CHICAGO
2002 Film
USA, 113 minutes
USA, 113 minutes
Release Date
|
December 27, 2002
|
MIRAMAX FILMS
presents
a PRODUCER CIRCLE CO. / STORYLINE ENTERTAINMENT Production
RENÉE ZELLWEGER CATHERINE ZETA-JONES
and RICHARD GERE
QUEEN LATIFAH JOHN C. REILLY LUCY LIU
TAYE DIGGS COLM FEORE
TAYE DIGGS COLM FEORE
Casting by
LAURA ROSENTHAL & ALI FARRELL, CSA. |
Costume Designer
COLLEEN ATWOOD |
Music Supervisor
MAUREEN CROWE |
Music Supervised and Conducted by
PAUL BOGAEV Choreographed by ROB MARSHALL |
Original Score Music by
DANNY ELFMAN |
Edited by
MARTIN WALSH |
Production Designer
JOHN MYHRE |
Director of Photography
DION BEEBE, ACS. |
Co-Executive Producers
JULIE GOLDSTEIN JENNIFER BERMAN |
Co-Producer
DON CARMODY |
Executive Producers
CRAIG ZADAN NEIL MERON SAM CROTHERS
BOB WEINSTEIN MERYL POSTER
Based on the Musical Play
"CHICAGO"
Directed and Choreographed for the stage by
BOB FOSSE
Book of the Musical Play by
BOB FOSSE & FRED EBB
CRAIG ZADAN NEIL MERON SAM CROTHERS
BOB WEINSTEIN MERYL POSTER
Based on the Musical Play
"CHICAGO"
Directed and Choreographed for the stage by
BOB FOSSE
Book of the Musical Play by
BOB FOSSE & FRED EBB
Music by
JOHN KANDER |
Lyrics by
FRED EBB |
Produced on the stage by
ROBERT FRYER MARTIN RICHARDS
JAMES CRESSON
ROBERT FRYER MARTIN RICHARDS
JAMES CRESSON
Lyrics and Music published by
UNICHAPPELL MUSIC INC. |
Based on the Play by
MAUREEN DALLAS WATKINS |
Screenplay by
BILL CONDON
Produced by
MARTIN RICHARDS
Directed by
ROB MARSHALL
BILL CONDON
Produced by
MARTIN RICHARDS
Directed by
ROB MARSHALL
Synopsis
In Chicago, circa 1924, naïve Roxie Hart (Renée Zellweger) visits a nightclub, where star Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones) performs ("All That Jazz"). Roxie is there with Fred Casely (Dominic West), a lover she hopes will get her a vaudeville gig. After the show, Velma is arrested for killing her husband and sister after finding them in bed together.
A month passes, and, after Roxie admits she wants the relationship to go on a long-term basis, Fred reveals to Roxie that he lied about his connections in order to sleep with her and abandons her, hitting her when she protests. Roxie, enraged, shoots him three times, killing him. Roxie convinces her ever faithful husband, Amos (John C. Reilly), to take the blame, telling him it was a burglar and that he needn't worry, he'll get off. When the detective brings up evidence that Roxie had been sleeping with Fred, Amos abandons his lie and says Casely was dead when he got home ("Funny Honey"). Roxie is sent to Cook County Jail.
Upon her arrival she is sent to Murderess' Row, under the care of the corrupt Matron "Mama" Morton (Queen Latifah), who takes bribes and supplies her prisoners with cigarettes and contraband ("When You're Good to Mama") while awaiting trial. Roxie meets Velma, and learns the backstories of the other women in Murderess' Row ("Cell Block Tango"). Roxie decides that she wants to engage Velma's lawyer, the brilliant and amoral Billy Flynn (Richard Gere) ("All I Care About"), and convinces her husband to talk to him.
Flynn and Roxie manipulate the press at a press conference, reinventing Roxie's identity to make Chicago fall in love with her ("We Both Reached for the Gun"). Roxie becomes the new infamous celebrity of the Cook County Jail ("Roxie"), much to Velma's disgust and Mama's delight. Velma, desperate to get back into the limelight, tries to talk Roxie into opening a vaudeville act with her once they get out of jail ("I Can't Do It Alone"). Seeking revenge for an earlier mocking, Roxie haughtily refuses, and Roxie and Velma become locked in a rivalry to outshine each other.
After an heiress (Lucy Liu) is arrested for a triple homicide (she killed her husband and the two women in bed with him), Roxie finds herself ignored by the paparazzi and neglected by Flynn. After being told by Velma that her name is not in the paper, Roxie manages to steal back the limelight by claiming to be pregnant, which is confirmed by a doctor, whom it is implied she seduced. As paparazzi chase Roxie, Amos remains ignored ("Mister Cellophane").
Roxie witnesses the execution by hanging of the Hunyak (who was falsely accused) after losing her last appeal, which fuels Roxie's desire to be free. Roxie and Billy design their scheme to prove her innocence, by using her star power and sympathy vote. Her trial becomes a media spectacle ("Razzle Dazzle"), fed on the sensationalist reports of newspaper reporter and radio personality, Mary Sunshine (Christine Baranski).
The trial goes Roxie's way until Velma shows up with Roxie's diary. In exchange for amnesty, Velma reads incriminating entries from the diary that could convict Roxie; however, Billy manages to get her off the hook by forcing Velma to admit that she had been given the diary by someone Billy strongly implies to be the prosecuting attorney.
Roxie's publicity after her release is short-lived: as soon as the trial concludes, the public's attention turns to a new murderess. Roxie leaves the courthouse after Billy tells her that it is Chicago and she can't "beat fresh blood on the walls". He also reveals that he gave Velma the diary after doctoring it to ensure that it could be used to incriminate the DA, allowing him to free two clients at once. Roxie reveals to Amos she faked her pregnancy for the fame. It is implied, but never stated, that Amos leaves her at this point.
With nothing left, Roxie once more sets off to find a stage career, with little success ("Nowadays"). However, she is soon approached by Velma, also down on her luck, who is willing to revive a two-person act with Roxie. Roxie refuses at first, still not over the hate they shared for each other while in prison, but relents when Velma points out that "there's only one business in the world where that's not a problem at all: show business."
The two murderesses, no longer facing jail time, finally become the enormous successes they have been longing to be ("Nowadays / Hot Honey Rag"). The film concludes with Roxie and Velma receiving a standing ovation from an enthusiastic audience that includes Mama and Billy.
A month passes, and, after Roxie admits she wants the relationship to go on a long-term basis, Fred reveals to Roxie that he lied about his connections in order to sleep with her and abandons her, hitting her when she protests. Roxie, enraged, shoots him three times, killing him. Roxie convinces her ever faithful husband, Amos (John C. Reilly), to take the blame, telling him it was a burglar and that he needn't worry, he'll get off. When the detective brings up evidence that Roxie had been sleeping with Fred, Amos abandons his lie and says Casely was dead when he got home ("Funny Honey"). Roxie is sent to Cook County Jail.
