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Post by Ace on Aug 29, 2007 21:10:45 GMT -5
USA Today:First look: 'Mamma Mia!' stars having the time of their life (8-29-07)By Susan Wloszczyna, USA TODAY The mother of all jukebox musicals is going Hollywood. The love you gave me: Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan are ex-lovers who express their mixed feelings by singing ABBA's SOS.Mamma Mia! is the name of the game as super troupers Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan meet their Waterloo and other catchy chart-toppers by '70s Swedish pop sensation ABBA in the film adaptation. As the show seen by more than 30 million Dancing Queen-humming theatergoers worldwide continues its sixth year on Broadway, the production of the summer 2008 release has shifted to the picturesque isles of Greece this week after 10 weeks at Pinewood Studios outside of London. That fairy-tale setting is where bride-to-be Sophia (Amanda Seyfried of Mean Girls) gathers three ex-suitors of her taverna-owning mom, Donna (Streep), the better to learn which one is her father. The hook-happy songs written by ABBA's Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus provide much of the electricity on stage, but movies need stars. And Mamma Mia! creator Judy Craymer, who also is one of the film's producers, says the key to luring such non-musical talents as Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard as the possible papas was the mighty Meryl. "She obviously loves singing and was bursting to do it with various projects," Craymer says of the 14-time Oscar nominee who famously lost Evita to Madonna. "We knew that she had seen the show because she wrote a letter to the Broadway cast five years ago. Now she gets to sing nine ABBA songs." Streep also plays disco diva with pals Julie Walters as fun-loving Rosie and Christine Baranski as naughty divorcée Tanya, who used to perform as Donna and the Dynamos. "These are great roles for people of a certain age," Cray-mer says. "We explore the relationship between Sam (Brosnan) and Donna a little more. There are no bounds on romance with Pierce Brosnan." The former James Bond never had the occasion to break into song in his 007 outings, although he warbled Irish folk tunes in 2002's Evelyn. But Brosnan is making up for lost time. "When people ask me what I am doing next, and I say Mamma Mia!, a look of shock comes across their faces," he says on the first day of shooting on Skiathos in 100-degree heat. "Then they ask, 'Do you sing?' But so far, I've gotten away with it." Craymer assures: "He sings brilliantly. He does a sexy Springsteen-style thing." Though some might salivate at the thought of La Streep laying into The Winner Takes It All, ABBA fan Craymer is most thrilled Benny and Björn are on board. "They re-orchestrated tracks with the original ABBA band. It is a wonderful soundtrack." That's one way to say Thank You for the Music.
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Post by donnamcg on Aug 30, 2007 2:27:05 GMT -5
Ahh yes, the marketing for this will be much much better, you betcha!!! Yayyyyy!!!! We'll be getting delicious snippets for months, I bet! And then....we'll have a soundtrack........ Thanks, Ace!!! Donna
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Post by sparklingblue on Aug 30, 2007 5:34:14 GMT -5
"He sings brilliantly. He does a sexy Springsteen-style thing."O.M.G!!!! This should be the tag line.
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Post by stace on Aug 30, 2007 5:38:07 GMT -5
i cant wait, its gonna be fantastic, loads of publicity and interviews and he looks sooo good!!!
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Post by Ace on Aug 30, 2007 11:20:59 GMT -5
I must admit that Pierce singing his songs Springsteen like significantly ups my desire to hear him sing ABBA. In fact the entire cast following his suit might make me an ABBA fan. Yes a film with actual publiicty but then this is a major film from a major studio. It's almost a shock after all the the recent Independent fare to see that photos and articles might actually be released during filming and not one month or a week before opening.
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Post by Ace on Aug 31, 2007 14:14:59 GMT -5
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Post by Ace on Aug 31, 2007 18:43:05 GMT -5
On set in Greece: The first from from Miz Showbiz the second from filmmiep on the IMDB
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Post by Ace on Sept 1, 2007 13:25:49 GMT -5
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Post by donnamcg on Sept 1, 2007 17:45:12 GMT -5
From SimplyStreep. com...someone translated an interview with Pierce from a Swedish newspaper: Ewwww...see what he says about "Winner Takes It All"....that's such a tear jerker song in the show...looks like it is in this too! Donna There's an article today in the Swedish news paper Aftonbladet with the first pic and a short interview with Pierce Brosnan about Mamma Mia. www.lomanweb.se/pics/Aftonbladet_2007-09-01/Aftonbladet_2007-09-01.jpg This is what it says (sorry about the crappy translation) "I knew all the ABBA-songs" Pierce Brosnan is shooting Mamma Mia in London. LONDON Pierce Brosnan is preparing his voice. Gets ready for the "round dance". With Meryl Streep and Stellan Skarsgård, Colin Firth and Julie Walters. ABBA's "Voulez-vous" is starting to roar and they begin to whirl. Aftonbladet are there when "Mamma Mia!" becomes a movie in London. Or are we in Greece? We are walking around in Donna's tavern. Now as a whole Greek village and it's on the square they are dancing. It looks like outside, with the Mediterranean and the moon in the background, but we are in Europe's biggest inside studio in Pinewood. The one which is named after James Bond, 007. "I said 'Yes I'm in" With a former Bond on site. - Yes, it's ironic that "Mamma Mia!" is the first movie in the new Bond-studio, says Pierce Brosnan, 54. Everything feels right. All my old ghosts disappeared. He said yes immediately. - The telephone rang one day. They said "Meryl Streep" and "Mamma Mia!" and I said "I'm in". I didn't even ask "how much?" or "where?". I didn't even know who I was going to play. I really wanted to work with Meryl and of course I knew all the ABBA-songs. Now he is Sam, the architect whose loveaffair with Donna (Streep) gets more space in the movie. Another slight change is that his character isn't singing "Knowing me, knowing you". - No, I do "When all is said and done" instead. How was it to record the songs with Björn and Benny? - Fantastic. Scary and fantastic., but the night before on my hotel was horible. I practised singing with headphones. It must have looked terrible, says Pierce Brosnan. "Felt unreal" But the recordning went well. - Benny and Björn where very charming, those guys I've seen through all these years. I stood next to Benny by the piano and sang. Sometimes it felt unreal as if I was on autopilot. Which ABBA song is the best? - "The winner takes it all". When Meryl hits me with it it's pretty powerful. The movie "Mamma Mia!" opens in Sweden August 15 2008. Jens Peterson, Aftonbladet.
