[Pounce]

Looks like Mamma Mia! the movie is a go for 2007. Some names suggested are Nichole Kidman (presumably Donna), Antonio Banderas (I guess Sam),and Kiera Knightley (got to be Sophie). I'd rather re-team Kidman with Ewan McGregor as Sam. McGregor could use the role as an artistic challenge. Make Banderas, Bill and Harry could be...Tom Hanks, who is also one of the producers. I hope Hanks has the same magic with Mamma Mia! as he had with My Big Fat Greek Wedding (which I've heard was quite popular in Greece). Some more hit musical films would be good for the genre.

[Fantine]

While I love and adore Nicole Kidman, I really don't see her as Donna. I could see Antonio as Sam... I wouldn't want Keira as Sophie.

IF they ever make a movie, they should do it with genuine theatre actors or not so famous movie stars.

I still hope they don't make a movie out of it though.

[Luc]

Oh, god. Please bring the actual THEATRE people back.

With all of these stars out there, it's time to return to the suicidal plan.

Ready, Fantine?

[Fantine]

[Luc]

[Jim Colyer]

This is the first I have heard of Mamma Mia! being made into a movie. It is a wonderful idea.

ABBA from Sweden http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=31
ABBA & Their Music http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=35
Mamma Mia! http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=49

[PAMIE]

I can see Nicole Kidman as Donna, but what Antonio Banders as Sam, um no way, maybe also I want to see Kenneth Branagh as Harry also Gerald Butler as BILL and Calstia Flockhart as Rosie and Christina Applegate as Tanya. Oh well that my idea cast. Keira as Sophie great too!

[BroadwayBud]

I know I mentioned this in another topic, but I still think Barbra Streisand would be a great Donna. Even though she is 58 years old, she played a younger mother in Meet the Fockers. I'm not too familiar with the film, but aren't the newlyweds around the same age if not a few years older as Sophie?

EDIT: I just had an interesting thought. I know she's even older than Barbra Streisand, but what do you guys think about Chita Rivera as Tanya?

[PAMIE]

Barbra Streisand is not her late fithy. She in her sixty, I guess she to old to play Donna

[sadie1208]

It will be interesting to follow and see who they cast.

[audreydarling]

I think Catherine Zeta Jones would be a really good Donna..she has a great voice and age seems about right...I could see Antonio as Sam, I also think that Ewan could play the part wonderfully. Emmy ROssum might be able to pull off Sophie , I'm not sure if she can do more belty stuff..or if she is just classicaly trained though?..I don't think Nicole could pull off the vocally demanding Donna and I've never heard Keira sing??.. I agree though ..I think that Theatre people who really have all the talent should be brought back..not just big manes...It's so sad that when they make movie musicals with the originaly cast, or most of it,They don't do well at the box office, like "The Producers" and "Rent."

[jcstar]

[vieniebebe]

I think that Laurie Wells should play Donna, cuz she is fantastic. and yea Tom Hanks would be ok for one of the guy's roles, oh and the person that plays Donna Cabana in That's so Raven should be Tanya, and Roseanne should be Rosie...hehe...

[jcstar]

So, here we are in 2007.

Mamma Mika! The film... no details... no release date.

Sunset Boulevard. No details, no release date.

Hairspray. No details... still no release date!

I see a pattern, here.

Andy.

[Jim Colyer]

Meryl Streep as Donna, Pierce Brosnan as one of the potential fathers. Summer, 2008 release.

[LittleGavroche]

I have to say that, although I have no knowledge of Pierce Brosnan's singing voice, he looks exactly what I see in a Sam. He looks pretty damn close to the right age as well.

[wicked_boy]

Just to let you know filming begins 25th June in London and in Greece and Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan have been cast.

[RainbowJude]

Other names that seem to be attatched are Julie Walters as Rosie, Christine Baranski as Tanya and Dominic Cooper as Sky.

