And the credits roll...
Well, Act 2 is posted in the Memories section, so you can read it in order. Any comments/questions on the overall project, feel free to list them here.
No movie would be complete without an insanely long list of people who, in some fashion or another, bear some of the credit (or blame) for making the whole thing work. And while I’m not going to pull a Peter Jackson and thank everyone in New Zealand (or even Denver), I would like to take a moment and mention a few people who, mostly unbeknownst to themselves, helped bring this thing about:
WRITERS
Well, Gaston Leroux, obviously. Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber, who despite having sold off what little integrity he had sometime in the mid-90s and mercilessly cannibalizing his own work for the sake of profit, did write some pretty good stuff once upon a time. Susan Kay, whose take on Erik’s story remains the best retelling in any medium as far as I’m concerned. George Perry, for his Complete Phantom of the Opera, a useful history and visual resource, and also a handy reference for confirming lyrics (“Is it ‘the sins that are yours,’ or ‘the sins which are yours’?” etc.). And David Trottier, author of The Screenwriter’s Bible, for providing me a place to look when I wanted to find out what the term was for things going on in several different place at once, among other things.
DIRECTORS
The films of Baz Luhrman, Tim Burton, Rob Marshall, Jaques Demy, and Peter Jackson were great inspirations as far as visual style, handling of musical numbers, and determining how the story might flow on film. Check them out. The silent version of Phantom, directed by Rupert Julian and still the best film version out there, made its influence felt on a few scenes. And memories of Hal Prince’s staging were also very high in my mind, since (as mentioned earlier) he puts a lot of frequently obscure lyrics into a clear dramatic context.
CAST
Okay, everyone has their favorites-if you see someone else singing the part, that’s perfectly fine. But here’s my list of the people who play on the stage in my mind’s eye. Some of them are actors I’ve seen, some I’ve only heard/seen clips of but really struck a chord with me, and some of them have never been within 500 yards of a production of PotO but strike me as good fits for the part anyway:
The Phantom………...…Michael Crawford, Brad Little, Rick Hilsabeck, Hugh Jackman
Christine…………...Rita Harvey, Deborah Dutcher, Josefina Gabrielle, Anne Hathaway
Raoul……………………………..….Steve Barton (RIP), Gary Mauer, Ewan McGregor
Carlotta…………………………...Julie Schmidt, Kristen Chenoweth, Bernadette Peters
M. Firmin………………………….………David Cryer, Nathan Lane, Kelsey Grammer
M. André………………………………………….………..Ian Jon Borg, Alan Cumming
Mme. Giry………………………………………..Leila Martin, Olga Talyn, Glenn Close
Meg Giry…………………………………………………..Janet Devenish, Katie Holmes
Ubaldo Piangi…………………………………………………………...Frederic Heringes
M. Reyer…………………………………………………………………...Jonathan Pryce
Joseph Buquet……………………………………..………Jim Broadbent, David Bradley
Carolus Fonta (Don Attilio/Passarino)…………….………………………Shuler Hensley
M. Lachenal……………………………………….……Robbie Coltraine, Billy Connolly
AND SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Crysania, my all-purpose editor, publisher, cheerleader and friend, for being utterly awesome and indulging me by reading and posting my various forms of madness.
The folks of the Livejournal communities notmyphantom and churchoferik, and the die-hard regulars on Crys’ ezBoard forums, for all their encouragement-either by reading my stuff and commenting on it or simply through their presence reassuring me that I wasn’t all alone adrift in a sea of movie-drool.
Kali the cat, for cuteness, company, and play/cuddle-breaks.
The makers of Pepsi and Mountain Dew, for caffeine.
And last, first, and in all things, God, by whichever name(s) you call Him/Them/It/Her, for the blessings of life, imagination, and a sense of humor.
No animals were harmed in the making of this screenplay, although several curses were muttered against Joel Schumacher and Andrew Lloyd Webber. All rights to party reserved. This was only an experiment of a strange and warped mind; if this had been an actual movie, some of us would have been a lot happier. This has been a LadyCDaae/Christi V. production. Visit us online at…wait, you’re already visiting us online. Carry on, then.
