Singing and dancing Streep, Brosnan a major treat in '08
By Ruben V. Nepales
Philippine Daily Inquirer
LOS ANGELES, California--
A Caped Crusader, Iron Man, a Narnian Prince, Indiana Jones, Rambo, James Bond and Incredible Hulk are in your 2008 movie horizon. There is also a Dancing Queenóand that is Meryl Streep, no less, as Donna in the film adaptation of "Mamma Mia!", one of the longest-running shows in Broadway history. Shaping up to be the perfect alternative to the upcoming testosterone-heavy films, "Mamma Mia!," which features the popular ABBA songs, is the first movie musical of the divine Meryl Streep.
Meryl gave us a hint of her singing talent in such films as "A Prairie Home Companion" and "Postcards from the Edge." The multi-awarded actress, as the lead of a defunct band (Donna and the Dynamos) who runs a taverna on a Greek island, gets to do full-blown singing and dancing numbers in the screen version of the feel-good musical that has been seen by over 30 million people in more than 160 cities around the world.
"Mamma Mia!" promises another major treat: Pierce Brosnan, former James Bond, lets loose, croons and hoofs it up as Sam, one of the three ex-boyfriends of Meryl's Donna. The lucky young actress who landed the role of Sophie, Donna's daughter, is Amanda Seyfried, whose credits include the TV shows "Veronica Mars" and "Big Love." In Sophie's quest to find her father's identity, she invited the men to her wedding (without her mother's knowledge).
Add Colin Firth (as Harry) and Stellan Skarsgard (Bill) as the other two ex-BFs, Christine Baranski (Tanya) and Julie Walters (Rosie) as Donna's ex-band mates and Dominic Cooper as Sophie's groom, Sky, and you get an idea of the fun quotient of "Mamma Mia!"
Behind the scenes
The three women behind the stage production--director Phyllida Lloyd (in her feature film directing debut), writer Catherine Johnson and producer Judy Craymer--are also steering the movie adaptation.
Catherine had the daunting task of making a coherent story using ABBA's hits, from "Chiquitita" to "The Winner Takes It All." Catherine did a good job. Of course, ABBA's Benny Anderson and Bjorn Ulvaeus are also very much involved as executive producers, along with Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, Gary Goetzman and Mark Huffam.
In a set visit to Pinewood Studios outside London last year where the James Bond films are shot, Stellan joked that his biggest concern was Daniel Craig, the new, ruggedly macho 007 agent, brandishing a gun, might cross paths with Pierce wearing spandex pants from the musicalís 1970s inspired numbers. Stellan, the acclaimed Swedish actor, was surprisingly funny in our talk on the set.
The set for "Villa Donna," complete with real olive trees, oleander and other plants, and surrounded by a cyclorama of a sparkling blue sea, looked so authentic that we could almost smell the Aegean Sea. Only the cables running on the floor broke the illusion. For the exterior shots, the cast and crew moved later to Skiathos and Skopelos in Greece. We watched Meryl, in a denim jumpsuit and white blouse, her hair in soft curls, a feather boa around her neck, sing "Dancing Queen" with Julie, Christine and extras dressed as Greek villagers.
Looking young and fresh in contrast to her recent roles where she wears stiff-looking suits and blunt hairdos, Meryl projected a natural sexy, sassy attitude as she led the women in warbling "Friday night and the lights are low, looking out for a place to go."
Having fun
"I am having a lot of fun," Meryl said after a take, her beaming face confirming her statement. She grabbed the chance to talk to our group of visiting journalists. She exulted about filming with "all the girls." The celebrated actress then quipped, "Everything will change when the boys (Pierce and company) come."
As she played with the feather boa, Meryl described her experience so far as "pure joy. That's what this movie is. It's an antidote to everything else. You can't leave this musical without feeling elated. The ABBA music is a special gift. There's a lot of energy in the piece."
"Did you get up to the roof?" she asked us about our guided tour of the elaborate sets. "That's where I was. I climbed that ladder and then I was dancing up on the edge of that roof." With a smile, she teased, "They're trying to kill me."
When we asked Julie and Christine about their famous co-star later, the former cracked, "Meryl who?" Julie, who is known as Mrs. Weasley to "Harry Potter" fans and has won awards and nominations for such films as "Billy Elliot" and "Educating Rita," then added, "Meryl is amazing, isn't she?"
The Tony, Emmy and Golden Globe-winning Christine chimed in, "Meryl is so focused. We were intimidated playing her girlfriends because she's this great iconic actress. How are we going to create that feeling that we have known each other for a long time and just have fun?" Demonstrating with a graceful movement of her hands, the actress continued about Meryl, "But she's so fluid and accessible."
Lovely voice
"Meryl has a lovely voice," Julie declared. Turning to Julie, Christine said, "Do you remember that great scene in 'Postcards from the Edge' when she sang? It was just fantastic."
When the topic veered toward the filming in Greece, after a gap of over a month, Julie dished, "We'll be much older then. It's just so weird that it does end in Greece."
Asked if she was an ABBA fan, Christine said, "I remember being in a music store on 42nd Street in Times Square. That must have been the early '80s. I hear this music playing while I was on my way out of the door and I remember walking back into the store. It was 'Dancing Queen.' "
Also breaking into a laugh, she added, "Little did I know that someday, I'd be singing the song over and over."
She recalled her excitement upon being cast: "When I heard I was up for this, I was like, 'Oh, my God!' First of all, it was a chance to work with Meryl. Plus to shoot in summer in London, then to Greece and then I heard Pierce Brosnan is in it too!"
Developing skills
Anthony Van Laast, who choreographed the original stage production, has the same responsibility in the movie version. He has the very challenging task of teaching ah-one, ah-two to Pierce, Colin and Stellan, guys not known for their terpsichorean skills.
"What I like to do is work with the actors," Anthony said. "I don't go in there and impose on them because they normally have something to bring to the characters. With Pierce, in very simplistic terms, let's say in a number like 'Voulez-Vous,' I'll ask him and the other actors to do one move and they'll do it in another way. I say, 'I like the way you're doing it so why don't we try and develop that?' So I just develop steps with them."
Pierce sings a new song created for the film, "When All is Said and Done," instead of "Knowing Me, Knowing You," which his character performs in the stage version.
"Colin has more comic stuff to do," Anthony continued. "Working with someone like Meryl is just phenomenal because I'll start an idea rolling and she'll go with it. The choreography is different for the film. I would say 75 percent of the choreography on the film is brand-new."
"We have challenges with Stellan," Anthony deadpanned to laughter. "I am sure that by the time we film, he'll be absolutely fine. My assistant is working very hard with him at the moment. The thing about 'Mamma Mia!' is that a lot of the movement comes from people as they are. It's not a musical where everyone does the same moves. So if Stellan moves in a certain way, I have to incorporate that. There's no point trying to impose on something he can't do--that's a polite way of saying it."