Later days
David

[erinmylungs]

Here is the trailer. I kind of think it looks good.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=fyID773V2UQ&feature=related

[Flamy]

This movie will make my 2008 summer complete

I like the trailer, I think the movie promises to be good.

[jcstar]

Okay, so who's in the cast?

Andy.

[tortallcit]

[ChorusKidx3]

I can not wait for this movie to come out! I hav waited for ages for this to become a film. Meryll streep is in it and she is going to do wonderfully. I love all the songs...can't wait.

[jcstar]

Please tell me that Streep isn't playing Sophie.

Andy.

[Fantine]

[jcstar]

She's too old to be Sophie. Streep is 100 years old.

Andy.

[Fantine]

[jcstar]

Yet, she is singing "I Have A Dream" in the trailor.

Andy.

[jiezon14nozeij]

no, Streep won't be playing as Sophie. Actress Amanda Seyfried will be Sophie. She played the part of Karen, who was the dum one of the Plastics in Mean Girls. Streep's playing Donna. I'm so going to see this movie !

[LesMisWickedB&TB]

I'm really looking forward to this ! I saw Mamma Mia for the first time, a week ago, and really enjoyed it:D But they should have done it with the orignal cast, because I dont think those in the movie sings that well.

[Luc]

[Jim Colyer]

Just returned from seeing Mamma Mia! I laughed and cried for nearly 2 hours. The audience responded well to the high-energy ABBA songs. As I exited the theater, some girls were in a circle singing Dancing Queen. I may go to a karaoke bar tonight and sing it myself. Meryl Streep and Pierce Brosnan were great. I understand now why Streep is called a great actress. She has told Benny and Bjorn that she wants a part in Kristina if and when it becomes a movie.

Mamma Mia! http://jimcolyer.com/papers/entry?id=49

[DontDoSadnessxx]

this movie...

[Jim Colyer]

Here are pictures of Meryl Streep with ABBA members at the Mamma Mia! premiere.

http://icethesite.com/default.aspx?categoryID=21

[Jim Colyer]

The ABBA Museum opens June 4, 2009, in Stockholm.

http://icethesite.com/default.aspx

[Pounce]

My impressions

Definitely a chick-flick. I generally liked the film but I thought it was a bit uneven. Good in some places and disappointing in others. Meryl Streep was an excellent choice as Donna and I liked her singing. While some thought her performance of "The Winner Takes It All" as laughable, I thought it was her best performance of the film. I was unsure at first about Amanda Seyfried but likewise she turned out to be an excellent choice as Sophie and I also liked her singing. Pierce Brosnan seemed miscast. Sam is not a very interesting character and they seemed to play him down even more in the film. And his singing was...eh. I laughed during "SOS" as it sounded as if the chorus was cranked up to cover up his singing. Thankfully they knocked out "Knowing Me Knowing You". I doubt Brosnan could have handled that. But too bad in a way because it is a good song. Colin Firth was a bore and did little for Harry as was Stellan Skarsgård for Bill. In all, the "dads" didn't seem to fit in. Julie Walters as Rosie fit her character but was underused. She has more comedic touches in the stage show. I really liked Christine Baranski as Tanya who not only played her character well but also looked the part. She had the older woman look but strangely still sexy.

I was generally disappointed in the music arrangements. They could have really expanded the songs with a fuller sound but instead did no more than the OLC. Too bad they took out "Thank You for the Music" because it works well in the show and I think Amanda would have done well with it. The song is a very effective element in the show as Sophie seeks which "dad" gave her her voice but is thwarted as all three can carry a tune. A subdued version is played over the closing credits but the song is wasted there. "Our Last Summer" curiously occurs earlier and is sung by the "dads" but seems to work in the film. And leaving out the dream sequence of "Under Attack" was also disappointing because it leads nicely into Donna's and Sophie's argument. Removing "The Name of the Game" took a lot of the emotion out of Sophie's confrontation of Bill. Seyfried was robbed of some good scenes and songs and she could have handled them. The disco scene with the dads alternately taking Sophie aside didn't seem to flow as well as in the stage show. The pauses seemed awkward. The "encore" was fun but they only use "Dancing Queen" and "Waterloo" and I caught a glimpse of Björn Ulvaeus as I suppose a Greek God. Didn't recognize anyone else as being from ABBA. (And what the hell is wrong with Agnetha Fältskog anyway?) The added song "When All Is Said and Done" could have been tossed in favor of one of the cut songs, plus we would be spared Brosnan's singing.