Upon her arrival she is sent to Murderess' Row, under the care of the corrupt Matron "Mama" Morton (Queen Latifah), who takes bribes and supplies her prisoners with cigarettes and contraband ("When You're Good to Mama") while awaiting trial. Roxie meets Velma, and learns the backstories of the other women in Murderess' Row ("Cell Block Tango"). Roxie decides that she wants to engage Velma's lawyer, the brilliant and amoral Billy Flynn (Richard Gere) ("All I Care About"), and convinces her husband to talk to him.
Flynn and Roxie manipulate the press at a press conference, reinventing Roxie's identity to make Chicago fall in love with her ("We Both Reached for the Gun"). Roxie becomes the new infamous celebrity of the Cook County Jail ("Roxie"), much to Velma's disgust and Mama's delight. Velma, desperate to get back into the limelight, tries to talk Roxie into opening a vaudeville act with her once they get out of jail ("I Can't Do It Alone"). Seeking revenge for an earlier mocking, Roxie haughtily refuses, and Roxie and Velma become locked in a rivalry to outshine each other.
After an heiress (Lucy Liu) is arrested for a triple homicide (she killed her husband and the two women in bed with him), Roxie finds herself ignored by the paparazzi and neglected by Flynn. After being told by Velma that her name is not in the paper, Roxie manages to steal back the limelight by claiming to be pregnant, which is confirmed by a doctor, whom it is implied she seduced. As paparazzi chase Roxie, Amos remains ignored ("Mister Cellophane").
Roxie witnesses the execution by hanging of the Hunyak (who was falsely accused) after losing her last appeal, which fuels Roxie's desire to be free. Roxie and Billy design their scheme to prove her innocence, by using her star power and sympathy vote. Her trial becomes a media spectacle ("Razzle Dazzle"), fed on the sensationalist reports of newspaper reporter and radio personality, Mary Sunshine (Christine Baranski).
The trial goes Roxie's way until Velma shows up with Roxie's diary. In exchange for amnesty, Velma reads incriminating entries from the diary that could convict Roxie; however, Billy manages to get her off the hook by forcing Velma to admit that she had been given the diary by someone Billy strongly implies to be the prosecuting attorney.
Roxie's publicity after her release is short-lived: as soon as the trial concludes, the public's attention turns to a new murderess. Roxie leaves the courthouse after Billy tells her that it is Chicago and she can't "beat fresh blood on the walls". He also reveals that he gave Velma the diary after doctoring it to ensure that it could be used to incriminate the DA, allowing him to free two clients at once. Roxie reveals to Amos she faked her pregnancy for the fame. It is implied, but never stated, that Amos leaves her at this point.
With nothing left, Roxie once more sets off to find a stage career, with little success ("Nowadays"). However, she is soon approached by Velma, also down on her luck, who is willing to revive a two-person act with Roxie. Roxie refuses at first, still not over the hate they shared for each other while in prison, but relents when Velma points out that "there's only one business in the world where that's not a problem at all: show business."
The two murderesses, no longer facing jail time, finally become the enormous successes they have been longing to be ("Nowadays / Hot Honey Rag"). The film concludes with Roxie and Velma receiving a standing ovation from an enthusiastic audience that includes Mama and Billy.
TRAILER
Theatrical trailer for the movie
Copyright © 2002 Miramax Films
Copyright © 2002 Miramax Films
Cast
Principal Roles
Roxie Hart
Velma Kelly Billy Flynn Matron "Mama" Morton Amos Hart Mary Sunshine Bandleader Kitty Baxter Fred Casely Harrison Mrs. Borusewicz The Merry Murderesses: Liz Annie June Hunyak Mona Nickie |
RENÉE ZELLWEGER
CATHERINE ZETA-JONES RICHARD GERE QUEEN LATIFAH JOHN C. REILLY CHRISTINE BARANSKI TAYE DIGGS LUCY LIU DOMINIC WEST COLM FEORE JAYNE EASTWOOD SUSAN MISNER DENISE FAYE DEIDRE GOODWIN EKATERINA CHTCHELKANOVA MYA HARRISON CHITA RIVERA |
Musical Numbers
OVERTURE / AND ALL THAT JAZZ
Velma, Company
FUNNY HONEY
Roxie
WHEN YOU'RE GOOD TO MAMA
Mama Morton
CELL BLOCK TANGO
Velma, Cell Block Girls
ALL I CARE ABOUT
Billy, Chorus Girls
WE BOTH REACHED FOR THE GUN
Billy, Roxie, Mary, Reporters
ROXIE
Roxie, Chorus Boys
I CAN'T DO IT ALONE
Velma
MISTER CELLOPHANE
Amos
RAZZLE DAZZLE
Billy, Company
CLASS *
Velma and Mama Morton
NOWADAYS (Roxie)
Roxie
NOWADAYS / HOT HONEY RAG
Roxie and Velma
END CREDITS
I MOVE ON
Roxie and Velma
ALL THAT JAZZ (Reprise)
Velma, Company
EXIT MUSIC
Instrumental
* cut from the movie
Velma, Company
FUNNY HONEY
Roxie
WHEN YOU'RE GOOD TO MAMA
Mama Morton
CELL BLOCK TANGO
Velma, Cell Block Girls
ALL I CARE ABOUT
Billy, Chorus Girls
WE BOTH REACHED FOR THE GUN
Billy, Roxie, Mary, Reporters
ROXIE
Roxie, Chorus Boys
I CAN'T DO IT ALONE
Velma
MISTER CELLOPHANE
Amos
RAZZLE DAZZLE
Billy, Company
CLASS *
Velma and Mama Morton
NOWADAYS (Roxie)
Roxie
NOWADAYS / HOT HONEY RAG
Roxie and Velma
END CREDITS
I MOVE ON
Roxie and Velma
ALL THAT JAZZ (Reprise)
Velma, Company
EXIT MUSIC
Instrumental
* cut from the movie
Cut songs
and additional musical numbers
The musical numbers "My Own Best Friend" and "Me and My Baby" were originally written into the script, but were removed at the last minute. "My Own Best Friend" was to have taken place when Roxie and Velma are put in solitary confinement after getting into a cat fight. "Me and My Baby" can be heard briefly when Roxie faints and proclaims her pregnancy.
CLASS
(filmed but not used in the movie)
A LITTLE BIT OF GOOD
(cut)
MY OWN BEST FRIEND
(cut)
I KNOW A GIRL
(cut)
ME AND MY BABY
(cut)
WHEN VELMA TAKES THE STAND
(cut)
(filmed but not used in the movie)
A LITTLE BIT OF GOOD
(cut)
MY OWN BEST FRIEND
(cut)
I KNOW A GIRL
(cut)
ME AND MY BABY
(cut)
WHEN VELMA TAKES THE STAND
(cut)
The musical numbers "My Own Best Friend" and "Me And My Baby" were originally written into the script, but were removed at the last minute. "My Own Best Friend" was to have taken place when Roxie and Velma are put in solitary confinement after getting into a cat fight. "Me And My Baby" can be heard briefly when Roxie faints and proclaims her pregnancy.
