LONDON PREMIERE: It All Starts Here!

Well this came out of nowhere, i didn't expect the Premiere to be today.....but here it is, the first Video Clip. Enjoy!

http://tv.reuters.com/ifr_main.jsp?st=1 ... 7191399497

OR

http://www.themoviebox.net/movies/2004/ ... -page.html

Yeah well, it was great fun......especially those super fast and steep rock formations.......it's like you keep paddling but you're going in all sorts of directions.........and worst still.......as you said, sometimes you get stuck between two rocks and the water comes so fast that begins to tip your raft.......

Wow...ta Arch...that did come out of nowhere! I thought the Premiere would be later!

That was fantastic!!! I especially get overly excited when they uncloak the fallen chandelier and the flashback sequence with the gaslights ingniting to the very last scene of the falling rose! The music and the voices sounded brill too!!

My my you do go places.........i really envy you

No probs.....

Previews are normally held one and a bit weeks ahead of the actual release......we are still more than 2 weeks away......

I've been trying to watch that clip but my browser is not letting me......i tried modifying the cookie settings but it didn't work.......i also tried it on Netscape........argh :x :x :x :x :x

I guess i'll just wait till a downloadable version is available, if that ever happens....

18 days hear ye..hear ye



Father once spoke
of an angel . . .
I used to dream he'd
appear . . .
Now as I sing,
I can sense him . . .
And I know
he's here . . .

Interesting picture there Miruvor..... ......they don't like hotlinking...

LONDON PREMIERE: Accompanying Article

http://www.reuters.com

The stars and musicians of the motion picture version of "The Phantom of the Opera," entertained New Yorkers at a special preview of the film.

The movie is based on Gaston Leroux's 1911 novel, "Le Fantome de l'Opera," a story set in Paris in the time of great opulence, excitement and passion. The story revolves around Christine Daae, a young and inexperienced member of the Paris Opera who is captured by the mad, lonely anddisfigured Phantom who haunts the Opera House. A struggle for her affection ensues, when she reveals her love for Raoul, a wealthy patron of the Opera House, rushing the film to an impassioned conclusion.

The film follows closely on the heels of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway musical, "The Phantom of the Opera," the largest grossing stage or screen production in the world, with revenues of over $3.2 billion (USD).

Director Joel Schumacher said taking on the massively successful stage production and making it into a was challenging.

"The costumes, the sets, the horses , the carriages, thegaslights. I have never done anything like that, so it was very exciting.

Beautiful surroundings and beautiful people every day. But it is really the love story you are telling and you have to remind yourself not to get too lost in the visuals."

Emmy Rossum plays Christine in the movie version of the Phantom, a role that has her doing everything. "I sing and I dance, and I act as well."

Gerard Butler, who plays the Phantom said the role came naturally to him.

"To be honest the most important thing to have a connection with was phantom's soul. That is why when I met Joel and listened to the music and read it, I said I know this guy. I really did."

The film opens in the United States on December 22, 2004.

Oh ...that means it will soon be a box with a red x in it! I really like that picture, but the one on emmy rossum's site is too big!

Do you know where I can find another?


Cheers mate! I've got another terrible headache and I'm really stressed for reasons unknown! I think I'm going to go and lie down for a bit! Forgive me!

When that happens......just download the image and upload it again via http://www.imageshack.us

Cheers! I think I'm going to go lay down now for a bit though, as I've got another terrible headache and I'm feeling stressed beyond belief for reasons unknown! Perhaps I'm coming down with the dreaded lurgy..who know's

I'll be back at full force to help ya out tomorrow Arch...I hope! :?

I'm about to go to work.......so i'll catch up with you tomorrow afternoon.....

UK: Advance Tickets

According to The RUG website, it is possible to book your Phantom tickets now! Only in the UK!

The URL of the site is http://www.ugccinemas.co.uk

EMMA ROSSUM: TDAT Interview

http://homepage.mac.com/leonardo.ubeda/ ... Movie.html

Checkout this NEW old interview with Emma Rossum about The Day After Tommorow.

She's a great speaker without the normall umms and ahhs......very articulate and well presented.

Love her even more!

TIMES MAG: How To Film A Phantom

http://www.time.com/



The screen version of the international stage hit is finally here. Can it revive the Hollywood musical?

He shot 2002's Phone Booth in a mere 12 days. But Joel Schumacher knows that some dreams take longer than others. Back in 1988, after St. Elmo's Fire and The Lost Boys had introduced him as a promising if lightweight young American director (and before Batman Forever sealed his place in the upper reaches of the Hollywood hierarchy), Schumacher decided to see Broadway's newest hit, The Phantom of the Opera. Even before he got the chance, Andrew Lloyd Webber, its composer, called him and mentioned that he wanted to bring the play to the big screen. "Every director in Hollywood wanted to do it," Schumacher recalls. "Because this was already the biggest show in the world."

Then he saw it and got hooked. Just the storyline — a deformed composer who lives beneath the Paris Opera House and becomes obsessed with a young singer — transfixed him. In the darkness of Broadway's Majestic Theater, at the climax when the Phantom threatens to kill the girl's lover unless she stays with him, Schumacher had an epiphany. "She kisses him. And then — I don't know who came up with this but it was incredible — she kisses him again. And he can't take it because he realizes what a sacrifice she's making. That second kiss is too much for him. And I sat up in my seat and thought, 'That's a great movie moment.' Suddenly I knew how to make this film."

