Merely existing in the world for the past few weeks would be enough for most to know that the film adaptation of the beloved Broadway play Bad hits theaters today (November 22).
Starring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and Jonathan Baileythe musical film is one of the most anticipated releases of the year, with opening week grosses of $100 million and a marketing campaign that includes everything from billboards to merchandise to late-night TV appearances and even its own category in Take a risk! earlier this week.
But it is impossible to separate the spectacle that it is Bad of her songs, and there has also been intense interest in both how the music is incorporated into the film and the construction of its soundtrack, given that the original cast recording from 2003 won a Grammy Award in 2005 for Best Musical Album. And that's something that the president of NBC Universal music Mike Knobloch he knew how to take himself too seriously. “The original cast recording is iconic, so the number one priority was not to screw it up,” says Knobloch Bulletin board. “It was also a great opportunity to do a soundtrack for a beloved musical that will be only the second Bad album in two decades. But while our primary mission was to make the film, we didn't want the soundtrack to be just a 'copy and paste' byproduct.”
For this to happen, Knobloch and prototype Bad composer Steven Schwartzalong with their cinematographers, producers and the rest of their musical team, began working more than two years ago to make sure they hit the right notes. And as the film and its soundtrack finally make their way out into the world today, Knobloch earns his title Bulletin board's Executive of the Week.
Here, Knobloch discusses the work done to help Bad come to life, as well as the marketing campaign behind the project and the state of musical films these days. “Bad it's the perfect example of how it all comes down to just making a great movie, whether the characters on screen are singing or not,” he says. “It's got a compelling story, it's timely and timely – oddly enough for something written 24 years ago – it's got breathtaking performances, it's visually stunning, exciting, innovative and multi-dimensional in a way that makes the musical film situation feel very epic right now for me.”
This week, the new movie Bad opened wide in theaters and released the film's official soundtrack, featuring Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and more. What role did you play in helping make this project happen?
There's no playbook on how to take an existing stage musical and adapt it to the screen, especially with the scope and scale of film and the lack of limitations compared to the stage, and how beloved these songs are to so many. I worked closely with the filmmakers, John Chu and Mark Plattand composer Steven Schwartz from the ground up, starting with the critical task of assembling the right team of best-in-class creative and technical staff so that we are equipped to build something truly special. And then I pretty much took on the role of “coach of the music team” at every stage of the production up until the delivery of the soundtrack.
When did work on it begin, what challenges did you face and how did you overcome it?
We started seriously very early in pre-production more than two years ago, and we had a lot to figure out, starting with the production methodology – how to rig the production for live singing, develop the musical tracks, adapt the structure of the music to the requirements of the film coke. We had to start with demos and record in stages to bring Schwartz's wonderful music to the screen. This allowed the music to have the flexibility to follow the actors' performances, which gave them great creative freedom.
We were firmly in uncharted territory, so we put a lot of emphasis on the “how to” from the jump so we could drive the process as efficiently as possible — and most importantly make sure the cast and crew had what they needed well. before each day of shooting. We did some atypical things like building a custom recording studio tailored to our unique needs and routines, for example. The music team was given this huge responsibility to work closely together and bring his music to life Bad at an unprecedented level. It simply required an intense level of teamwork and cooperation every step of the way.
There is a beloved recording made by the cast of Broadway that won a Grammy in 2005 for Best Musical Album. How did you approach making the soundtrack different or expanding on it, given this original material?
The original cast recording is iconic, so the number one priority was not to spoil it. It was also a great opportunity to make a soundtrack for a beloved musical that will be only the second Bad album in two decades. But while our primary mission was to make the film, we didn't want the soundtrack to be just a “copy and paste” byproduct. Stephen Schwartz worked extremely closely with the executive music producer Stephen Oremus — who has also been the musical director of the play since its inception — producer and mixer Greg Wellsand the rest of the musical team to make sure the album is a self-contained and complete listening experience.
So without the dialogue – apart from a few snippets for narrative context – and the rest of the audio from the film, a lot of time and effort went into balancing the vocals with all the orchestral and other instrumental elements and working the songs together into a cohesive structure. . A lot of care was taken to capture voice casts during filming that would be production quality for the soundtrack, so that it would reflect their actual performances from the film. This new soundtrack isn't really meant to be compared to the Broadway recording, as it's a different medium, obviously – but everyone was extremely careful to stay true to and respect what people know and love about his music Badalso.
How difficult is it to adapt a Broadway production to film, and how did you navigate that musically?
With truly brilliant talents like Ariana, Cynthia, Jonathan Bailey and the rest of the cast, combined with Jon Chu's imaginative direction, the musical “adaptation” is truly driven by their amazing performances. There are orchestration choices, orchestration and dynamics that differentiate how these songs sound on stage versus screen. Naturally, Bad it's a musical that bursts into song, but one thing it does really well is transition in and out of songs without having any of those obvious flags that make you think, “Oh, he's going to sing something now.” It's all very fluid and organic, and the musical 'bed' was then built to support the performances on screen. John Powell Being on the film with Stephen Schwartz was also a big part of diversifying the style, scope and scale of storytelling on screen. Their score is what ties it all together and makes it feel cinematic.
Bad has already benefited from an extensive marketing campaign. What role did you play in it and how did you perform?
Badthe film and the campaign, it's just the biggest thing we've ever done. As such, we needed a soundtrack partner that could step up to that level and bring just the right amount of complementary marketing potential to the campaign. We've had a lot of soundtrack success with Republic Records over the years. For Badwe had the fortuitous advantage with Republic as it's also the label that both Cynthia and Ariana are signed to. Our combined teams – along with Verve Records – have been working together since the beginning, and our joint mandate was to fight for the fences and treat this soundtrack like an A-list artist record. This has really framed what we've done every step of the way to create an impressive global campaign filled with 'firsts' initiatives and flagship programs with partners.
Also, Ariana and Cynthia were in the war room and a critical part of creative and strategic decisions alike. So it was very different from a typical movie soundtrack with songs and/or scores in terms of the level of anticipation, fandom and demand. That said, we're leaving nothing on the table with this global marketing campaign. It was a truly special, once in a lifetime, lightning in a bottle experience and I was honored to be a part of it.
How do you feel about the state of film music in general right now?
I feel great about it. Audiences turn out for quality films of all genres, and as you may have noticed from our campaign, no one tries to hide the fact that this is a musical that bursts into song — but that's not the only thing that defines it. Bad is the perfect example of how it all comes down to just making a great movie, whether the characters on screen are singing or not. It's got a compelling story, it's timely and relevant – oddly enough for something written 24 years ago – it's got breathtaking performances, it's visually stunning, exciting, innovative and multi-dimensional in a way that makes the musical film situation seem quite epic. the moment to me.
What other projects do you have on the horizon?
Following Twisters and The wild robot and Badwe have a diverse portfolio of projects in the pipeline: Our specialty shingle Focus Features is out Nosferatu and is also in production on a biopic that is the true story of a Neil Diamond impersonator. We are in production on a new film from Super Mario Bros world as well as a Shrek restart, and we also have another Jurassic World movie coming next year, a live action How to Train Your Dragon to name just a few. And of course, Bad Part Two!
