Les Miserables: Even the thread will make you cry

[Pink Ranger]

The fact that the article described adult Cossette as a "juicy role" shows the writer doesn't have a frackin' clue.

 

[narrows101]

Here's another brilliant piece by Jeff Wells at hollywood-elsewhere.com.

Of Mice and Critics and Jean Valjean

The New York Film Critics Circle has decided to junk last year's 11.28 early-vote strategy (which caused too many problems) and will vote instead on Wednesday, December 3rd. Which means, presumably, that the all-but-worthless National Board of Review voting will now be announced before the NYFCC and Los Angeles Film Critic Association voting. Right?

The name of the game right now, presumably, is "stop Les Miserables" -- that is the challenge that critics of vision and presumed backbone will have on their plates six weeks from now. Last year's challenge was "stop The Artist." I got down on my knees and begged them not to give it their Best Picture prize, and to their eternal discredit they ignored me. But I'm getting ahead of things.

I obviously haven't seen Les Miserables, and it may well deserve to win at the end of the day. But you know what I mean. Everything else is getting marginally discredited for this and that reason and nothing else seems to "fit" the paradigm, and I'm starting to feel already that the fix is in. Obviously I don't mean that in a Chicago Black Sox sense. I mean that people want a certain type of "classy" but lowest-common-denominator emotional waterfall film to win, and guys like Tony Angelotti know that and it seems as if the scheme is slowly falling into place and it's not even Halloween yet.

An Oscar prognosticator generally agrees but says that "the only thing that Les Miserables seems to lack is the cool factor." Of course, a judgment of that sort feels a long spitball at this stage.

The 12.1 to 12.3 voting will give distributors of December openers like Les Miserables, Django Unchained and Zero Dark Thirty two or three more days of fine tuning...big deal.

This morning NYFCC chairman Joshua Rothkopf told Deadline's Michael Fleming that "our function as a group is to be as best informed as we can be, and we wanted to make sure we had every opportunity to see everything under consideration for the best in film. This is not as Machiavellian as people might think, but in order to fulfill that function to be as fully informed as possible, I made this decision and the group agreed with me."

All hail Silver Linings Playbook -- a modest movie in one sense but one that really and truly works (despite what the crabheads are saying), and in a way that gives a hug to blue-collar American family values and football fanaticism and Sunday dinners and all that extended-family stuff that I don't even relate to or believe in. The point is that SLP believes in this stuff, and in healthy turnarounds and good music and throwing away old baggage and running and getting lucky with the right girl and hugs and happiness at the end.

http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2012/10/of_mice_and_cri.php

 

[danoyse]

Most of the replies set them straight! I liked the one that said something like "why do you think teenage girls went to see Titanic? Because of young Leonardo DeCaprio. Well, Les Mis has about 15 DeCaprios."

And I can tell them about when I saw Les Mis on Broadway on a school field trip and watched a row of teenage girls sobbing like it was the ending of Titanic at Eponine's death scene.

"Something your mom probably saw"? Please.

 

[Pink Ranger]

And I can tell them about when I saw Les Mis on Broadway on a school field trip and watched a row of teenage girls sobbing like it was the ending of Titanic at Eponine's death scene.

"Something your mom probably saw"? Please.

Because of course only middle-aged women watch Glee, and that "On My Own" hasn't been a staple of highschool talent shows since the 1990s.

 

[DACrowe]

Here's another brilliant piece by Jeff Wells at hollywood-elsewhere.com.

http://hollywood-elsewhere.com/2012/10/of_mice_and_cri.php

So he trashes Les Miserables simply because it looks "classy" and yet "lowest common denominator?"

I thought critics were supposed to be wiser. If he is one of those who whine and bemoan The Artist and (presumably) The King's Speech winning the last two years, why is he stumping for Harvey's latest Oscar Bait? I plan to see SLP and it looks excellent, but it is clearly the movie that is politically going to be favored going in to the Oscars (unless Les Miserables blows people away). It's a safe family dramedy that values middle class and working class values with Harvey's fingerprints all over the marketing strategy. Also, David O. Russell is already being positioned as a director of whom "it's his turn" because he lost for The Fighter, even though the Academy shamelessly overlooks far more striking auteurs consistently like Fincher, Aronofsky, Tarantino, Nolan and, until very recently, the Coen Brothers and Scorsese.

Meh. Sounds like a know-nothing who is still pissed about TKS beating TSN (a decision I also laughed at) who wants to scratch off Hooper's next film. Keep in mind many in the online community have no appreciation for musicals. It is the same types who think The Master could win BP or thinks TDKR will be nominated but forget about Les Mis. I am not starting a flame war between any of these films, I am just saying this is bad journalism, I suppose.

