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The Mike & Carla Morning Show

The Mike & Carla Morning Show

The Mike & Carla Morning Show

Wicked Movie Fun Facts That Defy Gravity: No CGI And They Are Singing Live

Author Carla Rea
Wicked Movie Fun Facts That Defy Gravity

The anxiously awaited Wicked motion picture opens this weekend. Will it defy gravity? I think it will probably even defy some pretty high expectations.

I read the book, Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Brilliantly written, and one of the most original stories about two witches, Elphaba and Glinda, before and after Dorothy’s arrival in Oz. I’ve seen the musical several times – equally as brilliant!

Wicked Movie Theaters Say No Singing – At Least For Now

With the opening of Wicked, AMC Theaters say that singing along will be discouraged during showings of “Wicked.” WHAT??? AMC reps say, they have “a long-standing policy that prohibits disruptive behavior.” They’re even running a 30-second warning set to clips from the movie that says, “No talking. No texting. No singing. No wailing, No Flirting (huh?). And absolutely no name-calling. Enjoy the magic of movies.”

Well, I’m pretty sure, just like with the Taylor Swift “Eras Tour” movie, it’s going to be hard to keep fans quiet. Know this though – theaters around the country WILL hold special screenings where audience participation is encouraged those will start on Christmas Day.

Wicked Move Fun Facts That Are Quite Amazing

If you are seeing Wicked – and I assume you are – here are some really cool facts about the movie. Facts that might make you go, “hmmm…”

  • So many tulips, but NO, CGI. They actually planted and grew 9 million tulips to be part of the landscape for Munchkinland. In the musical, Munchkins are in charge of collecting color from the tulip field, so it was important to the director to have real patches of flowers, instead of magically CGI-ing them in post production.
  • It took about 4 hours each morning to paint Cynthia’s Erivo’s body in what I call, ‘Wicked green.’ Depending on her costume for the day and how much of her skin was visible, they could do it in about 2 and a half to 3 hours. Oh – and it took about 45 minutes to wipe it off at the end of the day, with a special makeup remover
  • Again, NO CGI. So actual sets were built, because they wanted to make everything feel as immersive as they possibly could. Watch what those sets actually looked like while they were being built. From the laying of the Yellow Brick Road to the spray-painting of the green floors.
  • Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo insisted on singing live for this movie. They felt that sticking to a musical track would have been too limiting, and not let them improvise. It also would have given them less of an “emotional connection” between the characters, actors, and the music. The biggest reason? They told Kelly Clarkson, they wanted to sing live “in solidarity with the women on Broadway who’ve done this eight shows a week.”
  • The green train that transports Elphaba and Glinda to the Emerald City is actually real. It was custom-built for the film, It weighed 16 tons, and took two days to move.

So now as you watch Wicked, you’ll feel very – well – popular! Because you already know all the inside secrets!

Carla Rea is the morning show co-host on “The Mike and Carla Morning Show" on 96.3 KKLZ, in Las Vegas. She has been working with her partner and friend Mike O'Brian for the past 25 plus years. At KKLZ for 12 years. Carla Rea is a Gracie Award winner. She started out in talk radio, "when talk radio was still fun" Rea says. Prior to, and along with doing the morning show, Carla is also a comedian. You may have seen her on Conan O'Brien, Evening at The Improv, Showtime, or several comedy clubs across the country. Carla also worked as a light feature reporter at KSNV/NBC Las Vegas, going behind the scenes at various shows, and restaurants on the Las Vegas strip. As a content creator 96.3 KKLZ, Carla writes in a sarcastic, cheeky, unapologetic way on Las Vegas, movies, TV, celebrities, and this thing we call life.

5 Popular Movie And TV Roles That Almost Went To Other Actors

Did you know some of the most iconic TV and movie roles almost went to other actors? It’s hard to imagine some of these roles going to different people!

Hollywood is fascinating. So much work and time goes into creating the movies and shows we love so dearly. Sometimes, the original vision looks vastly different than the product we end up seeing on the screen. Sometimes it’s for the best, other times it’s a headscratcher. Here are five popular movie and TV roles that almost went to other actors.

What Popular Roles Almost Went To Other Actors?

Can you imagine someone other than Steve Carell playing Michael Scott on The Office? It almost happened! What about Harrison Ford’s iconic role as Han Solo in Star Wars? That role was also offered to someone else, who turned it down. Who was originally supposed to play Shrek? Had these actors not turned down these roles, we could have watched shows and movies that were totally different!