In all the movie was ok, but I think it needed those removed songs and scenes and some scenes needed to be reworked. Thankfully, I found the songs entertaining and enhanced the story. It's really a bad sign in a musical if the songs come across as annoying interruptions. The movie was alright but it could have been better.

[High-baritonne]

[jcstar]

I have found a lot of people who don't like the way she SINGS that song don't really understand WHY she sang it that way.

Donna has "hit bottom" at that point. It's as simp[le as that. Unless you have been there (and I have) you can't really understand what the character is going through.

Plus, trying to explain "hitting bottom" to someone is pretty hard.

Andy.

[High-baritonne]

I have to hit the bottom, and that only improved my singing, it didn't make it worse..

The point is, Meryll Streep is an AMAZING actress, but not singer..

[jcstar]

"Hitting bottom" means depression, losing all hope and faith in humanity and the world around you.

I'm not sure I see a connection between that and becomming a better singer.

In any event, I think Streep was wonderful vocally and acting-wise.

Andy.

[High-baritonne]

[JIJane]

The most important element in MT is acting. Singing is always secondary. That said, Streep's singing is good, good enough to measure up with the West End leads I have seen conquer the singing of that role.

[High-baritonne]

I could not disagree more with you, I believe that the singing is the most important thing in a show like Mamma Mia! Of course the acting is important, but I would rather have a woman who can act well enough with her voice than having a middle-degree singer who is a very good actress singing a song. But it might have something to do with my first meeting with this musical, which was on Broadway with Carolee Carmello, and she really touched me, not by her acting, but with her singing, I had a hard time not crying during songs, such as "MONNEY, MONNEY, MONNEY" and "MAMMA MIA!" because her singing was so great.

[Pounce]

Sounds like you'd have been just as happy to see Mamma Mia!: In Concert as that show. It's been a source of long debate as to what is more important, good acting or good singing in a musical. But you have to ask yourself, what is the performer trying to do? Impress me with his or her belting, perfect pitch, etc or fit the song's feeling into the scene. I think it is important that the performer must first of be able to sing competently. After that, are we looking for acting or aural gymnastics?

Plus we are talking about a movie as opposed to a live performance. Good singing can still come through on film but I think other things come into play. In a movie musical, I think the acting has a bigger role than on stage. Streep and Seyfried are not broadway diva material but they suit the screen fine. Would you rather see an actress belting out "The Winner Takes It All" in perfect pitch or Streep emoting as she did. I personally, for a film, go with the latter. I'm watching a moment in a movie not a concert performance. For me, I can't think when I've seen anyone sing a musical scene with more feeling as Ms. Streep did. I think it should be shown as an example of how to emote in a song to MT students everywhere.

[High-baritonne]

I would never replace meryll streep with anyone, and I love the movie, I've seen it three times all ready. But that is because it is so much fun and of course of Meryll Streep's brilliant acting! But I find the ending of the movie quite doll with Slipping Through My Fingers and The Winner Takes it All in the way they've made it. That still does not mean that Meryll Streep is a terrific actress, nor that the movie is good. It's just that I find it totally different from the stage version. And when you can compare it is often in favor of the Stage, not the Movie.

I also agree that on screen, acting is the first choice, then singing, but the way Meryll Streep sings "THE WINNER TAKES IT ALL" just flips a switch inside my head, I just don't like it.

[JIJane]

Pounce is absolutely correct.

[ChorusKidx3]

I liked the movie a lot.
The soundtrack is great...except for Pierce Brosnan (who sounds like adying walrus)

Meryl did a great job...she really gets into the character with every role she does.

