Rob Marshall

Disney Are Making A New ‘Mary Poppins’ Film, Set 20 Years After The Original

By Elinor Cosgrave in Movies / TV / Theatre on 15 September 2015

Disney Mary Poppins Julie Andrews Dick Van Dyke Rob Marshall John DeLuca Marc Platt Scarlett Johansson Bill Murray Lupita Nyong'o

Purists may need ‘A Spoonful of Sugar’ to help this news go down…

Disney are planning to make a new Mary Poppins film. The upcoming film will not be a remake of the much beloved original but will take place 20 years later when the magical nanny has a new set of children to take care of. Like the original, the film will be set in London.

Julie Andrews starred in the original Mary Poppins. Photographed here at the 2015 TCM Classic Film Festival in L.A. in March 2015.

Continue reading: Disney Are Making A New ‘Mary Poppins’ Film, Set 20 Years After The Original

Into The Woods Review

By Rich Cline

Excellent

It's taken a long time for this stage musical to make it to the big screen, and while director Rob Marshall once again fails to give the story a sharp focus (see also Chicago and Nine), he at least lets the music and characters shine. Originally staged on Broadway in 1987, this musical by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine is a gleeful mash-up of fairy tales that continues on past the "happily ever after", eventually turning rather dark and emotional.

Once upon a time, there was a Baker and his Wife (James Corden and Emily Blunt) who learn that they can't have children because the Witch (Meryl Streep) next door has cursed them. She offers to break the spell if they collect a cow, a cape, a slipper and a lock of hair. Meanwhile, Jack (Daniel Huttlestone) annoys his mother (Tracey Ullman) by selling the family cow for a handful of "magic" beans; Red Riding Hood (Lilla Crawford) dodges a leery Wolf (Johnny Depp) following her through the woods; Cinderella (Anna Kendrick) sneaks to the festival to meet the Prince (Chris Pine) against the wishes of her nasty stepmum (Christine Baranski); and Rapunzel (Mackenzie Mauzy) defies her mother by letting her hair down for a Prince (Billy Magnussen). After knotting together, each plot strand resolves happily. Until the next day.

This is very much a story of two halves, with the sharp, snappy, hilarious first act contrasting strongly against the rather disturbingly grim and grisly second act, as everyone's story unravels to reveal each character's deep neediness. What makes this show so clever is the way it undermines the usual fairy-tale happiness of most stories, cautioning that this artifice is actually a problem for children. While the songs are all clever and thoroughly engaging, none of them is particularly hummable on first listen, but each is packed with witty wordplay and serious subtext that gets under the skin.

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Anna Kendrick On 'Into The Woods' Role: I'm An Emotional Accountant

By Holly Williams in Movies / TV / Theatre on 26 December 2014

Anna Kendrick Rob Marshall Stephen Sondheim

She describes her character as 'unpolished and neurotic and modern'.

There's no question that Anna Kendrick has re-invented the character of Cinderella for fairytale musical 'Into The Woods', and while it has drawn both criticism and praise, she herself is grateful to have had the opportunity.

Anna Kendrick in 'Into The Woods'
Anna Kendrick is Cinderella in 'Into The Woods'

The purpose of the Rob Marshall directed movie was to put across that there's flaws in everybody, even those childhood characters we so adore. In 'Into The Woods', we see each character drawn in by the magic of the woods with the determination for their wish to come true - despite what the consequences may be. When it comes down to Cinderella, a character known for her unwavering kindness, it could've been difficult to make her real; imperfect and often obsessive.

Continue reading: Anna Kendrick On 'Into The Woods' Role: I'm An Emotional Accountant

Meryl Streep: I Learned About 'Into The Woods' Character Through Costume

By Holly Williams in Movies / TV / Theatre on 25 December 2014

Meryl Streep Rob Marshall

Meryl Streep plays the witch in Rob Marshall's adaptation of 'Into The Woods'.

Meryl Streep didn't have the most comfortable costumes on the set of 'Into The Woods', playing the wicked witch who leads everyone to their fate - but she admits that her character couldn't have been completed without the help of the behind the scenes crew.

Meryl Streep in 'Into The Woods'
Meryl Streep admits her witch costume stuck into her

Costume designer Colleen Atwood is a legend in the movie industry, having worked on a magnificent variety of outfits on a never ending list of films. She has won numerous awards including three Oscars: for Tim Burton's 'Alice In Wonderland' and director Rob Marshall's 'Chicago' and 'Memoirs Of A Geisha'. Now she teams with Rob Marshall yet again for the Stephen Sondheim composed fairytale musical 'Into The Woods', and the film's star Meryl Streep couldn't been more thrilled to be working with her.