Fred Ebb added a line to "Class" for the movie that was actually in the initial first version of the song but taken out at the request of Bob Fosse. In the show, the line became "Everybody you watch / S'got his brains in his crotch." For the movie that line was altered back to the original line "Every guy is a snot / Every girl is a twat."
The song was recorded by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah (and is featured on the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) and the whole scene was actually filmed but not used in the movie. It was reinstated for the DVD release.
Watch the whole scene here:
Fred Ebb added a line to "Class" for the movie that was actually in the initial first version of the song but taken out at the request of Bob Fosse. In the show, the line became "Everybody you watch / S'got his brains in his crotch." For the movie that line was altered back to the original line "Every guy is a snot / Every girl is a twat."
The song was recorded by Catherine Zeta-Jones and Queen Latifah (and is featured on the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) and the whole scene was actually filmed but not used in the movie. It was reinstated for the DVD release.
Watch the whole scene here:
Recordings
The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released by Sony Music Entertainment in 2003. The CD includes all of the songs from the movie (including "Class", which was filmed but not used in the movie, and two additional songs "inspired by the Motion Picture") performed by the original cast.
CHICAGO
Music From The Miramax Motion Picture (2003) 01. Overture / And All That Jazz 02. Funny Honey 03. When You're Good to Mama 04. Cell Block Tango 05. All I Care About 06. We Both Reached for the Gun 07. Roxie 08. I Can't Do It Alone 09. Mister Cellophane 10. Razzle Dazzle 11. Class * 12. Nowadays (Roxie) 13. Nowadays / Hot Honey Rag 14. I Move On 15. Danny Elfman: After Midnight (Instrumental) 16. Danny Elfman: Roxie's Suite (Instrumental) 17. Queen Latifah and Lil' Kim featuring Macy Gray: Cell Block Tango (He Had It Comin') * 18. Anastacia: Love Is A Crime * * not in film |
"Class", performed by Queen Latifah and Catherine Zeta-Jones, was filmed, but it was cut from the film. The scene was later included on the DVD release and the film's broadcast television premiere on NBC in 2005, and the song was included on the soundtrack album.
The soundtrack contains two pieces of Danny Elfman's score for the movie, "After Midnight" and "Roxie's Suite".
Also featured are two songs "inspired by the Motion Picture": A hip hop / R'n'B version of the "Cell Block Tango", performed by Queen Latifah and Lil' Kim featuring Macy Gray, which features portions of the song's original chorus, and a pop song performed by Anastacia called "Love Is A Crime", written by Janet Jackson, which played over the end titles.
The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released by Sony Music Entertainment in January 2003 as a single disc.
The soundtrack was also released as a "Special Limited Edition", consisting of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and a Bonus DVD containing a promo video of "And All That Jazz" starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, behind the scenes footage of the stars rehearsing for the film, interviews with all the principle actors and director Rob Marshall and Kander & Ebb's original demos (audio only) of "And All That Jazz," "Roxie" and "Razzle Dazzle" from 1975.
The album won a Grammy Award in 2004 for "Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media".
The soundtrack of the film went platinum in 2004 and triple platinum in 2005.
The soundtrack contains two pieces of Danny Elfman's score for the movie, "After Midnight" and "Roxie's Suite".
Also featured are two songs "inspired by the Motion Picture": A hip hop / R'n'B version of the "Cell Block Tango", performed by Queen Latifah and Lil' Kim featuring Macy Gray, which features portions of the song's original chorus, and a pop song performed by Anastacia called "Love Is A Crime", written by Janet Jackson, which played over the end titles.
The Original Motion Picture Soundtrack was released by Sony Music Entertainment in January 2003 as a single disc.
The soundtrack was also released as a "Special Limited Edition", consisting of the Original Motion Picture Soundtrack and a Bonus DVD containing a promo video of "And All That Jazz" starring Catherine Zeta-Jones, behind the scenes footage of the stars rehearsing for the film, interviews with all the principle actors and director Rob Marshall and Kander & Ebb's original demos (audio only) of "And All That Jazz," "Roxie" and "Razzle Dazzle" from 1975.
The album won a Grammy Award in 2004 for "Best Compilation Soundtrack Album for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media".
The soundtrack of the film went platinum in 2004 and triple platinum in 2005.
About the Movie
Excerpt from "Kander & Ebb", written by James Leve
© 2009 Yale University Press
© 2009 Yale University Press
Marty Richards, one of the original Broadway producers of CHICAGO, was the driving force behind the film. He had purchased the movie rights for about $500,000 during the final months of the original Broadway run. What followed was an arduous, twenty-seven-year period of ups and downs leading to the 2003 Academy Award for best motion picture. So many directors, actors, and writers were considered for the film that its success is nothing short of a miracle.
Richards knew that turning CHICAGO into an effective film was not just a simple matter of reconfiguring the songs in cinematic terms and opening up the physical space of the Broadway version. To successfully transfer CHICAGO to film, the writer and director would have to find a filmic equivalent for Fosse and Ebb’s concept. They would have to find, to quote Scott McMillin, “its own version of the theatre’s fixed space.” The Broadway version of CHICAGO draws attention to itself as a theatrical experience framed inside the proscenium of a vaudeville theater. Film can go anywhere, and the audience is willing to go along.
Richards’s first choice for director was Fosse, who agreed only after much arm-twisting. When Fosse died of a heart attack in 1987, Richards lost all hope of getting the film made, but, a few years later, he got a call from Harvey Weinstein, the co-chairman of Miramax Films, who was interested in reviving the project. They signed an agreement in 1994. Finding a new director who was agreeable to all parties was a long and arduous process. Richards wanted Baz Luhrmann, the director of STRICTLY BALLROOM, but Luhrmann turned him down for fear of being compared to Fosse. Herbert Ross agreed to direct the film and stuck with the project for over a year, until he saw the Broadway revival. During this period, Larry Gelbart agreed to write the screenplay. In 1998 Richards turned to the director Nicholaus Hytner and sent him Gelbart’s screenplay. Hytner in turn asked Wendy Wasserstein to write a new screenplay. Miramax did not like either one.
Word spread at the time that Goldie Hawn would play Roxie and Madonna Velma, but Hytner felt that Hawn was too old for the part. He wanted Nicole Kidman for Roxie, but he soon left the project. Richards considered several other directors, including Milos Forman, Martin Scorsese, Alan Parker, David Fincher, and Robert Iscove, but eventually the studio hired Rob Marshall to direct and choreograph the film.
Ironically, Miramax courted Marshall for RENT, but he had his hopes pinned on CHICAGO and won over the studio with his concept for the film. Marshall brought a contemporary vision to the musical. More importantly, he came up with a filmic analogy for the vaudeville concept: all the songs occur in Roxie’s imagination. The film medium allowed him to shift back and forth fluidly between the reality of the prison and a world of fantasy. Richards, who admired the use of this technique in the television series ALLY McBEAL, was confident that it would work for the film. With Marshall signed, the studio and Richards still had to find a screenwriter, and Miramax suggested Bill Condon, the writer of GODS AND MONSTERS and THE USUAL SUSPECTS.