I loved Amanda Seyfreid.

I llove the film but hte stage show was much better.

[MusicalGal1194]

I thought the movie was...intriguing. Here are my points of interest, just little thoughts I had:

-Pierce looks the part, but his singing was...awful.
-Meryl was great, singing wise! Acting wise she was good too, but it was distracting how she kept gyrating and grabbing her crotch during "Mamma Mia!"
-Amanda Sefried, awesome.
-The 2 best friends of Meryl's character were great! Especially in "Does Your Mother Know?"
-But on a different note, that black guy was not good, in my opinion.
-I wanted Bill to have a beard! That's how I saw him when I saw the production in Chicago.
-Harry was good, too. Me gusta. The whole thing with him being outed on that trip was funny.

[Michelle]

I just came back from seeing the movie my 4th time. I love it. Every part of it, lol - even Pierce Brosnan's singing. For me, it just added to the character of the movie. I've been wanting to get on here and see what others thought but I avoided it because I wanted to revel in my own enjoyment of the film.
So far, the stage version has eluded me. (I have the OCR memorized. ) I'm going to try to see it in Albuquerque in March, but I was wondering about a few things that were in the movie and whether or not they were in the stage version.
My favorite part of the movie, second only to "Dancing Queen" (makes me weep each time I see it - something about all those women, young, old, big, small, dancing so full of joy together) was the "Greek chorus". God, that was so hilarious! Is that in the stage play as well?

[Pounce]

I saw it again as part of our local Coca-Cola Summer Film Festival. I also had a lot of wine and cheese before the show. But the house was packed with a very enthusiastic audience (maybe close to 4,000 and mostly women) so the vocal audience infused the film with more energy making it that much better this time. Plus the audience was on its feet during the closing credits singing and swaying their arms in rhythm to the music. It will probably go down as a ladies-night-out kind of film being that it is a chick-flick/girl-power movie.

But still, the film could have been better.

[SHSdrama_geek]

i am an extra for the new nickolas sparks movie "Dear John," and Amanda Sefried is playing the lead female role. I was literally 3 feet away from her at one point. i never realized how tiny she is. she is really pretty and seems really nice also.

[Brigantine]

^^ She looked very short and small in the movie.

Just rented it (watched for the first time) and...


I know NOTHING about the stage show, never really got into it or wanted to see it. So, just as a movie... it was... OK. I didn't think ANY of the guys could sing that well at all, and I had to fast forward through Pierce Brosnan. Colin Firth singing tickled me, as did him dancing around shirtless.
I liked the story, and the characters, but I guess I'm just not a fan of fitting these already established songs into a plot. Or something.
Meryl Streep was fantastic, though. I really admire her talent.

[SomeoneLikeYou]

[Set_Buildin_Dad]

I bought a copy of this movie for the kids for Christmas. I have to tell you that we all watched the movie together a couple of night ago and had an absolute blast. The kids were singing and dancing along with their favorite parts. We all laughed at the movie and each other. There is definitely room in this world for that kind of entertainment.

I was disapointed at the look of the film on the TV screen. We have a 50 inch plasma, but the visuals can't match the theatre. I thought one of the highlights of the movie was the setting in the greek islands. The cinematography was just gorgeous on a large movie screen. It's tough to match that at home.

[lonewriter]

I finally broke down and rented it even though I hate Abba however the movie was quite enjoyable. OK Streep will never win a Grammy but she did a good job and the girl who played her daughter was great. Whoever told Brosnan he could sing should be flayed alive, that was the worst singing I have ever heard in a musical (even that blond girl with the big noise in High School Musical sang better and that's not saying much) He should never be allowed to sing again. I will watch it again though when it comes on HBO. I doubt if I would buy it though.

[SomeoneLikeYou]

[lonewriter]

[SomeoneLikeYou]

I wish I were joking...but that's what I heard. Oh, Lord.

[JWFan]

I just got the dvd, loved it!!!!

