![]() And so that was quite a juggling act, too. You had the strange thing of two parents you had the books and the film. Actually it wasn’t all that dissimilar from Mary Poppins. I want people who adored the film to have a really good evening in the theater. But I hope we’ve been very faithful to the film too. And to add that to the central comedy of the situation. I think my job was to give a kind of emotional imperative, a kind of emotional path, for all the different characters, which is either suggested or pretty clearly delineated. I think it makes the children’s parts a little more interesting to play, apart from anything else that they just they are all more defined as characters. But nevertheless, we know a little bit more about Rosalie and about the other teachers. So, it wasn’t just the story of Dewey, although obviously Dewey is the temple of the whole thing. We know, I think, slightly more clearly the effect that Dewey is having on them and having on their lives, which seemed right to sort of open it up a bit. But I think we’ve defined the other children rather more than in the film and given them a situation and given them problems. JF – I think with the exception of Summer, who is a prominent character in the film and in the show. I went to see the show and then I went back and looked at the movie again, just to get kind of A and B comparison. ![]() But I knew I wanted to do it straight away. Sometimes you have to talk yourself into things, or at least research them, to see if you want to do it. I thought Jack Black was fantastic and I thought all of it script, everything, was terrific. So, I was thrilled when Andrew asked me if I’d do it. And I don’t think I could be much further from Downton Abbey than School of Rock. It’s not a very obvious transition, is it? But still, it was very flattering and, of course, it’s always good to do something that’s completely outside your kind of tame territory. Of course, Julian, you’re best known for creating “Downton Abbey,” which is pretty different from the world of “School of Rock.” And Julian Fellowes, who I know has also written for the theater, was a very obvious choice, at least to me, because he’s a real craftsman. And so, my next port of call really was to talk to a major dramatist, because when you’re dealing with something which is a very successful film like this, which has got a whole life of its own, I really wanted to talk to somebody who also has had a major career in film, television. When I first looked at the story, the first thought I had was: “can I, in any way, bring anything to the table here?” And I saw a couple of moments in the movie where I thought I could. So, I thought that it really did need a score. But when I got into it, they were only tiny little fragments and there was only really the song we all called “Teacher’s Pet” and then “The Legend of the Rent.” It was also in the movie, but there wasn’t very much other than those two original songs. I thought maybe it was something that we would flesh out with existing rock songs, because there were a few in the original movie. Originally, the idea was first mooted to me, by my wife Madeleine, who got the rights to the whole thing. Hopefully, it’s something that you will go to in and say “I had a really good time.” But, hopefully you will also take out of it the central message of the story – which is a very warm and very simple one – which is about the empowering force of music. Hopefully, I’ve fleshed it out with a few catchy songs and kept the spirit of the original movie. So, in a way, that’s really why I was drawn to this story. It really is something that empowers kids, in all areas of life. I’m very much involved in Britain, and I’m going to become a little bit more involved here, with proving how important music is in education, which I do through my foundation in Britain. And it’s taking me back to something that I really care very deeply about, which is the importance of music in schools and education. And that’s what I think excited me.Īlso, it’s particularly exciting for me because I started with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which was a piece written for a school, performed first in a school. And, therefore, it’s really about how music changes the life of the kids in the show, and also changes the life of the leading man, because he finds himself, in a way, through the children and the music that they’re making. I’d love to start with the inspiration of this project.Īndrew Lloyd Webber – I suppose the thing that I picked up on immediately was that it’s about the incredible empowering force that music can be.
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