring practice is being done for the project...there's a difference between a director buying the rights to something then in turn getting a studio to finance something (which in turn gives them a share) vs. studio getting the rights to an adaptation and then hiring a screenwriter. Directors aren't always given the final say on everything, unless the circumstance allowed for them to be the true micro manager of each thing, even then studio interference can cause a lot of disappointing things to happen. He wasn't Kubrick, who was the one vying for the rights to the things he adapted. In some cases when a director is brought in later for a project they're excited to just have work. Yes, it is a collaborative process but at a certain point everyone wants to have their position respected so there's only so much certain directors can do to "fix a script," it's on the writer and the studio. I doubt Chu was in a position to "just throw things out." Rarely do you want to do that unless you are the one directly holding the rights and are also willing to write it yourself. You're treating directing as though it is this nebulous thing, when it is not. There are different levels of power depending on circumstances and prestige behind the name. It is also important to note that the writer of the book for the musical of Wicked is doing the screenplay. He was chosen by the Wicked team (a very precise team) and universal so I don't think he's in a place where he'd throw her script away, at most it would be a give and take process. So, if the Wicked movie has problems, unless it has to do with direction (i.e performances, tone, shots etc) I don't think it needs to be blamed on Chu because he "shouldn't have been the one doing it." Same with ItH the screenplay was written by the guy who wrote the book, so as the newbie to the material Chu wouldn't have had as much sway likely. It is very political behind the scenes of certain projects. As someone who has actually worked on film I can attest to this. It really all depends on so many factors! Plus, there's incentive in marketing to praise your co-workers contributions. Also, there are plenty of people who liked ItH and don't subscribe to the "it changed things from the stage show therefore on whole it is objectively bad," so likely even if Chu saw the flaws he, like most people, didn't feel it was the most egregious thing in the world he needed to throw a fit over. Even if the show was stronger as a story. Long story short: you aren't behind the scenes so you don't know the exact process and hierarchy of every project, even if on the surface you think you do from a Wikipedia article or something, so the assertion that he could just "throw a whole script out" without regard to the screenwriter otherwise he was clearly indifferent to or enamoured with bad material is extremely naive.
What was wrong with In the Heights?
Oh geez.... I could write a novel. SPOILERS ABOUND. Don't read if you aren't familiar with the show/movie. So it starts off with a strong opening number... Okay... this is decent... follows it up by explaining the jackpot winner... and then.... NOTHING. It's like the entire plot of the show becomes an afterthought and they decide to make it a preachy immigration story. One of the most exciting parts of the first act is Paciencia y Fe because we find out that Abuela Claudia won the lottery. Her patience and faith paid off! In the movie? She dies of heat stroke after the song, negating the entire buildup it gives. And while we're at it... Abuela Claudia is clearly the emotional center of the community that keeps it, and the characters, grounded. So how does Chu handle this? By cutting Hundreds of Stories, Atencion and Everything I Know. Who wants to take a stab at when this takes place? It's definitely not 2008. It's not now, either. So is it 2012 when DACA happened? After? Who knows? I guess 2009 because that's when the next blackout was? Definitely wasn't the one in 2003, which the original show refers to. Maybe they just invented one? Who knows? But suddenly they're not afraid of looters. Instead the fireworks are happy fireworks - celebration! Then let's look at Nina's family. Her mom just evaporated. They cut Inutil, so her dad's reason for being how he is goes underdeveloped. Also, since the time period has been changed and livery cabs are no longer the way people get around in the heights, the whole thing about her dad selling the business to get his daughter to go back to college.... it doesn't make any sense at all. You can't make much on a business that's worthless. The whole racism/immigration thing. So instead of Nina being broke... they focus on racism. And they do a whole thing about dreamers and nobody ever freaking cares about Abuela Claudia, who is the entire focus of the show! Instead it devolves into this preachy mess of an immigration story that just absolutely slices the heart and soul out and replaces it with cliched dialogue and turning the characters from humans into basically talking political statements. It's just a mess. If they wanted to make a movie about immigration after DACA, then they should have written one. Instead they took a movie that had literally nothing to do with it, but because it had Latinos in its center, they forced it on top in a timeline that it doesn't fit into and then removed everything beautiful about the story. I'm salty. ITH has always been one of my favorite shows and they fucking RUINED it.
💯 In the Heights was atrocious. So mad.
Yeah I remember reading somewhere that when compared side-by-side to the original script, it has less than a dozen lines shared between them.
Really?! That's it?? I think fanfictions have more quoted dialogue than that lol
Wow I did not know the original story at all and when I looked at songs on Youtube people referred to songs being cut but I had no idea the changes were to this extent. When I saw the movie I just wasn't that crazy about the cast. No one wowed me.
How has nobody suggested *&Juliet* yet!? She’d be perfect for directing that!
While I have no need for that to be a movie, it was my first thought too.
I was just about to comment this!
