Usually after someone directs something as unintentionally goofy as Across the Universe, they’re given a swift kick in the ass and never, ever allowed to direct anything ever, ever again. That’s not the case with Julie Taymor, though, who somehow snagged the job to direct the Spider-Man Broadway musical—a troubled production that boasts songs by U2 and a “geek chorus.” For a little while, it seemed as if the world had come to its senses and the production had been mercy killed, but, but….
But now it’s back, much to the chagrin of anyone who has ever read a comic book, been to a play, or heard a song. And even worse, someone with terrible judgment has now let Taymor on television, where she’s proudly showing off her vision. Like, say, her version of the Green Goblin, who I’m 99 percent sure came about this way:
TAYMOR: So you guys know how the Green Goblin looks kinda dumb even in the comics, right?
COSTUMERS: Right, right. Kinda silly.
TAYMOR: And you know how somebody had the terrible idea to make him look like a rejected power ranger in the movie, right?
COSTUMERS: Right, yeah. Man, that was awful.
TAYMOR: Good. Because now, you poor bastards, I challenge you to come up with something even worse.
Ta-da!
- Oh god. She looks… she looks proud.
Then everyone got to hear a song from the play, “Boy Falls from the Sky.” Get ready to have some “Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Kill Me” flashbacks.
A few thoughts:
1. I am a huge Spider-Man fan.
2. I am also a fan of horribly conceived clusterfucks.
3. This musical seems as if it were made just for me.
Via Topless Robot.
Wow. Mediocrity reaches a new level.
There’s a maxim in certain areas of entertainment:
The more money they throw at a project, the worse it gets.
If Julie Taymor doesn’t get the role of the green goblin in the SM myth, and has spider-man singing sappy love songs, then she’s missed the boat. Yes, I agree, she must be stopped.
What next: Starring Rosie O’Donnell as Aunt May…?
wow. what’s got your panties in a knot?
maybe we gotta call in swiss miss to cut ’em loose
That Gooblin looks like The Grinch on smack-speed.
Next: a Julie Taymor motion picture in which the music of one particular band is -again- highlighted in a series of way-too-literal scenes.
But this time, the band is Boston, and instead of their entire songbook, it’s just “More Than A Feeling.” There is an extended sad montage in the middle where the main character watches his Maryann walkin’ away…
I think I’ve seen that Green Goblin costume in a Carmen Miranda musical.
“When the Green Green Goblin goes bob-bob-bobblin’ along…”
They should hire me to do a script polish.
Julie Taymor is a genius. Across the Universe is one of the only movie musicals from the past decade that people will be watching 50 years from now.
It is, at times, one of the most visually adept movies ever to grace the screen.
While she might be criticized fairly for an uneven film, even a messy film, if you aren’t completely mesmerized by half a dozen of the scenes in AtU you either have no soul or have no comprehension of musical theater. (which pretty much amounts to the same thing)