The reason Batman Forever was still a good film was because Tim Burton produced it, and therefor Joel Shumacher wasn't allowed to impart his insanity, as he did with Batman & Robin.

Perhaps he will redeem himself with this film, I for one am very skeptical.

Insanity

Well, he's one of the major directors still going around, and your career has to turn at some point, i think Phantom can do it for him. Anyway, if the story is a tad weak i will forgive that just as long as the music stacks up....and from what i'm hearing, it will be magnificent? :Jump:

No more talk of darkness
Forget these wide-eyed fears

REVIEW: Schumacher's 2nd Worst Film?

http://www.forums-oscarwatch.com/forums ... adid=18065

**SPOILERS**

I saw a screening of the latest Joel Schumacher film, "Phantom of the Opera last night." It was a screening in Los Angeles through Movie City News for the broadcast press and other SAG/DGA/WGA types. I went with a friend who is a member. I've read your reviews for years but this is the first time I've written to you.

First off, I saw the broadway production of the play years ago with Michael Crawford as the Phantom. I liked the play, but didn't love it. I enjoyed the spectacle, but thought the music was kind of mediocre and repetitive. When I heard they were making a film, and that Joel Schumacher was directing, I have to admit I didn't expect much. I thought the film would be pretty bad.

Harry, I am writing to tell you that I was wrong. Wrong, wrong, wrong. The film was not pretty bad. It was TERRIBLE.

But, let's give credit where credit is due. The look of the film and the production design and the costumes are fantastic. Oscar nominations all around. It is a beautifully produced movie. And there is one great performance in the film (more on that in a minute).

But here's the bad news. Overall, the film is just a mess. It doesn't work. It is chaotic and frantic. I sat there in the theater wanting to jump out of my skin....it just grated on me. Joel Schumacher seems to be imitating some great films, but can't breath any life into this one. He uses much of the same quick cutting as in Moulin Rouge...but with much less successful results. He seems to copy aspects of Rob Marshall's Chicago...again, with sad results. This film is just a lumbering giant. It doesn't move. My friend and I just kept staring at each other in disbelief. Could the film really be this bad.

Next, what seemed to make sense...or at least, follow some kind of logic on stage just gets completely lost in the film. In the movie the Phantom has been tutoring Christine since she was brought to the opera house as a child. But we're never sure if she has seen him before or only heard him. Then, at a certain point in the film it seems like three months have passed, but we're not sure. Plus, the character of Christine is this really passive person who doesn't seem to have a thought of her own. At first she is possessed by the Phantom, until Raoul comes along and tries to steal her away. She seems to have no mind of her own. And Emily Rossum, the actress playing Chrstine doesn't help matters. She has this deer in the headlights look throughout the film...like she's in some sort of trance. She never seems flesh and blood. The biggest casting mistake is Gerald Butler playing the Phantom. He doesn't have the power to carry this role. His singing voice is weak...he sometimes seems to be whispering or shouting the songs. And when he's supposed to hit high notes the music drowns him out. He looks like a road show Phantom and this completely screws up the film. The movie can't recover from the lack of a truly kick-ass Phantom.

The best performance of the movie, surprisingly was Minnie Driver as Carlotta, the Diva opera singer. Driver seems to know that she's in a big piece of dreck and she just mugs her way through the film. She is hysterical. She was the one thing that the audience loved.

My friend and I were bored to tears. We talked to a few people after the screening and everyone felt the same way. One person said a great thing....that never before had mediocrity had been so embellished. Like someone serving Taco Bell at a sit down dinner party on their best China.

Last thought...was does Joel Schumacher have over the heads of Warner Bros? Does he know where all the bodies are buried or something? How could they let the person who killed the Batman franchise make another big budget film for them? He is a great production designer, but a terrible filmmaker....and while not as heinous as Batman and Robin, Phantom of the Opera is maybe his second worst film.

MOVIECITYNEWS: Phantom Favourite?

http://www.moviecitynews.com/columnists ... 41111.html



It's very scary to go out on the tightrope alone… and I don't really like to make declarative statements in the heat of a still developing Oscar season… but here I go…

The only movie that can keep The Phantom of The Opera from winning Best Picture is The Aviator.

Breathe.

Let me say it again. This is not about locking in a nomination. This is not a guess because the film is one my favorites, so it's got to happen. This is a film whose buzz has come, so far, 100%, from a handful of people who saw it in long lead screenings and have been pissing on it ever since. But they are wrong.

The Aviator is the only movie still little seen that has the size and the potential weight to kick Phantom out of a Best Picture win. It could do it two ways… it could beat The Phantom outright or it could create a split in the voting for the two big Old Hollywood pictures and allow a smaller film to sneak in through the back door. So it's not 100%. But anyone who thinks The Phantom Of The Opera isn't being nominated is, well, to be kind, just wrong.