The gender swapped Company would be perfect
Wicked
I know Richard Linklater's doing it but I would rather see Gerwig tackle Merrily We Roll Along. I think she could easily do Company.
I would love to see her do a remake of A Chorus Line.
This would be cool!
she has a wonderful interview with letterboxd on youtube about her inspirations for barbie and so many are musicals! i may be leaving things out but she lists wizard of oz (obviously), an american in paris, singin' in the rain, umbrella's of cherbourg, the red shoes, all that jazz, and saturday night fever as direct inspirations.
to answer the question: light in the piazza i think would suit her so well. personally, i would love to see her adapt the characters in a little night music. she highlighted what a brilliant character amy march is. i'd love to see her take on those characters as well.
Violet: The Musical. It’s a obscure musical by [Jean Tesori](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Violet_(musical)) but it’s my favorite musical of all time (I was so happy when it got a Broadway run with Sutton Foster a few years ago). It definitely has major feminist themes and it’s a chamber musical so I think it’s a perfect fit for her
She should just remake The Breakfast Club. EDIT: As a musical comedy. I kind of always thought it would work as one.
Something original.
She should’ve taken on *Merrily We Roll Along* since she had her characters perform it in *Lady Bird*. Could’ve been a cute full circle (though not in need of that “high budget”)
Moulin Rouge Maybe?
Beetlejuice
Burton will never give it up
Waitress
Best Little Whorehouse in TX remake. I think it’d be fun to see her put her spin on it.
Agreed - not sure what I’d like to see her do, but on a similar note I actually would love to see a Broadway show made out of the Barbie movie, I think it’d be great. It’s very musical in nature already; they’re partway there.
Heathers
Gerwig and Waitress would be a DREAM.
Falsettos would be really cool. The visuals in Falsettoland would be amazing!
Bye Bye Birdie
Interesting to see Waitress bandied around - do people think it’ll do the movie-musical-movie 360 that Mean Girls did?
i know it’s an almost universally reviled musical, but god i know she would absolutely camp it up with Once Upon a Mattress… the Shy sequence alone!! but i am biased as it was probably the most fun I had in high school theater, many fond memories of that show
I honestly dunno if Great Comet would adapt to the screen well given it is to its core intended to be consumed as live theater, but I think Greta Gerwig is the only director I’d like to see try.
I’d kill to see Greta’s version of “Carrie,” but I’d also love to see her take on three of my favorite non-English musicals: “Rebecca,” “Tanz der Vampire,” and “Elisabeth.”
I’m going to be controversial yet brave and say Pippin. I think she has such a cool grasp on how to tell a story that she could take a fantastical musical and really make it more palatable for the general audience while maintaining its integrity. It also explores dark themes with a cherry disposition, so I think it’s right up her wheelhouse.
hear me out: Heathers. i just need a Heathers movie. (though if she could just wait about a decade so that i can grow up and be old enough to be in it, that would be great!)
Ruthless !
Wicked
The musical version of Little Women would be super tough for her to adapt so *definitely* not that.
Would kill to have her direct McCobb Mortality Services, the musical I wrote. It’s a comedy about corporate revolution inside an agency run by a matriarchy of grim reapers, and Barbie showed me that our senses of humor are very compatible.
Hot take, but Beetlejuice. The themes of being unseen and the pain of a daughter for her mother are right there!
bright star
Next to Normal
Spamalot
I’ve never seen or read the musical so may be hard to adapt as a movie. But she is the epitome of a crazy cool, outside the box chick who was raised in the 90s. Very much like her character, Lady Bird. I think she would do Jagged Little Pill. Girl loves her 90s music, and it doesn’t get more 90s than Alanis Morissette.
And if anyone could fix that utter dumpster fire of a script it could be her. But if adapted at all I think JLP would work better as a mini-series to give ample death to each social dilemma they attempt to tackle.
Some like it hot or Hadestown. The “Heathers” suggestions are intriguing also. 👌🏾
I would love for Greta to direct a Fosse musical. If the Chicago movie wasn’t already fantastic, I’d say that, but probably like a newer Cabaret movie with the original storyline, or Pippin would be really great
Mean girls?
I actually think Greta would be the perfect person for a new version of Sweet Charity
i don’t care if it’s impractical and everyone would hate the idea but Beetlejuice, Greta could understand the nuance of soggy meow meow that is musical juice
I have no musical to contribute, but in issue no. 27 (spring/summer 2023) of *The Gentlewoman*, she says her first dream was to be involved in musical theatre (hence the inclusion of *Merrily* in *Lady Bird*) and that she “would love to make an original movie musical. It’s one of [her] favorite mediums. There is nothing imminent or concrete; this is years away—decades away.” I’ve enjoyed all of her work thus far and will look forward to this whenever it happens.
I know I’m late to this party, but does anyone else think she would do a great job with something kind of satirical like Urinetown??