Continue reading: Meryl Streep: I Learned About 'Into The Woods' Character Through Costume

Chris Pine Compares 'Into The Woods' Co-Star Anna Kendrick To A Martial Artist

By Holly Williams in Movies / TV / Theatre on 08 December 2014

Chris Pine Anna Kendrick Meryl Streep Stephen Sondheim Rob Marshall

Anna Kendrick's brilliant vocals impress the cast of 'Into The Woods'.

Chris Pine likens seeing 'Into The Woods' co-star Anna Kendrick singing to 'watching a martial artist', as he admits that the musical task for the production of the film was nowhere near as simple as it would appear.

Chris Pine in 'Into The Woods'
Chris Pine plays Cinderella's Prince Charming

It seems that none of the cast of 'Into The Woods' were particularly overwhelmed with confidence at the prospect of singing Stephen Sondheim's spectacular tunes - except perhaps Meryl Streep, who showed off her fabulous pipes back in 2008 with 'Mamma Mia!' Being more focused on acting than singing, it was nerve-wracking for the stars to say the least, and according to Chris Pine it didn't appear to get any easier once inside the studio.

Continue reading: Chris Pine Compares 'Into The Woods' Co-Star Anna Kendrick To A Martial Artist

Johnny Depp 'Daunted' By Into The Woods Role

By Holly Williams in Movies / TV / Theatre on 27 November 2014

Johnny Depp Rob Marshall Stephen Sondheim Meryl Streep Emily Blunt Anna Kendrick

Even the best actors can intimidated by serious movies.

There's an enormous buzz surrounding Rob Marshall and Stephen Sondheim's stage to film musical 'Into The Woods' with it's spectacular ensemble cast and vibrant setting, but even a super A lister like Johnny Depp couldn't help but feel a little nervous.

Johnny Depp in 'Into The Woods'
Johnny Depp is the wiley Wolf in 'Into The Woods'

Being surrounded by award-winning movie stars like Meryl Streep, Emily Blunt and Anna Kendrick is scary enough without the prospect of singing in front of them. While you'd think Johnny Depp would be used to it, having starred in Stephen Sondheim's Oscar winning film adaptation of 'Sweeney Todd' back in 2007 and appeared in a number of Hollywood blockbusters with the likes of Morgan Freeman, Helena Bonham Carter, Angelina Jolie, Christian Bale and John Malkovich. However, he admits he found his role as the Wolf 'daunting' even if it was a 'joy' to be involved. 'It's one of those moments that you realise you will never in your life have an opportunity like that again, as an actor or as a musician', he confesses, in the run-up to the film's release.

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At Early Screening, "Into The Woods" Screen Adaptation Already Gathering Oscar Buzz

By Victoria Pavlova in Movies / TV / Theatre on 23 November 2014

Meryl Streep Rob Marshall

"Into the Woods" is staking a strong claim for the 2015 Oscars.

We’ve all been waiting for a film version of Into the Woods for approximately forever now and who better to play the beloved part of the witch than God... sorry, I meant Meryl Streep. Not that there’s a big difference anyway.

Meryl Streep as The Witch. Is this the best thing ever? Yes. Yes, it is.

The Disney flick screened on both coasts on Saturday, in Los Angeles and Burbank. It was just a press screening unfortunately, but just to reassure any desperate musical theatre fans among our readers – Into the Woods is coming to a screen near you as soon as Christmas Day. Or soon thereafter, if you live outside the US.

Continue reading: At Early Screening, "Into The Woods" Screen Adaptation Already Gathering Oscar Buzz

Into The Woods - Extended Trailer

When a Baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) are unable to have children due to a curse, they are advised by a witch (Meryl Streep) to venture into the woods in order to find a cow as white as milk, a cape as red as blood, hair as yellow as corn and a slipper as pure as gold. Along the way, they become intertwined in the stories of 'Jack and the Beanstalk', 'Little Red Riding Hood', 'Rapunzel', and 'Cinderella', in this original story based upon Grimm's classic fairy tales.

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Into The Woods - Alternative Trailer

When a Baker (James Corden) and his wife (Emily Blunt) are cursed by a witch (Meryl Streep), they discover that they are unable to have children. The couple embark on an adventure into the woods in order to recover the magical objects required to break the spell and allow them to begin a family together. Over the course of their journey, they encounter iconic fairy-tale characters and motifs from stories like Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, Rapunzel and Cinderella. They also steadily learn valuable lessons about responsibility and being careful what they wish for.

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Into The Woods - Featurette

Take a sneak peak of forthcoming musical fairytale flick 'Into The Woods' in this short featurette, featuring comments from the stellar ensemble cast and crew. Among them are stars Emily Blunt, James Corden, Chris Pine, Meryl Streep and Johnny Depp, as well as director Rob Marshall ('Chicago'), author of the book James Lapine and composer Stephen Sondheim ('Sweeney Todd').

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Rob Marshall - Director Rob Marshall Anaheim, California - 'Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' World Premiere held at Disneyland Saturday 7th May 2011