As a seasoned movie critic with over three decades of experience in the film industry, I must say that this newfound insight into the early attempts to bring “Wicked” to the silver screen is nothing short of fascinating. If you had told me back in the ’90s that Demi Moore would one day play Elphaba, I might have been tempted to question the casting director’s sanity! But alas, it seems that the green-skinned witch could have graced our screens decades ago with her presence.
The blockbuster film “Wicked” has earned an impressive $530 million (and still rising) at worldwide box offices, and it’s not just a hit with audiences but also with critics who praise its leading actresses Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. However, imagine if the original adaptation of “Wicked” had occurred decades ago featuring Demi Moore as the green-skinned Elphaba. An intriguing piece from Vanity Fair explores the initial efforts to bring “Wicked” to the big screen in the late 1990s.
Producer Marc Platt shared with the publication that he became the president of production at Universal when the project was apparently already in place. He recalled that it had originally been optioned by Demi Moore’s company.
Platt firmly believed that Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West” would be an excellent choice for a movie adaptation. Maguire recalled that during the initial six months, celebrities like Whoopi Goldberg and Claire Danes had shown interest. Salma Hayek had also expressed some curiosity, while Laurie Metcalf had been somewhat interested as well.
Even though several actresses like Michelle Pfeiffer, Emma Thompson, and Nicole Kidman were mentioned as potential candidates for the role of Glinda, Maguire found himself drawn towards casting Moore as Elphaba due to her immense popularity during that period. Interestingly, Moore’s production company, Moving Pictures, had already secured the rights to the book. Todd, a producer at Moving Pictures, shared with Vanity Fair that Whoopi Goldberg was also in contention for the rights of the novel.
Todd mentioned that Whoopi Goldberg’s manager intended to purchase the book for her, but Todd himself was keen on owning it. This was confirmed by Goldberg’s publicist, stating that this account is accurate: Whoopi had a strong affinity for the book and made efforts to acquire the rights.
After Platt and Todd were appointed as producers, the “Wicked” movie moved into the screenwriting stage. The pair believed that Linda Woolverton, a well-respected Disney veteran known for her work on iconic films like “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King,” and “Mulan,” produced the initial outstanding screenplay for the “Wicked” movie.
“She wrote a beautiful script,” Todd said.
Platt commented, “I remember it being quite an accurate portrayal of a substantial, complex novel. The main character, Elphaba, was depicted as a warrior, while the Wizard was shown as an authoritative figure, which aligns well with the essence of Gregory’s work.
As Todd mentions, Robert Zemeckis was considering directing the “Wicked” film around this period. Moreover, it was Woolverton’s idea to draw inspiration from the approach used in the original “Wizard of Oz” movie and transform “Wicked” into a musical production.
Todd mentioned that it was Linda who had been eager to create a musical. Her inspiration stemmed from her job at Disney, where she had also contributed to the musical aspects of their animated movies.
Moore lent his vocal talents to the Disney animated musical “The Hunchback of Notre Dame,” featuring tunes jointly crafted by Stephen Schwartz. It struck him instantly that “Wicked” held immense potential as a musical.
Before diving into the book, Schwartz was already pursuing the rights. Essentially, he started right away. As he searched for the rights holders, he discovered Demi’s production company and sought a meeting to persuade them against making a film adaptation and instead opt for a musical adaptation.
At that moment, Schwartz mentioned that Demi wasn’t originally a singer, as he put it: “Funnily enough, Demi had provided the speaking voice for Esmeralda in the Disney movie ‘Hunchback of Notre Dame.’ She stated, ‘I prefer not to do my own singing,’ and we discovered a vocal doppelgänger who sang the character’s songs instead. The key takeaway was — I wasn’t jumping into it with the intention of creating a musical for Demi. Instead, I simply wanted to explore if I could make a connection with the project.
Unfortunately, Woolverton’s script for “Wicked” didn’t take flight, but eventually Schwartz managed to persuade the rights owners to allow him to pen a stage musical adaptation of it. Since then, history has been made. In the meantime, the screenwriter transitioned to penning successful works such as Disney’s live-action version of “Maleficent,” which draws inspiration from “Wicked” and portrays the villainess from “Sleeping Beauty,” played by Angelina Jolie.
Check out Vanity Fair’s site for further insights into the initial endeavor to adapt “Wicked” for the silver screen.
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2024-12-20 02:17