Marshall and Condon understood that the postmodern Hollywood musical needed to incorporate music more realistically than did its Broadway counterpart, and that one does not hear, or listen to, songs in film in the same way as one does in a Broadway musical. The different medium reorients the listener’s relationship to music. As Fosse had done for CABARET, Marshall and Condon established “a diegetic world in which the audience can recognize that song and dance are valid modes of expression.” The film rests on the premise that Roxie imagines all of the musical numbers as a showbiz fantasy in which she is the star.
This format maintained the performative frame-work of vaudeville but also provided the verisimilitude demanded by the film medium. Although a brilliant application of the film medium, this idea, as McMillin claims, “is a far cry from the metaphorical use of the stage in the musical as a space that stands for the places of the Chicago justice system.” What is lost in the new interpretation is the Brechtian disorienting effect of the stage version, which constantly draws attention to the artifice of theater. But the film succeeded in dealing with the reluctance of average filmgoers to accept the innate staginess of Broadway musicals and to overlook the fact that people do not break into song in real life. Marshall and Condon deconstructed Fosse and Ebb’s material and humanized Roxie in a way that the stage musical never attempted. In effect, they focused on Roxie as the point-of-view character, whereas Fosse himself provided the point of view for the Broadway version. […]
Casting of the film was as difficult as signing a director and coming up with a workable screenplay. Back when Hytner was working on the project, both Bette Midler and Pam Grier were considered for Morton. At one point, the trio of Rosie O’Donnell, John Travolta, and Nathan Lane were envisioned in the roles of Mama Morton, Billy Flynn, and Amos Hart, respectively. Toni Collette was a contender for Roxie, and Kathy Bates for Morton. Miramax tried to get [Britney] Spears to play a small part, but Marshall and Richards vehemently objected. When casting began in earnest, Richards wanted Kevin Kline to play the role of Billy Flynn, but the actor was unwilling to take on any negative roles. Richards’s second choice, Kevin Spacey, also turned down the role. Richard Gere agreed to play the role but would not audition, as was also the case for Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger.
In the buildup to the release of the film, the press made much of the fact that Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellweger, and Richard Gere were appearing in a musical. However, only Zellweger lacked significant stage musical experience. Raymond Knapp has argued that her lack of any musical theater experience was one of the film’s strengths. “The strategic casting shakes the characters loose from the glib dance-based personae of the stage versions, allowing then - particularly Roxie - to achieve a kind of reality that the highly stylized Broadway mounting categorically denies them, for the ‘real world’ of more naturalistic film is where they most seem to belong for audiences familiar with their other work.” Not only was Zellweger’s inexperience effective in the role of Roxie, but it also allowed for the film to find itself in cinematic terms. The brilliant editing of the film makes Zellweger’s dancing appear seamless and polished, as no single shot takes in enough movement to reveal her lack of dancing experience.
Kander and Ebb were generally pleased with the film [… and] happy that the film was such a big hit. Kander and Ebb did not participate in the development or shooting of the film, but they did retain control of the musical material. Late in the process, Miramax Studio hired Janet Jackson to write and record a song to play during the credits, hoping to snag an Academy-Award nomination for best song. Harvey Weinstein was so determined to use Jackson that he even asked Kander and Ebb to collaborate with her, an indignity reminiscent of what the writers suffered during the filming of FUNNY LADY. They flatly refused and wrote “I Move On,” which, in the final cut of the film, the two divas sing during the credits. (Sony did include Jackson’s song, “Love Is A Crime,” recorded by Anastacia, on the soundtrack, and Kander and Ebb were powerless to do anything about it.) “I Move On” received an Academy-Award nomination, although it lost to “Lose Yourself ” from the film 8 MILE. […]
The success of the film spurred the making of other movie musicals, such as DREAMGIRLS, HAIRSPRAY, and SWEENEY TODD.
CHICAGO had a relatively small budget of $45 million, but it grossed over $450 million.
Richards knew that turning CHICAGO into an effective film was not just a simple matter of reconfiguring the songs in cinematic terms and opening up the physical space of the Broadway version. To successfully transfer CHICAGO to film, the writer and director would have to find a filmic equivalent for Fosse and Ebb’s concept. They would have to find, to quote Scott McMillin, “its own version of the theatre’s fixed space.” The Broadway version of CHICAGO draws attention to itself as a theatrical experience framed inside the proscenium of a vaudeville theater. Film can go anywhere, and the audience is willing to go along.
Richards’s first choice for director was Fosse, who agreed only after much arm-twisting. When Fosse died of a heart attack in 1987, Richards lost all hope of getting the film made, but, a few years later, he got a call from Harvey Weinstein, the co-chairman of Miramax Films, who was interested in reviving the project. They signed an agreement in 1994. Finding a new director who was agreeable to all parties was a long and arduous process. Richards wanted Baz Luhrmann, the director of STRICTLY BALLROOM, but Luhrmann turned him down for fear of being compared to Fosse. Herbert Ross agreed to direct the film and stuck with the project for over a year, until he saw the Broadway revival. During this period, Larry Gelbart agreed to write the screenplay. In 1998 Richards turned to the director Nicholaus Hytner and sent him Gelbart’s screenplay. Hytner in turn asked Wendy Wasserstein to write a new screenplay. Miramax did not like either one.
Word spread at the time that Goldie Hawn would play Roxie and Madonna Velma, but Hytner felt that Hawn was too old for the part. He wanted Nicole Kidman for Roxie, but he soon left the project. Richards considered several other directors, including Milos Forman, Martin Scorsese, Alan Parker, David Fincher, and Robert Iscove, but eventually the studio hired Rob Marshall to direct and choreograph the film.
Ironically, Miramax courted Marshall for RENT, but he had his hopes pinned on CHICAGO and won over the studio with his concept for the film. Marshall brought a contemporary vision to the musical. More importantly, he came up with a filmic analogy for the vaudeville concept: all the songs occur in Roxie’s imagination. The film medium allowed him to shift back and forth fluidly between the reality of the prison and a world of fantasy. Richards, who admired the use of this technique in the television series ALLY McBEAL, was confident that it would work for the film. With Marshall signed, the studio and Richards still had to find a screenwriter, and Miramax suggested Bill Condon, the writer of GODS AND MONSTERS and THE USUAL SUSPECTS.
Marshall and Condon understood that the postmodern Hollywood musical needed to incorporate music more realistically than did its Broadway counterpart, and that one does not hear, or listen to, songs in film in the same way as one does in a Broadway musical. The different medium reorients the listener’s relationship to music. As Fosse had done for CABARET, Marshall and Condon established “a diegetic world in which the audience can recognize that song and dance are valid modes of expression.” The film rests on the premise that Roxie imagines all of the musical numbers as a showbiz fantasy in which she is the star.