--

To put it in Oscar terms, if Chicago was the new millennium answer to Cabaret, The Phantom of The Opera is the new millennium answer to Oliver. 11 nominations, 5 wins, including Best Picture.

I'll give you 10 reasons:

1. Veronica Guerin, C-
2. Phone Booth, D
3. Bad Company, D
4. Batman & Robin, F
5. 8MM, D
6. A Time To Kill, C-
7. The Client, D+
8. Dying Young, D
9. St. Elmo's Fire, D+
10. Batman Forever, C-

Now he has directed one brilliant film (IMO): Falling Down.

Flatliners and The Lost Boys are also "good", not because they are really good as works, just because they've reached a level of kitch cultural awareness.

I hear he's an incredibly nice and smart guy, that he really, really, really cares about the people who work on his films. But that doesn't make him a great filmmaker. I mean Lars von Trier is one of the most disgusting directors I've ever had to listen to but his films are absolutely brilliant.

Phone Booth was my second favorite film of last year. 8MM was very good, and Bad Company, A Time To Kill, and Veronica Guerin were all above average. He's a fine director IMO.

I know where you are coming from, but don't you think that carrying this sort of predisposition will affect your appreciation of the movie. At least give him a chance, and maybe he'll deliver something which will please everyone this time. That being said, i don't think Veronic Guerin, Phone Booth or the Batman series are that bad.

PHANTOM Display: Dickens & Jones

224 Regent Street, W1A 1DB. Tube: Oxford Circus/Piccadilly Circus

A popular department store in centre of London, which primarily caters for the reasonably well off female customer. There are departments offering perfume and cosmetics, designer clothing for women and home appliances. Also, a menswear department can be found on the lower ground floor. The window displays here are often some of the best in London, especially the stores' Christmas display.

Fan Black Rose took these pictures of the Phantom of the Opera Movie-themed window displays. If you live in London, check it out by yourself !

A short article from Entertainment Weekly -06 Nov. 2004

Behind the Music
A sneak peek at ''Phantom of the Opera'' -- Here's how filmmakers brought Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage classic to the big screen by Missy Schwartz

''We tried to make it all a bit theatrical,'' says production designer Anthony Pratt of the screen version of The Phantom of the Opera. ''Nothing is meant to be terribly real.'' Real? No. Over-the-top lavish? Absolutely. Set in a haunted Paris opera house, the movie is a vision of romantic splendor. To create this scene, where songbird Christine (Emmy Rossum) visits the grave of her father, Pratt drew from two of the world's most ornate cemeteries: Paris' Pàre Lachaise and Montparnasse. He filled a London soundstage with nearly 30 fiberglass statues, some towering as high as 16 feet.



''The proportions were so that Christine would be a tiny, innocent figure [among] these cold stones,'' says director Joel Schumacher. ''It's so elegant — like out of a Sargent painting.'' The solemn scene is one of the few to take place outside the theater walls, and, Schumacher adds, ''the only time Christine wears black.'' Costume designer Alexandra Byrne chose the heroine's silk-velvet dress and taffeta cape because she ''wanted something soft and fluid that worked with the snow.'' The clean silhouette sure made her blood-red bouquet pop. ''It's all shameless,'' laughs Schumacher. ''The whole thing.''
From his leather mask to his elaborate hideaway beneath the opera house, Gerard Butler's Phantom is theatrical to the core. ''He lived in the opera all his life, so everything in his lair would be stolen sets,'' Schumacher says. Including, of course, his Dracula-collared wool cloak. The mask, however, would have been the villain's own creation. ''He's a genius, he's an artist,'' jokes Schumacher. ''He can do anything!''
''Joel wanted the theater to be sexy,'' Pratt recalls. So, inspired by French architect Charles Garnier, who designed the original Paris opera, Pratt incorporated curvy female figures throughout. For more opulence, real gaslights were used on the stage. ''Candle- and gaslight are very flattering,'' Schumacher notes. The firelight reflected brilliantly in the Swarovski crystals that were hand-embroidered into the ivory-silk-taffeta gown Rossum wears for her character's first solo performance at the opera. ''Joel wanted a spectacular dress,'' says Byrne. Mission accomplished.
source: http://www.ew.com

Thanks Miruvor, i totally forgot about this article.......here's some great pics from the article.







I Can't wait to see how the story unfolds, i don't know what happens since i haven't seen the play nor tried to find out (because i want to see it first time with the movie).......so all yous out there, don't SPOIL it for me....LOL

Pleasure mate!




Don't worry, you're in for a real treat! I think you should still see the play though, whenever it decides to return to Oz!

I'm not quite sure when was the last time it visited Melbourne, i don't recall anything in the past 5 years.

Maybe the success or at least, exposure from the movie, will kick start another wave of overseas touring.....that's what i'm hoping might happen.

