One of the most beloved and enduring musicals on the stage, Wicked makes its journey to the big screen as a spectacular cinematic event this holiday season.
Wicked is the untold story of the witches of Oz, starring Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, a young woman misunderstood because of her green skin who has yet to discover her true power, and Ariana Grande as Glinda, a popular young woman gilded by privilege who has yet to discover her true heart. The two meet as students at Shiz University in the fantastical Land of Oz and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Following an encounter with The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, their friendship reaches a crossroads and their lives take very different paths. Their extraordinary adventures in Oz will ultimately see them fulfill their destinies as Glinda the Good and the Wicked Witch of the West.
Directed by acclaimed filmmaker Jon M. Chu (Crazy Rich Asians, In the Heights), Wicked is the first chapter of a two-part immersive, cultural celebration with Wicked Part Two is scheduled to arrive in theaters next year. We talked with Chu about the practical sets — 9 million poppies planted — and the unforgettable dinner party that kicked it all off.
Interviewed for Family Entourage
Family Entourage: I am a huge fan of musical theater and I loved Wicked, so when I heard that there was going to be a movie, I wondered how it was going to be handled and I just so thoroughly enjoyed my movie going experience as well.
Jon Chu: Thank you. Thank you.
FE: So talk to me, I understand you also were an original fan of Wicked and got to see it very early on, so getting to have that experience 20 years ago to now helming this, share some thoughts…
JC: Talk about a dream that you dare to dream that can really come true. I sat there before it was ever on Broadway in San Francisco with my mom when she used to always take us to musicals every year, musical season, opera season or ballet season in the city. So we would go and of course I did plays growing up and stuff, and I was in college when she said, oh, Stephen Schwartz has this new musical based off of The Wizard of Oz. So we went and I remember being blown away by the imagery. It felt like I was watching a cinematic show immediately, and then this relationship just crushed me being in college. There were relationships in high school that were falling apart, that were changing, we were changing, and we had different destinations. And so sort of hinting at what that relationship feels like and that it still can be important even though it’s not in your life, I thought was a nuance that was very interesting in a fairytale that usually has very basic and broad tales within it. So I think all of those things just moved me and I thought, wow, whoever gets to direct this one day is going to be really lucky person, never thinking it would be me.
FE: I understand that Ariana and Cynthia hadn’t met in person until they were at your home for a dinner party. Share a little bit about that experience.
JC: So we auditioned everybody. No one would just get a call and get the job. Everyone had to audition and each of ’em had to prove themselves. Everybody wanted this job. So by the time we casted Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, they were the perfect Elphaba and Glinda, but we just had never put them together. We had paired them with other people just for some reason, in my mind, never thought that those two could pair. And so we knew that they actually were the perfect roles, but we trusted that the alchemy of that would eventually happen between them.
So I invited them to my house, maybe this is like six months after we hired them for the job, and Steven Schwarz come in. This is during the lockdown, so we were just starting to be able to meet each other in person. Winnie Holzman, the writer was there and Steven starts to play the piano. And these two girls who had just met just started to sing For Good, which is in movie 2, by the way. And it was like a spiritual event. You could not imagine how these two voices sort of intertwined together and the way they looked at each other. And I just right then thought, if the world could see this right now, this is already a movie, so I can’t wait to finally share them three years later after that to finally share it with the world.
FE: They were incredible together. In fact, the whole movie is so well cast and what I loved and appreciated was how much it could breathe and go into depth in so many different areas, whether it be Shiz University or the Emerald City. Talk to me a little bit about from the director standpoint, kind of blending the practical with the CGI.
JC: Yes, yes. I mean, the reality was they don’t make ’em like they used to in terms of building sets. And we really wanted to, because we were going back to the Land of Oz, a place that we all have in our memories in some way, form or shape, that we wanted to build the yellow brick road. We wanted to build the Munchkin Land. We wanted to be able to feel and touch the ground and the columns. We wanted to go to Emerald City. We wanted to walk through Emerald City, fulfill the wish fulfillment that we all have. Let’s see, the real thing, we have too many video games. We get it, by the way, it’s not that we don’t have CG, we have ILM and we have Framestore and they’re amazing companies, but they told us, build as much as you can. It really helps us. So the train is real, and the 9 million tulips that we planted for this movie, you just look at it and it’s like watching Cleopatra or Ben Hur that there are hands, human hands that have put this thing together. And I just think that’s part of the cinema experience that we try to do now for people.
FE: Well, it translates so well and it does feel so different, and I was so excited that this is just part one because the adventure gets to continue next year too, so I can’t wait to share it with audiences as well. Thank you for taking the time today.
JC: Thank you. It’s really nice and I hope people enjoy the movie and bring your family and friends and dates and grandparents and whoever else
