I haven’t personally seen The Greatest Showman, but I’ve heard very mixed reviews from various critics, including our own Orestes Adam here on The Hollywood News. Well, the Hugh Jackman-led movie was originally set to be a jukebox musical – a story revolving around existing songs – rather than one containing 100% original music.
The film’s director, Michael Gracey, recently caught up with Den Of Geek in the UK to talk about the movie, which is where he revealed this key detail of the film’s direction.
“There was a time when there was a lot of pressure to do it as a jukebox musical because then you know that people already love the songs. If you’re using hit songs, you’re halfway home. But Hugh and myself felt really strongly about creating an original musical with all original songs, and that one decision meant years and years and years of work trying to find the right people. When we found Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, at the time they had only done an off-Broadway show which were not the credentials that anyone felt confident about.”
Of course, Pasek and Paul went on to do the songs in La La Land, so have had a pretty good year or so.
Inspired by the imagination of P. T. Barnum, The Greatest Showman is an original musical that celebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.
You can see The Greatest Showman in cinemas now.