And BTW - It's now confirmed that the Release Date will definately be Box Day (Sunday) Dec 26th, :Jump: yay!!!!

UK SCANS: News Of The World Sunday Magazine



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Back to the Joel Schumacher debate, I actually like some of his films.

I thought Batman Forever was the second best in the series (just barely ahead of the original and barely behind the second film). Batman Forever though was not an enjoyable film though, to me at least.

Phone Booth was an excellent, actually in my top 30 (just got bumped out of the top 25).

I've not seen Veronica Guerin, but I've heard it was really good.

Like you i thoroughly enjoyed Batman Forever, it was so creepy (not dark like the original) and there's a wonderful "mysterious" atmosphere hanging over the thing.....something which Batman & Robin tried to emulate but ended up too cheap and comedic. It's my favourite Batman, partly because of the wonderful performance by Jim Carrey.....and the first movie i ever saw twice.

I haven't seen either Phone Booth or Veronica Guerin since their genre or premise don't appeal to me......however i did read the reviews last year and although they weren't exactly brilliant, nearly every reviewer enjoyed it and applaused Cate Blanchett's perfromance in VG especially.

I don't judge the director i judge the movie, if it's good overall and i enjoy the movie, i'll give it at least a B. I don't normally go much lower than that...... as you've seen from all my reviews this year.....

Same here, it's all about the appeal of the film itself as the bottom line! I went and saw Phone Booth just because there was nothing else interesting at the cinema at that time and ended up pleasantly surprised! It was far better than I has expected! I have yet to see Veronica Guerin, but if Cate's in it, you know it cannot be all bad!

Sorry Arch, I didn't even see this until just re-reading the whole thread!
It debuts in NZ on the 1st Jan. 2005! New Year's Day Babyyyyyy...I hope I'm not too cut up from the revelry the eve before to give it a proper go! :wink:

Definately, there's something about Cate which is so luminiscent as JRD put it......the lady of light she is...... :Luke: .....

(the little emotion makes no sense but i think its cool and chucked it in anyway.....LOL). BTW - Star Wars in 7 months...

That's actually the original date for the Australian release, hmm......i wonder.......the release date might be pushed up for NZ as well seeing as the Aussie date moved up to Dec 26th.....

....it could happen,

That would be sweeetttt!! I'd much prefer that actually than New Year's Day!


....and Cate...that presence, that voice would entice me to sweet dreams every night! :wink:

I saw the trailer and loved it. I am curious to see how it will do as it doesn't have the lightness of Chicago and the Chicago stars of Gere, Zeta-Jones and Renee Z.

I don't think this film (or play for that matter) was ever intended to be light! It is a dark and brooding story laced with heartache and passion enriched by incredible music that echo's all of the aboved mentioned and even more! I also think casting two reasonably unknown actors as the leads was a brave and daring choice! So far things look brill! Time will tell, but I do not expect to be disappointed whole-heartedly! The visuals alone are outstanding thus far!

And...for the record, Chicago didn't even appeal to me and I have no real adoration for any of the actors in that film anyway! I did think Bridget Jones (the original) was alright though!

NZ and Australian release dates are normally the same, generally....LOL.

The only reason LOTR didn't debut in Australia the same week as NZ or the other major markets was because Boxing Day was more lucrative.

There's a great suction of business on Christmas Day with many people out in the Sun to enjoy lunch with their friends and family......and then BANG, Boxing Day is the real big "entertainment" day, with Cricket (Boxing Day Test) matches and other festivals all over the city.

And of course, there's the huge Boxing Day Sale.....

For the past 3 years......It's become a custom of mine to go shopping in the morning of Boxing Day.....trying to be the first in line.....and be the first to walk into the store and feverishly grabbing anything that catches you fancy and dumping the unwanted ones latter....LOL

More importantly, it has been the day i've watched all 3 LOTRs for the first time.......brings back wonderful memories, all 3 years at the same theatre.....LOL.......i'm going to miss that.....

But now that Phantom is scheduled for Boxing Day, that tradition continues for me.....i love seeing a movie which i have anticapted on that day.....and next year, it continues with PJ's KK allready securing a spot for Boxing Day.

Chicago wasn't that "light" was it......it was pretty dark in lighting and the mood of the story focusing on murder and attention seeking......

The only thing that worries me about Phantom is the music, and how the emotions will play out........all fingers cross that it blends well....

I can't wait to see how the Love Triangle plays out......AGAIN, NO SPOILERS PLEASE......LOL

I know, but I just checked the day you announced this film here on the forums and checked with the local cinema and they told me the 01. Jan.. I hope that changes. Box Day is really the best day to debut it!




Sad...very sad indeed preciousss!




Hopefully PJ gets the go ahead for The Hobbit in the meanwhile and we may yet have that to look forward to a few years down the road!