This format maintained the performative frame-work of vaudeville but also provided the verisimilitude demanded by the film medium. Although a brilliant application of the film medium, this idea, as McMillin claims, “is a far cry from the metaphorical use of the stage in the musical as a space that stands for the places of the Chicago justice system.” What is lost in the new interpretation is the Brechtian disorienting effect of the stage version, which constantly draws attention to the artifice of theater. But the film succeeded in dealing with the reluctance of average filmgoers to accept the innate staginess of Broadway musicals and to overlook the fact that people do not break into song in real life. Marshall and Condon deconstructed Fosse and Ebb’s material and humanized Roxie in a way that the stage musical never attempted. In effect, they focused on Roxie as the point-of-view character, whereas Fosse himself provided the point of view for the Broadway version. […]
Casting of the film was as difficult as signing a director and coming up with a workable screenplay. Back when Hytner was working on the project, both Bette Midler and Pam Grier were considered for Morton. At one point, the trio of Rosie O’Donnell, John Travolta, and Nathan Lane were envisioned in the roles of Mama Morton, Billy Flynn, and Amos Hart, respectively. Toni Collette was a contender for Roxie, and Kathy Bates for Morton. Miramax tried to get [Britney] Spears to play a small part, but Marshall and Richards vehemently objected. When casting began in earnest, Richards wanted Kevin Kline to play the role of Billy Flynn, but the actor was unwilling to take on any negative roles. Richards’s second choice, Kevin Spacey, also turned down the role. Richard Gere agreed to play the role but would not audition, as was also the case for Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger.
In the buildup to the release of the film, the press made much of the fact that Catherine Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellweger, and Richard Gere were appearing in a musical. However, only Zellweger lacked significant stage musical experience. Raymond Knapp has argued that her lack of any musical theater experience was one of the film’s strengths. “The strategic casting shakes the characters loose from the glib dance-based personae of the stage versions, allowing then - particularly Roxie - to achieve a kind of reality that the highly stylized Broadway mounting categorically denies them, for the ‘real world’ of more naturalistic film is where they most seem to belong for audiences familiar with their other work.” Not only was Zellweger’s inexperience effective in the role of Roxie, but it also allowed for the film to find itself in cinematic terms. The brilliant editing of the film makes Zellweger’s dancing appear seamless and polished, as no single shot takes in enough movement to reveal her lack of dancing experience.
Kander and Ebb were generally pleased with the film [… and] happy that the film was such a big hit. Kander and Ebb did not participate in the development or shooting of the film, but they did retain control of the musical material. Late in the process, Miramax Studio hired Janet Jackson to write and record a song to play during the credits, hoping to snag an Academy-Award nomination for best song. Harvey Weinstein was so determined to use Jackson that he even asked Kander and Ebb to collaborate with her, an indignity reminiscent of what the writers suffered during the filming of FUNNY LADY. They flatly refused and wrote “I Move On,” which, in the final cut of the film, the two divas sing during the credits. (Sony did include Jackson’s song, “Love Is A Crime,” recorded by Anastacia, on the soundtrack, and Kander and Ebb were powerless to do anything about it.) “I Move On” received an Academy-Award nomination, although it lost to “Lose Yourself ” from the film 8 MILE. […]
The success of the film spurred the making of other movie musicals, such as DREAMGIRLS, HAIRSPRAY, and SWEENEY TODD.
CHICAGO had a relatively small budget of $45 million, but it grossed over $450 million.
Photos
Catherina Zeta-Jones, Renée Zellweger and Richard Gere on set with director Rob Marshall and Music Supervisor Matt Sullivan
Photos © Miramax Films 2002
Photos © Miramax Films 2002
Interview with the director
Rob Marshall interviewed by Andrew Bergman
Copyright © Directors Guild Of America 2002
Copyright © Directors Guild Of America 2002
Director Andrew Bergman interviewed Rob Marshall, director/choreographer of CHICAGO, at the DGA Theatre in New York on December 17, 2002. Marshall is one of Broadway's most sought-after director/choreographers, and CHICAGO marks his film debut.
Marshall said he originally directed a production of the musical in Los Angeles in the mid-1990s starring Juliet Prowse and Ann Reinking. "One of the problems with bringing CHICAGO to film over a 25-year period was that it's so specifically theatrical," Marshall said. "It's musical vaudeville. All the numbers take place on a stage in front of an audience. I looked at early drafts of it that eliminated most of the score by John Kander and Fred Ebb."
"I actually went in to meet [Miramax head] Harvey Weinstein about the movie of RENT. Before we began, I said, 'Would you mind if I tell you what I would do with a film of CHICAGO?' I told him that the film had to take place on stage because that's the only way the characters live. Kander and Ebb and the screenwriters based all these numbers on original vaudeville turns [by Sophie Tucker, Helen Morgan and Bert Williams]. I realized that you have to embrace that. So I came up with this idea of putting them on a stage of some kind and then at the same time have this story that runs through parallel to and intersecting it - that's a real story of Roxie's journey, and jump back and forth between the two realities."
Marshall said that the editing process was particularly time consuming because during the filming he used four cameras running almost continuously while shooting the musical numbers. The difficulty was in matching the reality to the fantasy in the film.
"I basically went for performance first," Marshall said. "[Editor] Martin Walsh and I went piece by piece. This is one of those movies where I couldn't really take advantage of any of the editor's compilations because I really had to be in the room. After we finished something like that, I rarely went back and changed things because we worked on it so specifically.
Marshall found that using a video monitor when he shot the musical numbers was extremely helpful. For instance, on the "Razzle Dazzle" number, the courtroom sequence was shot first and the musical number second. "It was the same courtroom so it was the same set. We just took the walls out and added circus sets," he explained. "I had a video monitor to remind myself of the exact angle. When Roxie and Billy walk over to meet the press at the beginning of the trial in 'Razzle Dazzle,' the photographers are flashing pictures. I wanted to get the same shot in reality [dramatic rather than musical]. It was really trial and error capturing the exact angle."
Marshall said he originally directed a production of the musical in Los Angeles in the mid-1990s starring Juliet Prowse and Ann Reinking. "One of the problems with bringing CHICAGO to film over a 25-year period was that it's so specifically theatrical," Marshall said. "It's musical vaudeville. All the numbers take place on a stage in front of an audience. I looked at early drafts of it that eliminated most of the score by John Kander and Fred Ebb."
"I actually went in to meet [Miramax head] Harvey Weinstein about the movie of RENT. Before we began, I said, 'Would you mind if I tell you what I would do with a film of CHICAGO?' I told him that the film had to take place on stage because that's the only way the characters live. Kander and Ebb and the screenwriters based all these numbers on original vaudeville turns [by Sophie Tucker, Helen Morgan and Bert Williams]. I realized that you have to embrace that. So I came up with this idea of putting them on a stage of some kind and then at the same time have this story that runs through parallel to and intersecting it - that's a real story of Roxie's journey, and jump back and forth between the two realities."
