(Photo Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios)Although his previous film was the fourth installment of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise, director Rob Marshall is perhaps best known for his Best Picture-wining film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical “Chicago.” More than a decade later, the director’s newest film is set to hit theaters. Once again, it plays to the former choreographer’s strengths.
“Into the Woods” is based on Stephen Sondheim’s Tony Award-winning musical that follows a baker and his wife who are summoned to the woods after having a curse placed on them by a witch. The pair find themselves caught up in several classic fairy tales, including “Cinderella” and “Little Red Riding Hood.” The film boasts an exceptional cast, starring Meryl Streep as The Witch, Anna Kendrick as Cinderella, Chris Pine as Cinderella’s Prince and Johnny Depp as The Wolf. James Corden and Emily Blunt also star as The Baker and his wife, respectively.
Kendrick, star of 2012’s “Pitch Perfect,” said that while singing on-screen is always fun, the two films are polar opposites of each other.
“I’ve always enjoyed singing on screen, but the singing here is vastly different from that in ‘Pitch Perfect,’” Kendrick said. “With ‘Pitch Perfect,’ I was singing pop music, so there wasn’t as much technique involved. Here, I was singing Sondheim, which is was a great honor to get to sing, but was way more refined than the music from ‘Pitch Perfect.'”
Pine, who starred in 2013's “Star Trek Into Darkness,” felt the same way.
Chris Pine also played a part in "Horrible Bosses 2." Read our review here.
“In 'Small Town Saturday Night,' I was singing country music, which is far less proper than something you would find in a Broadway musical," he said. "It was definitely a challenge, but singing any of Stephen’s work is, and I’m glad I got to be a part of it.”
(Photo Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios)Marshall is no stranger to the world of musical theater, previously directing a 2009 film adaptation of the show “Nine” as well as being nominated for five Tony awards for Best Choreography and garnering four Emmy nominations (including one win) for choreography. Kendrick says that Marshall’s previous experience made working on “Into the Woods” not only a more enjoyable experience, but a bit of an easier one as well.
“Rob’s previous work in the field is incredibly evident,” Kendrick said. “He really knows what he’s doing when it comes to not only directing big musical sequences, but choreographing them, and it made things easier for me working with a director who had such a clear vision of what he wanted to do with the material....”
Although the film features an outstanding ensemble cast, not all of the cast shot scenes together. Pine said the attitude on set was still fantastic, despite the break-up.
“The attitude on set was really, really great,” Pine said. “Even though we may not have all been shooting our scenes together, we would kind of get to see what everyone was working on during rehearsals, and it was really cool to see what everyone was up to. It made being on set that much more enjoyable.”
Kendrick agreed with the sentiment, adding that it was fun to work with the ensemble.
“The attitude on set was fantastic," she said. "It was just a really positive vibe, for the most part. I’m really happy to have been a part of it, and I think audiences are really going to like it."
Pine hopes the film will appeal to people of all age groups, because there's many different genres rolled into it.
“I think the fairy tale element is something that’s really appealing to people of all ages, and I think that it lends something to the film that will allow more people to enjoy it,” Pine said.
“Into the Woods” opens Christmas Day.
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