 

[sueb1863]

Pushed back a MONTH? So the rumour was true but... what the hell are they thinking? From November 15 it's only a month left to the release date... they can't be serious....

However cool that pic is, it doesn't compensate.

Edit: now it's true that this thread makes me cry

The rumor was NOT true. The person whose site is linked with the Valjean pic, emileeid, is the same one who started the rumor on IMDb about a trailer being released today. There's been no evidence that he didn't simply make that up. I never saw ANYbody else claim a trailer was supposed to come out today. And now we're supposed to believe that a major studio delayed a trailer release for its huge holiday release with less than a day to go? Either emile, the guy who started the rumor, is an attention-seeking troll or he's being fed a bunch of bull from his "source".

Don't worry, I'm sure we'll see a new trailer long before the week of Nov. 12. Emile has proven that we can't trust a thing he says.

 

[narrows101]

Barks to be honored at this event.

This year's six Hollywood Spotlight Award recipients hail from all around over the world and range in age from 16 to 35.

Samantha Barks of "Les Miserables."
The Hollywood Reporter has learned the identities of the six actors and actresses who will each receive a Hollywood Spotlight Award, which honors the year's most promising rising stars, at the 16th annual Hollywood Film Awards -- the first awards show of the 2012 Oscar season -- when its gala ceremony is held Oct. 22 at the Beverly Hilton: 22-year-old Manx Samantha Barks (Les Miserables), 24-year-old Aussie Bella Heathcote (Not Fade Away), 16-year-old Brit Tom Holland (The Impossible), 29-year-old American John Magaro (Not Fade Away), 20-year-old American Ezra Miller (The Perks of Being a Wallflower) and 35-year-old Brit Kelly Reilly (Flight).

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/race/flight-les-mis-actors-hollywood-379500p

 

[narrows101]

Sound guy Simon Hayes posts again, and also says he's doing a Q&A on Dec. 14 after another screening. Read from post 38 - further down he describes the whole sound process and how the new studio was built just in time.

http://jwsoundgroup.net/index.php?/topic/13657-les-miserables-live-singing/#entry154082

 

[narrows101]

Lots of gossip in here!

If you don't know about the "Les Misérables" movie-musical that will be imposing itself on movie theaters across the universe this winter, kindly extract yourself from the 10-ton rock you've been hiding under, and listen up. Because this is a movie that even your mom cares about. As well she should, considering she put up with you singing “On My Own” in your bedroom at top volume for the entirety of your teen years, plus the summers you were home from college, too. And, you know, it’s starring a celeb or 12.

Turns out that the promotional hoopla for this film will go far beyond moody, aggressively airbrushed posters, the occasional poorly-sung-but-damn-if-you-aren't-crying trailer, and leaked photos of Aaron Tveit in his cocker spaniel wig. Our sources are telling us that some of the film's stars are in talks to perform in the London stage version of the show around the time of the film's release. The list of performers is still being finalized, but we've heard that the adorably frecktacular Eddie Redmayne, and Aaron ‘Solar-Plexus-of-Steel’ Tveit will once again lower themselves to do the eight-show-a-week grind for at least... you know... a couple of weeks. Or as long as their voices hold out, whichever comes first. If her flail-y nonperformance on this year's Tony Awards was any indication, we're thinking that the lovely Amanda Seyfried won't make the cut, but you never know.

We’ve also heard tell of plans for a one-night-only concert staging of the musical starring the film’s cast, including Wolverine himself, Hugh Jackman. We definitely need another one of those, right? Because the "Les Misérables" 10thand 25thanniversary concerts for sure haven’t monopolized enough of our collective lives already.

You know what’s definitely happening though? Anne Hathaway’s Joe's Pub gig, which is slated for next week. Now, don’t get us wrong. We adore that Anne is a full-on theater nerd at heart, and that despite big screen stardom, she actively seeks out opportunities to perform live on stage. But what on earth was she thinking with this? Anne Hathaway starring in a one-woman cabaret show – you know, pop songs, showtunes, stories about her crazy ex – sounds charming. But a one-woman performance of THE MUSICAL "Cabaret"? As in like, the Kander and Ebb show about Nazi Germany wherein Anne sings all of the songs? That’s… le crazy. Whoever crossed those wires, intentionally or not, has us scratching our heads.

