At a Los Angeles screening of his film adaptation of the Broadway hit “Wicked,” director John M. Cho (“Crazy Rich Asians”) alluded to the recent election by describing how the film embodies what he called “the American story.”
During a discussion about the movie, Cho said: “Is the goal to be happy, but to express yourself, maybe showing a little bit of anger is good,” Chu said during a discussion about the movie. “Maybe we fight among ourselves, maybe it’s okay, and we have to listen to each other and in the end, maybe we have to forgive each other, give each other a little bit of grace. Because the only way out is through.”
The director continued: “I love it,” he said. “This is American history and we’ve done it over and over again. And we have more opportunities to do that now, and it’s integrated into this story, and it always has been, at least for me.”
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Later in the discussion, Cho talked about her co-star Ariana Grande, who plays Glinda (the future Good Witch of the North). Cho said her performance was not an “imitation” of Billie Burke, who played Glinda in The Wizard of Oz (1939).
“It was inspired by that, of course, it’s inside her, but with the freedom to be in game situations, it was an improvisation to be in Glinda. I could put a chair and say, ‘Okay, Glinda, jump on it. And you will die. Glinda will jump, and I don’t even know Glinda, but that’s how I would do it. It was incredible to see. And I remember I was thinking: I’m discovering this person, even though he’s the most famous person in the world.”
Later in the Q&A, Cynthia Erivo, who plays Elphaba (the future Wicked Witch of the West), explained how she approached the character.
“There’s this weird abandonment that she feels because of her father, and then there’s this complicated relationship she has with her sister, and then she learns that she has to figure out how she wants to be loved, because she doesn’t really know. That’s how everyone does it. “I deeply understood what it means to feel like a writer, like a stranger and different,” she said, adding: “Usually when I walk into a room, I definitely look completely different from the most amazing room.”
“It wasn’t cool. I had to become that. And then I knew what it felt like to be alone in that. And I definitely know what it feels like to be in a very difficult relationship and what it feels like to be an older sister trying to give your little sister some space to be. “I also know what it feels like to try to connect with people, having to figure out how to come back and deal with that, and I also know what it feels like to have to figure out how to forgive and connect.” Continue.
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