Into & Out of the Woods

It would seem legendary Broadway composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim became entangled in a thicket of words when The New Yorker claimed to quote him about the Disney version of Into the Woods, the version of Sondheim's musical that company is bringing to the silver screen. (The film will be released Christmas Day and stars personal favorites Meryl Streep, Johnny Depp, Christine Baranski and Tracey Ullman among others.)

Addressing a group of high school drama teachers, Sondheim was quoted by The New Yorker as saying: "You will find in the movie that Rapunzel does not get killed, and the prince does not sleep with the [Baker's Wife]." He also told his audience that the song, "Any Moment" was cut and that Disney brass warned him, "'we don't want Rapunzel to die,' so we replotted it. I won't tell you what happens, but we wrote a new song to cover it."

News of this in the press instantly caused an uproar among musical-theater lovers!

Today, Broadway World reported that Sondheim quickly gave a rebuttal with this press statement:

An article in The New Yorker misreporting my "Master Class" conversation about censorship in our schools with seventeen teachers from the Academy for Teachers a couple of weeks ago has created some false impressions about my collaboration with the Disney Studio on the film version of "Into the Woods." The fact is that James (Lapine, who wrote both the show and the movie) and I worked out every change from stage to screen with the producers and with Rob Marshall, the director. Despite what the New Yorker article may convey, the collaboration was genuinely collaborative and always productive.

When the conversation with the teachers occurred, I had not yet seen a full rough cut of the movie. Coincidentally, I saw it immediately after leaving the meeting and, having now seen it a couple of times, I can happily report that it is not only a faithful adaptation of the show, it is a first-rate movie.

And for those who care, as the teachers did, the Prince's dalliance is still in the movie, and so is "Any Moment."

Now what do we make of this whole brouhaha? Seems like a bit of back-peddling out of the dark forest if you ask me. I mean, this is otherwise some serious misquoting on the part of The New Yorker. Did panicked Disney execs turn Grimm and put Sondheim up to this? Did he suddenly remember he's getting a percentage of the profits? What gives?

Into the Woods was shot at Shepperton Studios in the UK and is directed by Rob Marshall who also directed Chicago (which I was disappointed in for a list of reasons) and Nine (which I rather enjoyed). We shall see if this is a "first-rate movie" come Christmas, and whether Everything's Coming Up Roses once we're deep Into the Woods.

Video Beaverhausen: Dark Shadows

There's nothing like a stormy night, going down to Kevin's apartment for pizza, beer and a movie on dvd. The movie last night was Tim Burton's Dark Shadows, based on the tv soap opera of the same name, and which neither of us had seen theatrically. The series made vampirism, the gothic and supernatural sexy and cool long before that became trendy.

Having just gone to the movies to see The Rocky Horror Picture Show, it struck me how much Dark Shadows, the movie has in common with Rocky Horror. Both films are played for camp value; they have moments of absolute brilliance; they parody horror movies/tv show of decades past; they're handsomely produced, have great ensemble casts, and their third acts are a mess.

Despite the fact that, during its finale, Dark Shadows goes off the rails, all of what went on beforehand displays Burton's kooky genius. Most impressively, Burton puts a back story together and organizes the DS story line in a manner that was impossible for the soap, because it was virtually made up as it went along. The film starts very seriously, then the subtle camp touches are added (starting with the van full of hapless hippies) until the audience is presented with all-out satire. Tim Burton's sense of camp is, in fact, so well honed, I boggle at the thought that he's straight.

Expressionistic colorization is wonderful, as is the acting. Johnny Depp makes a fantastic Barnabas Collins, his voice channeling Jonathan Fridd's, and Eva Green is divine as sexy witch Angelique. Michelle Pfeiffer, who still looks as if she eats one cracker a day (as Missy Elliott might put it) gives an appropriately pinched and pained look to family matriarch, Elizabeth. Helena Bonham Carter is a true delight as the boozy Dr Julia Hoffman (a bit of an in-joke about the original Hoffman, Grayson Hall). Christopher ("Dracula") Lee appears in a cameo, and Alice Cooper sings, playing his younger self.

While set in New England, the movie was shot in old England. Special effects and make-up are largely put to good use (i.e., Barnabas' elongated fingers) as are the songs included on the soundtrack. The Carpenters track is especially put to good use.

There's so much we enjoyed about this flick, so much we laughed about and admired. Can we forgive its crappy finale? Maybe not. But we decided, after watching Dark Shadows, that we want lava lamps.