Marshall said that the editing process was particularly time consuming because during the filming he used four cameras running almost continuously while shooting the musical numbers. The difficulty was in matching the reality to the fantasy in the film.
"I basically went for performance first," Marshall said. "[Editor] Martin Walsh and I went piece by piece. This is one of those movies where I couldn't really take advantage of any of the editor's compilations because I really had to be in the room. After we finished something like that, I rarely went back and changed things because we worked on it so specifically.
Marshall found that using a video monitor when he shot the musical numbers was extremely helpful. For instance, on the "Razzle Dazzle" number, the courtroom sequence was shot first and the musical number second. "It was the same courtroom so it was the same set. We just took the walls out and added circus sets," he explained. "I had a video monitor to remind myself of the exact angle. When Roxie and Billy walk over to meet the press at the beginning of the trial in 'Razzle Dazzle,' the photographers are flashing pictures. I wanted to get the same shot in reality [dramatic rather than musical]. It was really trial and error capturing the exact angle."
Press & Reviews
"CHICAGO, Bare Legs And All, Makes It To Film"
Elvis Mitchell, New York Times, December 26, 2002
Elvis Mitchell, New York Times, December 26, 2002
"It's rare to find a picture as exuberant, as shallow - and as exuberant about its shallowness - as the director Rob Marshall's film adaptation of the Broadway musical CHICAGO. It's the raw expenditure of energy and the canniness of the staging that should pull audiences in and keep them rooted. The fabulous bones of this oft-told tale have been picked over so often that there's no flesh left on them. But Mr. Marshall and the screenwriter Bill Condon get a terrifically sweet concoction out of this fabled skeleton.
The movie, set in Prohibition-era Chicago, is tough, brittle fun - a mouthful. Mercilessly adapted by Mr. Condon, who won an Oscar for his GODS AND MONSTERS script, this CHICAGO has a connoisseur's appreciation of camp, which it treats as a dish best served cold. This, of course, is undoubtedly the best way to present a movie take on Bob Fosse's digressive musical version of CHICAGO, itself a song-and-dance spin on the 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins.
Her original CHICAGO had made it to the screen twice, most notably as 1942's ROXIE HART, one of the finest comedies of that era. […]
This new picture maintains the relentless spirit of Fosse's blunt suavity and the breathless, black-silk enthusiasm of Kander and Ebb's songs."
The movie, set in Prohibition-era Chicago, is tough, brittle fun - a mouthful. Mercilessly adapted by Mr. Condon, who won an Oscar for his GODS AND MONSTERS script, this CHICAGO has a connoisseur's appreciation of camp, which it treats as a dish best served cold. This, of course, is undoubtedly the best way to present a movie take on Bob Fosse's digressive musical version of CHICAGO, itself a song-and-dance spin on the 1926 play by Maurine Dallas Watkins.
Her original CHICAGO had made it to the screen twice, most notably as 1942's ROXIE HART, one of the finest comedies of that era. […]
This new picture maintains the relentless spirit of Fosse's blunt suavity and the breathless, black-silk enthusiasm of Kander and Ebb's songs."
"A piece of stagecraft so thrilling - and spontaneously combustible -
that audiences at the two screenings of the movie I attended kept erupting into applause"
Bruce Newman, San Jose Mercury News, December 26, 2002
that audiences at the two screenings of the movie I attended kept erupting into applause"
Bruce Newman, San Jose Mercury News, December 26, 2002
"A stylish cast and some clever scripting solutions help CHICAGO make the transition
from stage to screen with considerable appeal intact..."
David Rooney, Variety, December 12, 2002
from stage to screen with considerable appeal intact..."
David Rooney, Variety, December 12, 2002
"… But despite these assets, plus the enduring kick of the superlative Kander & Ebb song score, this film version dilutes a good deal of the live show’s sizzle and wit. First-time feature director Rob Marshall and Oscar-winning GODS AND MONSTERS screenwriter Bill Condon have spun the dark tale of two murdering floozies into a widely palatable entertainment […]
The fundamental conundrum of how to sell a traditional musical to audiences unaccustomed to characters bursting into song was solved by Condon’s script, which reimagines the numbers as the fruit of a stagestruck chorine’s rich fantasy life, intercutting them with the parallel reality the songs narrate. However, while it effectively underlines points about the fleeting nature of fame, the indistinct line between celebrity and notoriety and the similarities between showbiz razzle-dazzle and a corrupt legal system, the film version boasts few significant innovations.
Much of the dialogue and jokes are word for word from the stage show, and conception of musical numbers strays very little. Pic also refers to numerous movie musicals, including a CABARET-style nightclub opening.
Viewed in terms of its attempt to resurrect the musical as a contemporary film genre, CHICAGO is way ahead of lifeless blunders like A CHORUS LINE."
The fundamental conundrum of how to sell a traditional musical to audiences unaccustomed to characters bursting into song was solved by Condon’s script, which reimagines the numbers as the fruit of a stagestruck chorine’s rich fantasy life, intercutting them with the parallel reality the songs narrate. However, while it effectively underlines points about the fleeting nature of fame, the indistinct line between celebrity and notoriety and the similarities between showbiz razzle-dazzle and a corrupt legal system, the film version boasts few significant innovations.
Much of the dialogue and jokes are word for word from the stage show, and conception of musical numbers strays very little. Pic also refers to numerous movie musicals, including a CABARET-style nightclub opening.
Viewed in terms of its attempt to resurrect the musical as a contemporary film genre, CHICAGO is way ahead of lifeless blunders like A CHORUS LINE."
"Delivers the sexy razzle-dazzle that everyone, especially movie musical fans, has been hoping for"
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter, December 11, 2002
Frank Scheck, Hollywood Reporter, December 11, 2002
"High-kicking and streetwise CHICAGO puts on a real show"
Mike Clark, USA TODAY, December 26, 2002
Mike Clark, USA TODAY, December 26, 2002
"More than any other example in recent memory, CHICAGO shows how much the element of surprise is missing from today's movies.
Right off the bat, we get Catherine Zeta-Jones belting up a storm with "All That Jazz". It's part of the basic Zeta-Jones bio that she can really sing, and, wow, can she."
Right off the bat, we get Catherine Zeta-Jones belting up a storm with "All That Jazz". It's part of the basic Zeta-Jones bio that she can really sing, and, wow, can she."
"Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones put on quite a show
in Rob Marshall's dazzling cinematic rethinking of the 1975 Kander and Ebb musical directed by Bob Fosse"
David Ansen, Newsweek, January 14, 2003
in Rob Marshall's dazzling cinematic rethinking of the 1975 Kander and Ebb musical directed by Bob Fosse"
David Ansen, Newsweek, January 14, 2003
"By the end of CHICAGO, just about everyone in it has razzle-dazzled someone, and so has the movie"
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly, January 3, 2003
Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly, January 3, 2003
"This acridly exhilarating adaptation of Bob Fosse's 1975 Broadway musical is an ode to the intertwined glories of sex, showmanship, and lying - i.e., ''the old razzle-dazzle.'' The heroine, Roxie Hart (Renee Zellweger), is a Kewpie-doll '20s nobody who shoots her lover at point-blank range and ends up on Murderess Row. There, she meets her idol, the vaudeville star Velma Kelly (Catherine Zeta-Jones), as well as Billy Flynn (Richard Gere), a lawyer with corrupt dimples who turns Roxie into a tabloid celebrity.
In its caustic high-spirited way, the movie presents us with a vision of women who will do anything to break free of the conventionality imposed by men. Bravado is all - far more vital than morality - and the result leaves you thrilled at how good it feels to see life, death, and girl power turned, once again, into a cabaret."
In its caustic high-spirited way, the movie presents us with a vision of women who will do anything to break free of the conventionality imposed by men. Bravado is all - far more vital than morality - and the result leaves you thrilled at how good it feels to see life, death, and girl power turned, once again, into a cabaret."
"Much more than one of the best movies of the year,
CHICAGO is destined to become the most popular screen adaptation of a stage musical since GREASE"
John Moore, Denver Post, December 27, 2002
CHICAGO is destined to become the most popular screen adaptation of a stage musical since GREASE"
John Moore, Denver Post, December 27, 2002
"Not since the 1972 CABARET has there been a movie musical this stirring, intelligent and exciting"
Desson Thomson, Washington Post December 27, 2002
Desson Thomson, Washington Post December 27, 2002
"I didn't expect to come out of the thing singing and dancing - or wanting to. And so, here I am, surprised to be turned on my head and telling you how much I enjoyed the film. Not since the 1972 CABARET has there been a movie musical this stirring, intelligent and exciting.
The choreography - by director Rob Marshall and Cynthia Onrubia - is inspired. But that choreography doesn't end there. Screenwriter Bill Condon's ingenious structuring, the sizzling wit of the original book (based on the 1975 musical by John Kander, Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse), Martin Walsh's fluid editing, Dion Beebe's dynamic camera and lighting schemes, and production designer John Myhre's atmospheric Prohibition-era sets - these are all part of the visual tango.
Best of all, there's a story here, an entertaining yarn set in the Windy City of the late 1920s -- the heyday of gangsterism, smoky jazz clubs and police-blotter infamy."
The choreography - by director Rob Marshall and Cynthia Onrubia - is inspired. But that choreography doesn't end there. Screenwriter Bill Condon's ingenious structuring, the sizzling wit of the original book (based on the 1975 musical by John Kander, Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse), Martin Walsh's fluid editing, Dion Beebe's dynamic camera and lighting schemes, and production designer John Myhre's atmospheric Prohibition-era sets - these are all part of the visual tango.
Best of all, there's a story here, an entertaining yarn set in the Windy City of the late 1920s -- the heyday of gangsterism, smoky jazz clubs and police-blotter infamy."
"Rob Marshall's film of CHICAGO isn't just the most explosively entertaining movie musical in a couple of decades.
It's going to be the most influential"
David Edelstein, Slate, December 29, 2002
It's going to be the most influential"
David Edelstein, Slate, December 29, 2002
Photos
The cast and director Rob Marshall at the premiere of the movie in Los Angeles, December 10, 2002
Photos: Steve Granitz © 2002
Photos: Steve Granitz © 2002
AWARDS & NOMINATIONS
THE HAPPY TIME was nominated for ten Tony® Awards in 1968, including Best Musical, Best Composer & Lyricist for Kander & Ebb, several nominations for the actors and Best Choreography as well as Best Direction for Gower Champion who won the award in both categories. Robert Goulet won the Tony® as Best Actor in a Musical.
The show was also nominated for two Theatre World Awards, presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, winning in both cases.
The complete list of nominations:
The show was also nominated for two Theatre World Awards, presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, winning in both cases.
The complete list of nominations:
2003 Academy Awards
Best Picture
Best Actress in a Leading Role Best Actress in a Supporting Role Best Actress in a Supporting Role Best Actor in a Supporting Role Best Art Direction / Set Decoration Best Costume Design Best Cinematography Best Film Editing Best Sound Best Music, Original Song Best Writing, Adapted Screenplay Best Director |
MARTIN RICHARDS (Winner)
RENÉE ZELLWEGER (Nominee) CATHERINA ZETA-JONES (Winner) QUEEN LATIFAH (Nominee) JOHN C. REILLY (Nominee) JOHN MYHRE, GORDON SIM (Winner) COLLEEN ATWOOD (Winner) DION BEEBE (Nominee) MARTIN WALSH (Winner) MICHAEL MINKLER, DOMINICK TAVELLA, DAVID LEE (Winner) JOHN KANDER, FRED EBB (for "I Move On") (Nominee) BILL CONDON (Nominee) ROB MARSHALL (Nominee) |
Catherine Zeta-Jones winning an Oscar® for "Chicago"
Sean Connery presenting the Best Supporting Actress Oscar® to Catherine Zeta-Jones
for her performance in "Chicago" at the 75th Annual Academy Awards® in 2003.
Sean Connery presenting the Best Supporting Actress Oscar® to Catherine Zeta-Jones
for her performance in "Chicago" at the 75th Annual Academy Awards® in 2003.
2003 Golden Globes
Best Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Best Screenplay - Motion Picture Best Director - Motion Picture |
MARTIN RICHARDS (Winner)
RENÉE ZELLWEGER (Winner) CATHERINA ZETA-JONES (Nominee) RICHARD GERE (Winner) QUEEN LATIFAH (Nominee) JOHN C. REILLY (Nominee) BILL CONDON (Nominee) ROB MARSHALL (Nominee) |
Renée Zellweger winning a Golden Globe® for "Chicago"
Arnold Schwarzenegger presenting the Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) award
to Renée Zellweger for her role in "Chicago" at the 60th Golden Globe Awards® in 2003.
Arnold Schwarzenegger presenting the Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) award
to Renée Zellweger for her role in "Chicago" at the 60th Golden Globe Awards® in 2003.
2003 BAFTA Awards
Best Picture
Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Best Production Design Best Costume Design Best Cinematography Best Editing Best Make Up / Hair Best Sound Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music David Lean Award for Direction |
MARTIN RICHARDS (Nominee)
RENÉE ZELLWEGER (Nominee) CATHERINA ZETA-JONES (Winner) QUEEN LATIFAH (Nominee) JOHN MYHRE (Nominee) COLLEEN ATWOOD (Nominee) DION BEEBE (Nominee) MARTIN WALSH (Nominee) JORDAN SAMUEL, JUDI COOPER-SEALY (Nominee) MICHAEL MINKLER, DOMINICK TAVELLA, DAVID LEE (Winner) JOHN KANDER, FRED EBB, DANNY ELFMAN (Nominee) ROB MARSHALL (Nominee) |
THE HAPPY TIME was revived at the Goodspeed Opera House in 1980. The production was directed by Sue Lawless with choreography by Dan Siretta. Kander & Ebb and author Nash thoroughly revised the book and score in an attempt to return to their original vision of the show. Three cut songs were reinstated (“Jeanne Marie,” “In His Own Good Time,” and “I’m Sorry”) and one new song, “Running”, was written to replace the cut "Being Alive".