Sixteen years later, that vision is finally reaching completion on the set at London's Pinewood Studios, where the ingenue, Christine, and her beloved Raoul are pledging their noisy passion on a make-believe rooftop of the Paris Opera. Fake snow swirls, and an orchestra assaults the eardrums. Amid the chaos, Schumacher appears relaxed, even louche, as he watches the action through his monitor. He's having a good time. And he's just one of many directors out to revive the movie musical — a trend that began when Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge squeaked out a small profit in 2001, and gathered steam a year later when Rob Marshall's Chicago grossed over $170 million in the U.S. and bagged six Oscars. "Movie musicals went out of fashion for a long time," says Schumacher, "but finally it looks like they're coming back."

MORE AT LINK

INSTYLE MAGAZINE: Emma Rossum

http://www.emmy-rossum.net/
http://www.emmy-rossum.net/gallery/maga ... 004/02.jpg

Q&A with SCHUMACHER: Answers

http://phantomthemovie.warnerbros.com/qaSchumacher.html

phoenix247:
Wow, this is an awesome opportunity! Was it hard to capture the raw emotion that The Phantom of the Opera is so well known for?

Joel Schumacher:
We have a very exciting young cast that brings very unique passion to the film version.

laluna579:
Hello! What aspect of this movie do you feel will be most successful in winning over a new generation of people? Thanks for answering our questions!

Joel Schumacher:
I feel Andrew's music is timeless and hopefully this tragic young love story will be meaningful to people of all ages.

NEW: Production Stills

Check out some new production stills posted at Comingsoon.net....including some great ones of Emmy....

http://www.comingsoon.net/cgi-bin/image ... _the_Opera

REVIEW: Saw a Screening of Phantom of the Opera

http://www.forums-oscarwatch.com/forums ... adid=18736

**SPOILERS AT LINK**

I saw an advance screening of Phantom of the Opera last night. I haven't thought about Phantom of the Opera since I was sixteen and saw a production of it. So it was fun revisiting the music.

I think Joel Schumacher is the right director for this cheesy/enjoyable material. In my opinion Schumacher did his best work in the 1980's with all his oversaturated colors and crazy camera angles-- a taste for the gothic (think Flatliners). So it makes sense he should film an 80's musical, with black roses, snowy cemeteries, gargoyles, and Frederick's of Hollywood- style costumes (for Emmy Rossum). And the arragements are intact, complete with synthesized drumming, electronic hand claps and squealing electric guitar.

The problem with the film-- and it's a BIG problem--is that the music SO SO SLOW. He adds at least 20 minutes to the film and the pace is painfully GLACIAL. The music is exciting, and the film would be MORE exciting if he had paced it better. I think this could really hurt the movie's success.

From the negative/dissapointment reviews.....the main problem seems to be poor pacing and lack of emotion.......but the good thing is that nearly all reviews say that if you are a fan of the theatre production than you'll love it....

BROADWAY reviews Phantom SOUNTRACK

http://www.broadway.com/gen/Buzz_Story.aspx?ci=502968



Considering it's the most successful musical of all time, there aren't all that many English-language recordings of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. First and foremost, of course, is the best-selling, double-CD London cast recording, starring Michael Crawford, Sarah Brightman, and Steve Barton.

Because those three West End leads repeated their roles in New York, no Broadway cast recording was made. But there was a single disc of highlights featuring the cast of the Toronto/Livent production, starring Colm Wilkinson. Then there's a highlights disc from TER/JAY featuring as Christine and Raoul Claire Moore (the original London alternate for Brightman) and John Barrowman. When this disc was first released in 1993, its Phantom was Graham Bickley. For its second release in 1996, Bickley was replaced by Ethan Freeman.

Only now do we have a second full-length English-language recording, which is, of course, taken from the soundtrack of the Phantom of the Opera film that opens next month. The soundtrack recording comes in two versions, a single, sixty-three-minute disc of highlights that includes all of the principal numbers plus one new song, and a double-CD that features the complete score along with a souvenir booklet. There will also be separate soundtrack albums in French, Italian, Spanish, and German.

--

As for the score itself, you probably know what you think of it by now. Almost two decades since I first heard it at a London preview (Claire Moore's first performance), I find that its charms hold up well.

SOUNDTRACK: Special Edition CD (PICS)







Enjoy!

SOUNDTRACK: Special Edition CD (MORE PICS)

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/ ... ck/cd4.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/ ... ck/cd5.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/ ... k/cd12.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/ ... ck/cd2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/ ... k/cd82.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/ ... /cd242.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/ ... /cd102.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/ ... /cd112.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/ ... /cd122.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/ ... /cd132.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v467/ ... /cd142.jpg

New pics are fantastic! Ta!

14 days till all systems are go



Stranger
than you dreamt it -
can you even
dare to look
or bear to
think of me:
this loathsome
gargoyle, who
burns in hell, but secretly
yearns for heaven,
secretly . . .
secretly . . .