Keep dancing through…
My pulse is rushing, my head is reeling, my face is flushing.
What is this feeling?
Mounting excitement for the release ofWicked, coming to theaters on Nov. 22.
Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo) and Glinda (Ariana Grande) arrive in the Emerald City in ‘Wicked’.Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures
M Chu, who helms the two-part movie extravaganza and shares exclusive images of the film withEntertainment Weekly.
This isn’t half the homework, he insists.
This should leave you with the highest of highs and so connected to these women.
Jonathan Bailey’s Prince Fiyero is “Dancing Through Life” in ‘Wicked’.Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures
Dancing Through Life
Dont expect a one-to-one retread of the stage show.
I will neither confirm nor deny that it’s a clock, Chu says of the striking image.
“This is a rotating bookshelf because everything in Oz has a very circular shape to it.
Boq (Ethan Slater) and Nessa (Marissa Bode) in ‘Wicked’.Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures
In the library, they don’t have regular shelves.
Nothing is regular in Oz, but at Shiz, the bookshelves are curved.
And in this case, you walk up to get your book.
Cynthia Erivo’s Elphaba and Ariana Grande’s Glinda in ‘Wicked’.Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures
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Its this idea that Fiyero gets to break the rules, Chu notes.
The kids start to feel something different.
Director Jon M. Chu directs Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande on set of ‘Wicked’.Giles Keyte/Universal Pictures
It’s almost likeGreasewhere you’re like, Oh, okay, we can move our bodies like this.
the most swankified place in town.
Our conception of the Ozdust is very different than what we’ve seen on stage, Chu reveals.
All of it had a bigger purpose in our movie.
We definitely wanted the underbelly of Oz, Chu says.
Its a place where animals all get to hang out, and there’s an animal band.
It’s not prom.
I always found that difficult to understand, like, ‘Wait, is this dance sanctioned by the school?
Then why is that rebellious?’
In our version, Fiyero is sneaking them out of school to break the rules.
(For those who read the book, though, don’t worry.
This version still remains far more family friendly).
It also helps to create a new perspective on animals, the filmmaker adds.
It helps create this idea of the rebelliousness that this new younger generation are discovering.
How far will that take everybody in Oz throughout the course of the whole story of both movies?
It’s an awakening of a generation.
I always see it as a little bit ofPleasantville, a little bit ofThe Truman Show.
You start to see the truth about things that maybe you were taught differently.
The Ozdust Ballroom has the added bonus of being handicap-accessible.
Being a Munchkin isn’t about size, it’s about culture, Chu says.
They have an agricultural nature to them, but they harvest the joy and the happiness of Oz.
All of those tulips they’re growing are to be able to paint and create clothes of those colors.
There’s a spirit of optimism and a spirit of solutions and the working people.
Ethan has all of those things in spades.
He has the biggest heart, and hes an optimist.
One thing that remains true, however, is that his domain remains within the Emerald City.
Much of the films design inspiration came from drawings and descriptions of Baums book, including this striking image.
The designs in there are so unique and so beautiful, Chu adds.
Cynthia and Ari are living these roles, he gushes.
When I watch them now, the nuance is so specific.
They’re giving so much that it’s so real.
So you could say that theyve changedWickedand Chu for good.
