not logged in
| re: The Batman Musical | |
Posted by:  |
rockfenris2005 06:05 pm UTC 05/02/21 |
| In reply to: | re: The Batman Musical - Evan 09:00 am UTC 05/02/21 |
If they had managed to get it right, I think it would have been sensational. It's that version I really believe in. You should watch the Tim Burton Batman movies sometime, and then keep in the back of your mind what Jim would have done with a musical. It starts getting really, really exciting then, especially when the Joker and Catwoman characters come in. > Thank you for posting. It’s sad to see that the failure of > Dance of the Vampires likely caused some of the pushback > with the Batman musical. This is the first I’ve heard of > this, although it certainly makes sense. Tanz itself > preserves all of the dark and gothic themes that I imagine > to be prevalent in a true Batman musical, however look at > how those were translated to Broadway in DOTV. For all we > know the same thing could’ve happened to the Batman > musical if the wrong people were given creative control. > Hopefully that wouldn’t have been the case but who knows? > It also could’ve been spectacular. One things for sure, it > would’ve received a lot of publicity. > > > > > Thank you :-) > > > > Let's see what I've got in my archives. > > > > Quote: > > > > DB: I heard that at one point you were trying to put > > together a Batman musical on Broadway. What happened > > there? > > > > TB: They approached me about that and I was interested > > because I liked Jim Steinman; I met him a few times, and > > thought he did some great stuff. But at the end of the > > day, seeing this guy prancing around and singing, I don’t > > know. Look what happened to Spider-Man, right? [Laughs] > > > > End Quote. > > > > That's from a Tim Burton interview from 17 December 2014 > > in the Daily Beast. > > > > Here's another one from Gregg Maday, who started the whole > > project. > > > > Quote: > > > > As Warner Bros. tries again to hit the jackpot on Broadway > > with a $21 million musical adaptation of Beetlejuice, the > > future of its theatre arm remains uncertain. > > > > The Hollywood film studio first considered creating a > > division to produce live stage shows after witnessing > > Disney’s success bringing Beauty and the Beast to Broadway > > in 1994. The popular musical made over $35 million in > > ticket sales during its first year on the Great White Way, > > and spawned five replica productions in 1995. > > > > “I had been following the success of Disney,” explained > > its founder, Gregg Maday, “and it looked to me like our > > two companies were very similar in how they were > > structured, and how they viewed the business.” Like > > Disney, Warner Bros. had an extensive catalog of popular > > films that could be adapted, and also dabbled in the theme > > park and retail businesses. > > > > Maday recognized that mounting a Broadway show could > > create multiple revenue streams for Warner Bros. In > > addition to making money from ticket sales, “[e]ven a > > semi-successful show can restore an old movie’s luster in > > the DVD market and give rise to a slew of video games, > > road companies, toys, T-shirts and collectibles,” observed > > one writer. > > > > “When it works, it can be magic,” commented Mark Kaufman, > > who now leads the theatre division. > > > > But, when Maday “started to pitch the idea internally, it > > was not very well received,” he said. “No one was focused > > on it,” and “[n]obody cared,” he remembered. For a > > Hollywood film studio, “it did not look like it was a > > mainstream business,” Maday stated. > > > > Madam continued to push for a theatre division, and he > > recalled that “it finally got to the point where I got > > every division head at the studio to get together in one > > room, and I made a formal presentation to them about how > > this would benefit every division in the company if we > > were to get into the theatre business.” > > > > “My point of view was that it was a dream stream of > > revenues,” explained Maday. Warner Bros. could produce its > > own shows like Disney and benefit from the “enormous > > upside to owning something,” and it could also license its > > films to other Broadway producers to adapt like MGM and > > “create another form of revenue.” > > > > After the presentation, Terry Semel, the co-chief > > executive officer at Warner Bros, glanced around the > > conference room. > > > > “Whoever got all these people together should really be > > rewarded,” Semel joked. “It is very difficult to do that,” > > he said, telling Maday to “just take some money, and go do > > something.” > > > > Maday hired prolific Broadway producer Manny Azenberg as a > > consultant, and started looking through the Warner Bros. > > library. “I put together a 22-page study of all the > > different titles that I thought could translate to the > > stage,” Maday recalled. > > > > But, of all the Academy Award-winning films that Warner > > Bros. had produced over the years, Maday chose to make a > > musical about the D.C. superhero “Batman.” > > > > The composer of the chart-topping rock album Bat Out of > > Hell, Jim Steinman, learned about the show, “and he really > > put a full court press on” to write the music, Maday > > remembered. “Jim thought that he was the perfect guy,” he > > said, adding that Steinman’s “gothic rock n’ roll did > > translate to that world.” > > > > “This is a very exciting project that Jim was born to > > write,” commented Steinman’s manager, David Sonenberg, > > while a contract was still being negotiated. > > > > To write the script, executives from Warner Bros. > > approached veteran playwright David Ives. “Even though he > > was new to the form, I think that he wrote a terrific > > book,” Maday commented. It focused on the formation of > > “Batman,” and “I always thought the beginning of ‘Batman’ > > was like Hamlet,” he said. > > > > Tim Burton, who directed two “Batman” films for Warner > > Bros., expressed some interest in directing the musical. > > He was disappointed in how the later films released in the > > “Batman” franchise were written, and he wanted to > > “re-establish his original vision” and “redeem the soul of > > the ‘Batman’ series,” according to one industry insider. > > > > But, after Dance of the Vampires, another musical with > > songs from Jim Steinman and a script from David Ives, shut > > after 56 performances on Broadway in 2003, nobody wanted > > to be linked to a show from the same creative team. “I > > could not find a director,” Maday complained. > > > > The planned musical about the “Caped Crusader” collapsed. > > > > End Quote > > > > That's from 28 March 2019 in Forbes. > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > That was extremely entertaining! Thank you so much for > > > posting it. I always thought a Batman musical if done > > > properly, would’ve been huge on Broadway. It would’ve been > > > wild and exciting. Especially with Jim’s involvement. I > > > wish it had happened. Didn’t Tim Burton’ make some kind of > > > statement regarding it years ago? I can’t remember what he > > > said or if he was enthusiastic about it or not? > > > > | |
| reply | | |
| Previous: | re: The Batman Musical - Evan 09:00 am UTC 05/02/21 |
| Next: | Steinman must have blessed us when he gave us those songs - Evan 12:54 am UTC 04/21/21 |
| Thread: | |