“Wonka.” “Imply Women.” “Joker: Folie à Deux.” “The Shade Purple.” Hollywood may not be loud about its current uptick in big-budget musicals — keep in mind these tales about audiences not realizing that current “Imply Women” remake was, in actual fact, a musical? — however that doesn’t imply the traditional style isn’t nonetheless whirling its approach via film theaters.
Actress Melissa Barrera acquired her personal Hollywood begin with Jon M. Chu’s dazzling “Within the Heights” — very, very a lot a musical — however she nonetheless sees the odd methods by which the business obscures and outright hides what sort of movies they’re making.
“I really feel bizarre about it, I’m not going to lie, I really feel bizarre about this rejection to musicals, as a result of earlier than, each film was a musical and [audiences] liked them they usually have been nice, and I don’t know what occurred that the tide turned and there’s this rejection,” Barrera mentioned throughout a current interview with IndieWire. “Perhaps it’s a top quality factor. Perhaps the standard diminished, after which folks began not liking them, after which that’s why they choose now every little thing that comes out.”
One factor that’s not serving to issues? A bent towards hiding that sure movies are musicals of their advertising. Barrera pointed to Todd Phillips’ upcoming “Joker” sequel, a musical follow-up to his Oscar-winning smash hit, as additional proof of some very bizarre intentions from Hollywood brass, the sort that additional rile audiences.
“Proper now, ‘The Joker’ sequel, they’re making an attempt so onerous to say that it’s not a musical when, dude, it’s. Come on!,” she mentioned. “We already know what number of songs there are within the film. It’s a musical, so this concern, just like the trailer will not be together with any songs and stuff like that, … I believe additionally audiences reject the thought of feeling manipulated, and so I believe that makes it worse. They launch a trailer the place there’s no music, and also you’re like, ‘What’s that? What even is that?’ after which they launch the final trailer per week earlier than it comes out, after which they’ve music in it, and everybody’s confused.”
Even Barrera herself has discovered herself confused about a number of the style’s current choices. Requested about current musical hit “Wonka,” and Barrera confessed: “I had no thought it was a musical. I had no thought.” Nonetheless, the movie was a smash hit, so she’s acquired some hope for the long run. (She’s additionally “very excited for ‘Depraved,’ clearly.”)
“I like musicals,” Barrera mentioned. “I’d simply do musicals if there was that chance. I like them that a lot, and I belief that there’s going to be a resurgence, and I belief that they’re going to change into fashionable once more with the suitable inventive voices behind them and the suitable manufacturing, execution, and the suitable expertise. I simply really feel prefer it’s acquired to be a mixture of every little thing. Earlier than, within the golden age of Hollywood, even within the golden period of Mexican cinema, every little thing was a musical, however each actor was a triple menace. Each actor might sing, they might dance, they might act, they usually have been nice at it, they usually have been charming. I believe we have to make investments on expertise.”
And Barrera herself is raring to get again into the musical sport, and has acquired some concepts for potential dream roles, like Giuseppe Verdi’s traditional tragic opera, “Aida,” which has been tailored for the display a handful of instances, however not within the modern age.
“I wish to do extra musicals. Certainly one of my favourite musicals that I believe could be such an unimaginable film is ‘Aida,’” she mentioned. “That was my senior present in highschool. I performed Ameris, and I simply suppose, think about that present, visually, simply spectacular. I simply suppose that it will be unimaginable, and the story, the music, every little thing about it.”
Barrera has another concepts, too, together with a really humorous mash-up of her comedic goals and a wink at a few of Hollywood’s most profitable musicals.
“If we’re speaking about what I’d need to do, I simply really feel like I’d wish to do one thing totally different than I’ve performed, so I’ve performed musicals, and I’ve performed horror, and I’ve performed extra dramatic stuff,” she mentioned. “I’d like to do a straight comedy. Would love that.”
She paused to snicker, seemingly combining her two large wishes into one depraved little thought. “ what I truly would like to do? What my dream is?,” Barrera mentioned. “I’d like to do a film like ‘Grease,’ the place I’m 35, taking part in a 16-year-old, and everyone seems to be of their thirties, taking part in highschool. That’s what I would like.”