For a full cast / creative team list and an overview of the new version of the score, click here.
For a full cast / creative team list and an overview of the new version of the score, click here.
2004 Grammy Awards
Best Compilation Soundtrack Album
for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media Best Song Written for a Motion Picture, Television or Other Visual Media |
(Winner)
RANDY SPENDLOVE (compilation producer) RIC WAKE (compilation producer) JOEL MOSS (engineer/mixer) DAN HETZEL (engineer/mixer) JOHN KANDER, FRED EBB (for "I Move On") (Nominee) |
Trivia
Cast and background trivia
Copyright © IMDb.com
Copyright © IMDb.com
Rob Marshall wanted Catherine Zeta-Jones to wear her natural long hair in the movie, but she insisted on the short bob. She explained to People magazine that she didn't want her hair to fall over her face and give people a reason to doubt that she did all the dancing herself.
Richard Gere took tap dance lessons for three months. His tap dance scene was shot in half a day.
Renée Zellweger had no singing or dancing training prior to this film.
In the beginning of the scene introducing Mama Morton to the new inmates, Roxie has a brief conversation with a woman smoking a cigarette. That character (Nickie) is played by Chita Rivera who portrayed Velma Kelly in the original 1975 production of CHICAGO.
When the film rights were originally bought by producer Martin Richards in the 1970s, Bob Fosse was to be involved with the film project, and Goldie Hawn, Liza Minnelli and Frank Sinatra were announced as the stars; but Fosse's death in 1987 ended that attempt at a film version.
Miramax became involved in a new attempt to film the musical in 1994, and Larry Gelbart was brought in to work on a script, eventually turning out seven drafts while directors Milos Forman, Herbert Ross and Baz Luhrmann turned down the project.
The 1996 smash Broadway revival renewed interest, and new names became leading candidates for starring roles, including Goldie Hawn and Madonna. Nicholas Hytner was brought in as director, and he had Wendy Wasserstein re-write Larry Gelbart's script. The project again went on hold when Madonna withdrew and Nicole Kidman chose to do MOULIN ROUGE (2001) instead.
Charlize Theron had initially secured the role of Roxie Hart while Nicholas Hytner was attached as director. When Hytner withdrew and Rob Marshall took over, Theron had to audition again and lost the lead to Renée Zellweger.
Madonna (specifically for Velma Kelly), Goldie Hawn, Kathy Bates, Rosie O'Donnell, Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kristin Chenoweth (for Roxie Hart or Mary Sunshine), Cameron Diaz, Whoopi Goldberg (for Mama Morton) and Britney Spears (by Harvey Weinstein for Kitty Baxter), Toni Collette, Winona Ryder, and Marisa Tomei were all considered for roles in the movie.
John Travolta, Kevin Spacey, John Cusack, Steve Martin and Hugh Jackman were all considered for the role of Billy Flynn.
Rob Marshall was originally considered by Miramax to direct the screen version of the smash Broadway play RENT. When he arrived for his interview, he told Miramax he wanted to talk about CHICAGO instead and proposed the "musical in Roxie's mind" concept. Miramax loved the idea and put RENT on the back burner, finally making the film adaptation three years later.
The original Broadway non-musical play was previously filmed twice: first as the silent film CHICAGO (1927) and later as ROXIE HART (1942) starring Ginger Rogers.
The play CHICAGO was Maurine Dallas Watkins' retelling of two very public murder trials that occurred in Chicago in 1924, those of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner. Watkins covered these trials for the Chicago Tribune and wrote the character of Mary Sunshine as a self portrait.
Named by Entertainment Weekly as one of the "Best 25 Movie Musicals of All Time".
The movie is dedicated to Bob Fosse, Gwen Verdon, and Robert Fryer
Richard Gere took tap dance lessons for three months. His tap dance scene was shot in half a day.
Renée Zellweger had no singing or dancing training prior to this film.
In the beginning of the scene introducing Mama Morton to the new inmates, Roxie has a brief conversation with a woman smoking a cigarette. That character (Nickie) is played by Chita Rivera who portrayed Velma Kelly in the original 1975 production of CHICAGO.
When the film rights were originally bought by producer Martin Richards in the 1970s, Bob Fosse was to be involved with the film project, and Goldie Hawn, Liza Minnelli and Frank Sinatra were announced as the stars; but Fosse's death in 1987 ended that attempt at a film version.
Miramax became involved in a new attempt to film the musical in 1994, and Larry Gelbart was brought in to work on a script, eventually turning out seven drafts while directors Milos Forman, Herbert Ross and Baz Luhrmann turned down the project.
The 1996 smash Broadway revival renewed interest, and new names became leading candidates for starring roles, including Goldie Hawn and Madonna. Nicholas Hytner was brought in as director, and he had Wendy Wasserstein re-write Larry Gelbart's script. The project again went on hold when Madonna withdrew and Nicole Kidman chose to do MOULIN ROUGE (2001) instead.
Charlize Theron had initially secured the role of Roxie Hart while Nicholas Hytner was attached as director. When Hytner withdrew and Rob Marshall took over, Theron had to audition again and lost the lead to Renée Zellweger.
Madonna (specifically for Velma Kelly), Goldie Hawn, Kathy Bates, Rosie O'Donnell, Nicole Kidman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kristin Chenoweth (for Roxie Hart or Mary Sunshine), Cameron Diaz, Whoopi Goldberg (for Mama Morton) and Britney Spears (by Harvey Weinstein for Kitty Baxter), Toni Collette, Winona Ryder, and Marisa Tomei were all considered for roles in the movie.
John Travolta, Kevin Spacey, John Cusack, Steve Martin and Hugh Jackman were all considered for the role of Billy Flynn.
Rob Marshall was originally considered by Miramax to direct the screen version of the smash Broadway play RENT. When he arrived for his interview, he told Miramax he wanted to talk about CHICAGO instead and proposed the "musical in Roxie's mind" concept. Miramax loved the idea and put RENT on the back burner, finally making the film adaptation three years later.
The original Broadway non-musical play was previously filmed twice: first as the silent film CHICAGO (1927) and later as ROXIE HART (1942) starring Ginger Rogers.
The play CHICAGO was Maurine Dallas Watkins' retelling of two very public murder trials that occurred in Chicago in 1924, those of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner. Watkins covered these trials for the Chicago Tribune and wrote the character of Mary Sunshine as a self portrait.
Named by Entertainment Weekly as one of the "Best 25 Movie Musicals of All Time".
The movie is dedicated to Bob Fosse, Gwen Verdon, and Robert Fryer