Les Miserables is in many ways a very traditional, big Hollywood CHristmas movie, an adaptation of a massively popular musical, from the director of recent Oscar winner The King's Speech, and featuring a ton of movie stars. But it's also a daring, almost experimental effort, asking the actors to both perform and sing their songs live in front of the camera, adding an unpredictable element that, to be honest, may or may not turn out that well.
I hadn't really understood just how big a difference singing live would make until I saw this new featurette, which just debuted on the Regal Cinemas YouTube page. Featuring interviews with stars Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfriend and more, plus some impromptu singing from Hugh Jackman, it's both informative and hugely entertaining. Take a look:
For some reason what Jackman had to say about his performance really clicked-- the ability to do different takes, to sing something differently just the way you might act it, has to make a huge difference. Obviously on Broadway the performers can change things up night after night, but in traditional movie musicals you record the songs well ahead of time, so on the set it's basically pantomime. The result ought to be much rawer and naturalistic performances… but will it also be a little weird?
Les Miserables, recently pushed to a Christmas Day release this year, could be a massive success if it's done right-- after all, the musical it's based on is one of the most popular of all time. Does this featurette make you more excited to see what Hooper and the cast have in store? And if you're not generally a fan of musicals, are you willing to make an exception for one this star-studded? Let us know in the comments.