~LCD
No movie would be complete without an insanely long list of people who, in some fashion or another, bear some of the credit (or blame) for making the whole thing work. And while I’m not going to pull a Peter Jackson and thank everyone in New Zealand (or even Denver), I would like to take a moment and mention a few people who, mostly unbeknownst to themselves, helped bring this thing about:
WRITERS
Well, Gaston Leroux, obviously. Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber, who despite having sold off what little integrity he had sometime in the mid-90s and mercilessly cannibalizing his own work for the sake of profit, did write some pretty good stuff once upon a time. Susan Kay, whose take on Erik’s story remains the best retelling in any medium as far as I’m concerned. George Perry, for his Complete Phantom of the Opera, a useful history and visual resource, and also a handy reference for confirming lyrics (“Is it ‘the sins that are yours,’ or ‘the sins which are yours’?” etc.). And David Trottier, author of The Screenwriter’s Bible, for providing me a place to look when I wanted to find out what the term was for things going on in several different place at once, among other things.
DIRECTORS
The films of Baz Luhrman, Tim Burton, Rob Marshall, Jaques Demy, and Peter Jackson were great inspirations as far as visual style, handling of musical numbers, and determining how the story might flow on film. Check them out. The silent version of Phantom, directed by Rupert Julian and still the best film version out there, made its influence felt on a few scenes. And memories of Hal Prince’s staging were also very high in my mind, since (as mentioned earlier) he puts a lot of frequently obscure lyrics into a clear dramatic context.
CAST
Okay, everyone has their favorites-if you see someone else singing the part, that’s perfectly fine. But here’s my list of the people who play on the stage in my mind’s eye. Some of them are actors I’ve seen, some I’ve only heard/seen clips of but really struck a chord with me, and some of them have never been within 500 yards of a production of PotO but strike me as good fits for the part anyway:
The Phantom………...…Michael Crawford, Brad Little, Rick Hilsabeck, Hugh Jackman
Christine…………...Rita Harvey, Deborah Dutcher, Josefina Gabrielle, Anne Hathaway
Raoul……………………………..….Steve Barton (RIP), Gary Mauer, Ewan McGregor
Carlotta…………………………...Julie Schmidt, Kristen Chenoweth, Bernadette Peters
M. Firmin………………………….………David Cryer, Nathan Lane, Kelsey Grammer
M. André………………………………………….………..Ian Jon Borg, Alan Cumming
Mme. Giry………………………………………..Leila Martin, Olga Talyn, Glenn Close
Meg Giry…………………………………………………..Janet Devenish, Katie Holmes
Ubaldo Piangi…………………………………………………………...Frederic Heringes
M. Reyer…………………………………………………………………...Jonathan Pryce
Joseph Buquet……………………………………..………Jim Broadbent, David Bradley
Carolus Fonta (Don Attilio/Passarino)…………….………………………Shuler Hensley
M. Lachenal……………………………………….……Robbie Coltraine, Billy Connolly
AND SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Crysania, my all-purpose editor, publisher, cheerleader and friend, for being utterly awesome and indulging me by reading and posting my various forms of madness.
The folks of the Livejournal communities notmyphantom and churchoferik, and the die-hard regulars on Crys’ ezBoard forums, for all their encouragement-either by reading my stuff and commenting on it or simply through their presence reassuring me that I wasn’t all alone adrift in a sea of movie-drool.
Kali the cat, for cuteness, company, and play/cuddle-breaks.
The makers of Pepsi and Mountain Dew, for caffeine.
And last, first, and in all things, God, by whichever name(s) you call Him/Them/It/Her, for the blessings of life, imagination, and a sense of humor.
No animals were harmed in the making of this screenplay, although several curses were muttered against Joel Schumacher and Andrew Lloyd Webber. All rights to party reserved. This was only an experiment of a strange and warped mind; if this had been an actual movie, some of us would have been a lot happier. This has been a LadyCDaae/Christi V. production. Visit us online at…wait, you’re already visiting us online. Carry on, then.
~LCD