HOME | DD

tornrose24 In reply to Tete-DePunk [2015-10-14 20:35:16 +0000 UTC]

1. The funny thing is that, when I pull from my memory bank, Mann and Travis had strong Leroux vibes in their performances (though Travis tearing up sheet music during the final lair reminds of the cartoon, when Christine hurled a glass bottle at Raoul in anger.)
2. Perkins is a pretty good artist, although I think that the Leroux mask is supposed to cover ALL of Erik's face, so this is a change up.
3. Meg is more interesting in the musical than the book, and I was disappointed that she didn't get to help save her friend in the 2004 movie. I wonder why they had her discover and hold up the mask at the end of the musical, but I loved that they seemed to portray her as sympathetic to Erik in the 2015 tour production at the very end.
4.Of all the crossovers that deserve to be made…. I want to do a short comic for this idea. (Actually, around the time I found out that I was going to see PotO, I was working on a new chapter for Time's Trade, and I was inspired to make a very special outtake at the end of chapter 7 that involved Zelda and Shadow… and an amusing take on the title song that also shamelessly fanned the ego of my fan-fix writer persona.)
5. I remember a bit of that fic! I think that in the Claude Raines version he was supposed to be her father, but they weren't upfront about it (I haven't seen that version yet, so I can't make a call on that.)
6. That pose was not easy to make, and I used pictures of myself for reference. Ironically, that book was supposed to be Wuthering Heights, which was supposed to serve a duel purpose to the reader and listener.
7.  Male Christine looks kind of… eh… it's tricky to pull him off (and Ramin Karimloo has very unique facial features. No offense to him, of course.)
9. I wanted that robe to have sequins like the capes he wears in the musical, but the way I shaded it, plus the end result on the lapels… makes him look like a rock star. We DID that that vibe through Beauty Underneath, but… if this robe comes back, I'm re-making it.
9. and 10. This moment never gets old for me! I heard an amusing complaint that his face looked like melted cheese (though I'd prefer melted candle wax). I think it's more realistic than an exposed skull and brain (LOL Wut?!) and I wanted to take the Leroux approach so I was all 'now let's rip your nose off, so you'll be more like your book version!' I mean, if the nose get's covered up by the half mask, then it deserves to be book accurate. Getting the look in his eyes was tricky too, since this moment is important. (I think I failed to take a better look at Christine's dress references before I submitted this piece.)

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tete-DePunk In reply to tornrose24 [2015-10-18 18:46:31 +0000 UTC]

1. Now that is worth seeing! With the musical's own interpretation, seeing performers pay tribute to the original source by adding nuances through their portrayals is always a treasure!
2. That is what I assumed as well- Leroux's mask covered the entire face- even the mouth. Do you think this muffles Erik's voice, though?
3.In the book, Meg was sorely reduced as a character, but in the musical, she is terrific! I too was disappointed how she was not presented the opportunity to help rescue her friend. Still, I do approve of the gesture in the 2015 tour you just described. Since Madame Giry knows Erik well, is it possible Meg knows Erik and thus has sympathy for him?
4.  Now all we need is for Erik to by his mask supply from the Happy Mask Salesman... chaos ensues!
5. You do! Thank you! Yes! I recall watching the Phantom Reviewer's video about the Claude Raines version. It would present an entirely different dynamic to Erik and Christine's relationship and possible change the story structure and outcome as well.
6. Sometimes an artist has self-reference. That is, we have to be our own reference models for poses and expressions.
7. One difficult trait to bring out in male Christine (or is it Christian?) is how to translate delicate feminine beauty into a masculine variation. Perhaps Christian as a bishounen might be the answer?
8. Opera and rock share numerous commonalities more than people would assume- both draw from intense emotional experiences and dramatic narratives, and both also rely in a singer's magnetic presence on stage and vocally.
9. and 10.  Precisely! The previous version of the deformity made little sense- how could a human survive with part of his skull and brain expose? And the nose! I do wish there was some make-up to produce the illusion of a face devoid of a nose. Still, the eyes can compensate for the missing components of the deformity's design.
(Nonsense! Christine's dress is fairly accurate! And quite lovely, I might add!)

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

tornrose24 In reply to Tete-DePunk [2015-10-19 19:06:33 +0000 UTC]

1. It's not just the actors but the directions. I mean, yeah it's upsetting to see Erik strange Christine in this version of the show but… he was grabbing her hair and using her fingernails to mutilate his own face… and of course, the whole 'marriage or blow up the Opera House' thing. (Erik's making Christian Grey sound like a sane and respectful man, and HE'S better liked than the other guy for reasons we shouldn't get into.)
2. Yeah, but Erik probably figured a way around that, knowing him.
3. I think Meg has a better supporting role in the Robert Englund version (both incarnations)… and we all know what they did to her in LND. Poor girl. There are strong vibes that Meg might have sympathy for him… that or she really wanted to save her friend. (which I did get from the 2004 version.) This version of Megwas made up, and I wasn't referencing the one from the production I saw.
7. Then again, Christine was from Sweden, so… I'm picturing a big Nordic guy… and Chris Helmsworth right now. (now my mind wants to conjure up Hetalia's Sweden, but who would be HIS Erik? Finland is too upbeat for that role… but then again...)
8. I will have to agree with you, as I recall certain rock songs. (Metallica's 'One' is extremely depressing, considering what story it's based off.)
9. and 10. In the Lord of the Rings movie era, you'd THINK the CGI crew and the makeup crew from the 2004 film would have been told to go all out on his face with reference to the book. Oh well, maybe next time.
Actually, the eye in the tour production was a good parallel to the book, because they darkened it to the point of making his eye look sunken in, while the make up is slightly built up around it.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Tete-DePunk In reply to tornrose24 [2015-10-26 23:51:30 +0000 UTC]

1. Ah! Now I heard about the new stage directions! From what Tumblr afforded me, I agree with you regarding Erik's behavior towards was rather... well...

Believe it or not, the trope of a rival forcing the heroine into a life-or-death ultimatum to spare her lover is common in operas. Look at the plot of Verdi's "Il Trovatore": Conte di Luna, plans to execute his rival and enemy, the troubadour Manrico. Manrico's loyal lover, Lady Leonora, offers her love to the enraged count if he releases Manrico. Leonora, however, secretly renegades on her deal: she consumes poison so the count cannot claim her alive.
(A similar situation developed in Verdi's earlier opera, "Luisa Miller"- the heroine agrees to give herself to the villain if the villain spares her father's life. Ironically, she expires of poison just like Leonora- only Luisa was poisoned unaware by her lover.)

3. Meg definitely needs her own story and focus.

7. Hmm... male Christine... Hemsworth-type of man sounds fitting. Still, given how Christine is described, perhaps a sort slender, slightly androgynous Swedish male model type? Now the mental image of Sweden as Christine and Finland as Erik has my sides aching in laughter! Still, it is purported that Finland does possess a dark side underneath his cheery persona.

9. and 10. According to fan speculation, the main reason the film eschewed any accurate (decent is the operating word here) deformity is because the director intended to sexualized the Phantom's appeal by rendered him more attractive- hence why Gerard Butler was cast. Still, it is an insubstantial excuse for such a pathetic attempt at a deformity which isolated a human being from normal society.

From your description and the awesome photos you shared with me earlier this summer, the tour production's deformity was top notch!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0