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Post by Ace on Sept 1, 2007 23:43:47 GMT -5
They said "Meryl Streep" and "Mamma Mia!" and I said "I'm in". I didn't even ask "how much?" or "where?". I didn't even know who I was going to play.Lucky for him he has an agent. Someone has to play hard to get. Great find Donna. Thanks
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Post by Ace on Sept 4, 2007 1:09:21 GMT -5
From Skopelos07September 3rd, 2007 The following comment arrived this afternoon. We will publish it as it is: “He’s amazing friendly! After having a cold beer in Platanos Jazz Bar, making a short walk through the narrow streets of Skopelos town he ended up in a jewelry shop. He stayed there for more than 20 minutes and guess… HE SIGNED AN AUTOGRAPH FOR ME!!! I’m the luckiest Skopelomaniac on earth!!!! “ Link to photo: skopelos07.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/pierce.jpg
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Post by Ace on Sept 4, 2007 16:31:54 GMT -5
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Post by Andrea on Sept 4, 2007 17:08:35 GMT -5
Oh that last one reminds me of "synchro-phonetalking" ... for two men ... with shades ... in white shirts
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Post by xcully on Sept 6, 2007 5:01:44 GMT -5
I'm so exiting for Pierce and Mamma mia! I cant' wait the performed of our Pierce!And the cast is simply great! I love also Colin Firth!
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Post by Ace on Sept 7, 2007 16:26:39 GMT -5
More of Pierce in Greece (and yes Keely and the boys are with him) These are from the skiathosbloggen More photos up at Pierce Brosnan: Mamma Mia!
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Post by sparklingblue on Sept 8, 2007 10:37:43 GMT -5
That hat is very cool!
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Post by Ace on Sept 9, 2007 10:17:33 GMT -5
BRISTOL EVENING POST 09/08/2007
[Excerpts]
Natalie Hale talks to Mamma Mia! creator Catherine Johnson about working with Bristol's best and Hollywood's hottest In the present climate of uncertainty, pessimism and gloom created by the closure of Bristol Old Vic, it's a pleasure to report that there is a more positive development for theatre in Bristol.
*****
One production whose future is in no such doubt is Mamma Mia! The smash-hit musical, which Catherine wrote in the early Nineties, has been seen by more than 30 million people worldwide, has more productions playing internationally than any other musical and is one of the most popular stage shows in history.
Catherine left school at 16 and worked in various jobs, including a record shop, where, she admits, she was more a fan of the Clash than Abba.
She began to write during her second pregnancy, and a competition organised by HTV and Bristol Old Vic spurred her on to write for the stage. Her play Rag Doll won first prize.
Catherine split from her partner and as a single mum of two children, she found that money was often tight as she combined doing the school runs, caring for the children and writing to deadlines for TV episodes of Casualty, Love Hurts and Gold.
But in the early Nineties Catherine struck gold when she penned Mamma Mia! The story follows a daughter's quest to discover the identity of her father. On the eve of her wedding day she brings three men from her mother's past back to the Greek island paradise they last visited 20 years ago.
Timeless songs such as Dancing Queen, I Have A Dream, Voulez-Vous, and Take A Chance On Me are ingeniously woven into an enchanting tale of love, laughter and friendship.
The show has been wowing audiences across the globe since its debut in 1999, and now filming has started on the film version.
The film will be directed by Phyllida Lloyd with Tom Hanks, Rita Wilson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson as executive producers. And if that bunch of A-listers weren't enough, the cast list is looking good too.
"We've got Meryl Streep playing the female lead, and for the dads we have Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth and Stellan Skarsgard. The other two women are Julie Walters and Christine Baranski. It's fantastic casting, and the chemistry between them all is amazing.
"Everyone is having a good time and it really shows from the work that they're producing. They have all tackled the singing and dancing with great gusto. People who you wouldn't have down as musical stars are coming out with these fantastic voices. It's great.
"Colin Firth is hilarious. He's a consummate performer. He has put up with an awful lot of difficult scenes. There's one with these two dogs, and one of them absolutely refused to engage in the process. Colin was very good at encouraging him and never lost his cool.
"The shooting in Pinewood has been completed and they've all gone off to Greece now to do the location shooting. I'll be going over in a week or so to see how things are going."
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Post by sexypierce on Sept 9, 2007 12:18:45 GMT -5
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Post by Ace on Sept 9, 2007 13:15:55 GMT -5
That is possibly one of the worst photos of him I've ever seen. But it's from the Daily Mail so that explains it.
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Post by Lauryn on Sept 9, 2007 15:00:42 GMT -5
That is possibly one of the worst photos of him I've ever seen. But it's from the Daily Mail so that explains it. It does remind me just a wee bit of one of my favorite RS fanfic stories, "Steele Livin' Large." Laura: [in a three point shooter's stance] Step away from the baked potato! Well, OK, that didn't happen in the story but it might've if Mr. Steele had ignored the advice of his cardiologist.
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