Yesterday we reported that the adorably whimsical French film Amélie is being turned into a musical. But despite the fact that it’s not even been written yet, said musical already has found an impassioned critic in a quite unlikely form: The film’s director.
Don’t hold back, Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Tell us what you really think.
Via The Guardian:
According to the Agence France-Presse, Jean-Pierre Jeunet said in a radio interview that he had a “profound disgust” for musical comedy and did not approve of the idea of Dan Messe and Craig Lucas‘s stage adaptation, which is aiming for Broadway. “I hate Broadway,” said the director. “I think it is the very incarnation of tackiness.”
You hear that? It’s a bunch of theater geeks fashioning their sheet music and Playbills into makeshift weapons.
But if Jeunet hates Broadway so much, why did he give permission for the musical to be made in the first place? Turns out accepting the offer to adapt Amélie lets him donate to one of his favorite charities, Mécénat Chirurgie Cardiaque (Heart Surgery Patronage). Explains Jeunet, “It costs €10,000 (£8,500) to save a child, I have already helped to save a good dozen children, and then I thought this could be an opportunity to save more.”
He signed off on the musical to save the children, but he’ll be damned if he’s going to play nice and pretend to like the thing:
“I can tell you that I will not go to see it, I don’t even want to hear about it, I won’t listen to what they do, but if it brings in some money, well, maybe I can save a few lives, and that’s the only reason I accepted.”
An experienced director set in his ways. A pair of theater mavericks determined to prove him wrong and create something brilliant. A rivalry that transcends mediums. Screw Amélie. Someone go meta and make a musical out of this.
(via: The Guardian)
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