Not that it much matters, though, because the tickets are a gazillion dollars, and we can't afford them anyway. Too bad, because rumor has it her "Les Mis" costar, the aforementioned adorableness that is Eddie Redmayne, is being shipped across the Atlantic with the sole purpose of joining her for a few tunes. We're thinking he's going to play Cliff, but that doesn't stop our hearts from hoping that they'll rouge his nipples and make him the Emcee, too. Ah, a girl can dream.

http://www.backstage.com/news/les-mis-film-stars-may-take-london-stage-and-whos-raking-it-tour/

 

[sueb1863]

Cool! Not sure how true it is but it'd sure be interesting...

 

[Angel_Faerie]

The script has emerged. Not sure if it's been legitimately posted or leaked, but it's out there, and it's good (though a few lyric changes irk me). It seems that somehow they managed to fit in every major song in its entirety while incorporating spoken dialogue (which I still feel wasn't entirely necessary).

 

[danoyse]

Just a reminder to everyone, do not post any links to the script here.

Thank you.

 

[danoyse]

...and, that being said. I was very impressed with what I read of that.

 

[JP]

It's legit. It's from Universals Awards campaigning site. These usually apear closer to the Oscars though, so it's weird.

 

[Angel_Faerie]

At long last, a clear picture of the Thenardiers!

 

[Earthland]

I know I'm going to sound stupid, but I've never been into this awards stuff before and english is not my first language and thus some concepts are a bit hazy for me... what I wanted to ask, can someone explain the meaning of and differences between best cinematography, best film editing and best production design? They all sound curiously similar to me.

About the script: I hate they released it. I don't want to read it, I want to see it all fresh, but how am I going to keep myself away from it? I've tried going for a compromise, reading only those parts I'm especially interested in... such like lyrics of "suddenly" and when "OMO" is sung and how would "one day more" look like... it all seems so stunning... Of course I would have preferred doing some bits differently (all the verses that were cut were always my favorite ones!) but it surely will look fantastic.

 

[danoyse]

I know I'm going to sound stupid, but I've never been into this awards stuff before and english is not my first language and thus some concepts are a bit hazy for me... what I wanted to ask, can someone explain the meaning of and differences between best cinematography, best film editing and best production design? They all sound curiously similar to me.

Cinematography is the camera work, film editing is how the camera shots are put together, and production design is the actual set design.

As far as the script, I've skimmed through about a third of it. Don't want to read the rest. I've waited too long for this movie to spoil it now, and that keeps me from reading the rest. I actually hate that it leaked too, but I'm fine with resisting it.

 

[Pink Ranger]

Just a reminder to everyone, do not post any links to the script here.

Thank you.

I love the part where it's revealed that Eponine is secretly Javert's daughter and the new leader of the League of Shadows.

 

[DACrowe]

Yep and Enjolras is her secret guardian/puppet. Nice twist.

 

[Pink Ranger]

The post credit scenes are the best:

- Marius comes home and finds Rita Moreno standing by his window, inviting him into the "Sharks Initiative."

- Meanwhile, on a distant asteroid the survivors of the Patron-Minette gang grovel at the feet a mysterious being. The camera pans up, and in profile a purple-skinned Trekkie Monster smiles at the chaos he has wrought.

 

[CaptainCanada]

At long last, a clear picture of the Thenardiers!

Aww, poor little girl.

The script looks really good. "Suddenly" looks to be a really affecting scene.

 

[danoyse]

I love the part where it's revealed that Eponine is secretly Javert's daughter and the new leader of the League of Shadows.

Yep and Enjolras is her secret guardian/puppet. Nice twist.

The post credit scenes are the best:

- Marius comes home and finds Rita Moreno standing by his window, inviting him into the "Sharks Initiative."

- Meanwhile, on a distant asteroid the survivors of the Patron-Minette gang grovel at the feet a mysterious being. The camera pans up, and in profile a purple-skinned Trekkie Monster smiles at the chaos he has wrought.

I thought the addition of adamantium bullets at the barricade was a bit much, though.

 

[danoyse]

On another note...I saw the 9-minute extended look preview in front of Paranormal Activity 4 tonight tonight. Looked amazing!

 

[JP]

This script is just brilliant. I cannot wait for this film to be released. It's going to blow everyone away.

 

[danoyse]

This script is just brilliant. I cannot wait for this film to be released. It's going to blow everyone away.

Except for the two idiots behind me when the preview showed tonight. One went "Uhhhh...no!" when it ended, and her friend said "Oh, I'm gonna get my tickets now!" in a mocking voice when the advance tickets thing came up.

I wanted to find a way to 'accidentally' drop a soda on their heads.