We often forget that for these Hollywood actors, the roles they accept in movies and shows are jobs. They can impact their career and future earnings. So, they have to be selective with what roles they take. Choosing the wrong role could ruin your career. Picking movie A over movie B could also end your career. There are a lot of choices to make and sometimes they make the right choice, and other times they end up regretting turning down a role that would go on to be an audience favorite for years to come.

Recently, this type of thing happened with the Barbie movie. At first, the role was going to go to comedian Amy Schumer instead of Margot Robbie. That would have been an incredibly different movie. Would it have been as huge as it was if it starred Schumer instead of Robbie? We will never know! These kind of things happen all the time and there are so many examples I couldn’t get to. Some of them are nothing short of shocking. Can you imagine George Clooney or Tom Cruise starring in The Notebook? It was discussed! How about Vince Vaughn playing Joey in Friends? That almost happened, too, according to Buzzfeed!

Check out the list of 5 popular movie and TV roles that almost went to different actors! We were very close to having a different reality and some of our favorite characters were almost played by someone else!

5 Popular Movie And TV Roles That Almost Went To Other Actors

  • Michael Scott - The Office

    https://youtu.be/IBJJrZ5LAVQ?si=eN76d6y34J0cjACV Steve Carell’s performance as Michael Scott on The Office is one of the most iconic roles of all-time. However, he almost didn’t take the role! In fact, according to Just Jared, at least 35 actors were considered for the role and two actors even declined the role! Producer Ben Silverman and Casting Director Allison Jones say the two frontrunners for the role were Paul Giamatti and Phillip Seymour Hoffman! Can you imagine them as Michael Scott? I can’t! That would have been so different. Thankfully, they got it right with Steve Carell. Actually, several big names auditioned for the show. Some auditioned for the role of Michael and other notable actors auditioned for the roles of Dwight, Pam, and more. https://youtu.be/sItKwZdGkTM?si=unggeLnZm_y8P3qw

  • Phil Dunphy - Modern Family

    https://youtu.be/SAkAf-Xloho?si=2-4lYi1FHqfdxEog Ty Burrell captured America’s hearts as Phil Dunphy on ABC’s Modern Family. He was hilarious, relatable, and such a goofball. However, he almost didn’t get the role. It was actually originally offered to Matt LeBlanc, who famously played Joey on Friends. Can you imagine him as Phil? There are bits where I can see it, but he would have ended up being a totally different character. Matt rejected the role because he felt like he wasn’t the “right guy” for it, per Huffington Post. You can’t say he was wrong because Burrell was definitely that right guy. Still love Matt, though!

  • Shrek - Shrek

    Mike Myers did such a great job voicing Shrek. It’s one of the best movies of all-time and there were so many quotes and Myers really made it his own. The voice was unique and you can recognize it anywhere. However, the role originally went to a different Saturday Night Live alum–Chris Farley.

    Farley even did some recordings for the movie before he tragically passed away. It sounds like it would have been a different character with a different tone. Where Mike’s Shrek comes off tough this Shrek sounds a little less confident. It would have been very interesting to see the movie with Farley voicing the character.

  • Forrest Gump - Forrest Gump

    Forrest Gump won 6 Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor in a Leading Role. Would it still have been as successful if it was someone other than Tom Hanks leading the way? It’s hard to imagine anyone else in that iconic role. However, the role was offered to John Travolta! Can you imagine!? That would have been a totally different movie. I can’t picture it for the life of me. The other examples I could see working in some way, but this makes no sense to me. Instead, he chose to do Pulp Fiction allowing Hanks to be Forrest Gump. I think that worked well for everyone Tom, John, and we the audience.

  • Han Solo - Star Wars

    https://youtu.be/K1fSMm2v2ik?si=90BdliTKdJ81MF4V Star Wars launched Harrison Ford to superstardom and Han Solo would become one of the most iconic movie characters of all-time. Harrison Ford is still a household name and went on to star in many more blockbusters, becoming an A-Lister on his own. However, it all almost never happened. According to Business Insider, Al Pacino turned down a lot of money to appear as Han Solo in “A New Hope.” Instead, he passed which allowed Ford to step in and essentially gave him a career. It sounds like Pacino just didn’t get it and passed on it, a mistake he certainly should regret.

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