The cast rules, i'm not normally big on abba but this cast really delivers. I never would have guessed Streep could shine so bright in a musical.

I'm impressed, i've been passing the time at work playing this little online game it's actually pretty fun and supports the new dvd release. You guys should check it out.

http://www.mammamiacongaline.com/

[Set_Buildin_Dad]

[lottielou22]

I watched the movie for the first time on New Year's Eve.
Pierce Brosnan was... not good, but you sort of get used to it. And I love listening to Stellan Skarsgard in Take A Chance On Me... the "You know I've got so much that I wanna do when I dream I'm alone with you..." part makes me really happy. It's not sung amazingly, but the way he does sing it makes me smile every time.
I thought the movie was really cute, and I really enjoyed it.

[lottielou22]

^my bad, it's Colin Firth that sings that awesome part.

[JWFan]

I also really enjoyed this film!!

One of the best musicals to come out in some time, love this online conga. Hope the record is broken, Come join!!
http://www.mammamiacongaline.com/
[url][/url]

[Theaterbabe5180]

My DH got the DVD for xmas for me and we watched it the other night and I really enjoyed it.

Having see the stage version and really loving it, I must say that the movie was very well done.

[hilarylove]

I thought for such a hard to beat show, they did a pretty good job. Amanda Seyfried was surprising good! (I had trouble getting the "Mean Girls" image of her out of my mind at first, though). My boy, Pierce Brosnan, however was slacking. But who can ask James Bond to sing... there's only so much a very sexy man can do in a lifetime. (and, apparently, singing isn't one of them.) But I admire him for trying.

[hilarylove]

PS lottielou22, I'm from Kentucky, too!

[GungaDin]

Brosnan was acceptable. At least they didn't have to dub him. It would've been so synthetic if they dubbed him. PLUS, the pretty singing department went to Firth, who turned out to be gay.

So everything was in character.

[What Is This Feeling?]

The movie bothered me so much. Meryl's acting was good... but her singing just wasn't. Pierce was horrendous, and a lot of the cast annoyed the hell out of me. Amanda was perfect , I think though for the role. Sorry, but for this kind of show, if you can't sing it makes it that much more painful. Plus, they cut out my favorite song Under Attack! Grr! Also, cheesy director's choice cuts and bits didn't sit well with me.

[wtfchuck]

Cutting Under Attack was definitely one of the biggest mistakes in the film. Second only to casting Pierce Brosnan. Sam is supposed to be an attractive dreamy guy who Donna was in love with. If he sings like crap then the effect is ruined.

[Pounce]

Yeah, cutting "Under Attack" as well as "The Name of the Game", and "Thank You For the Music" was a mistake. I read that "The Name of the Game" was shot however it was cut but appears on the DVD extras. Maybe it didn't turn out too well? Seyfried really was good and I think she could have done well with those songs. "Under Attack" could have been a fun dream sequence although the the "Money, Money, Money" dream sequence looked awkward.

Sam is really a dull character so they didn't need the star power of Brosnan especially when they have Streep.

[Colle]

For those who have seen the movie, what little things or changes that they did would you like to be seen done in the show?

[Pounce]

[Fee]

Precisely my sentiments... Pierce Brosnan should NOT be Higgins! Rex Harrison set the bar! Why not Jonathan Pryce? Now he's been in Evita, can hold a tune well enough, and he played the engineer in Miss Saigon. Or someone who can sing!

[Heavylove]

Is I am the only one thinking that theyre acting to big (stage acting) and isnt adjusting to the demands off being in a movie? When I saw the movie (havent seen the musical) I thaught I could see stage acting in the close ups (not in the mass/ensamble scenes thou) to much for me to have a good feeling for the movie. Otherwise the movie were great thou.

[Fee]

You're not the only one who thought so. The movie was fun, but it seemed pretty...uh, I'm not sure how to describe it.
Yeah, the facial expressions were big, but in a movie you have to think small and realistic.

[Jim Colyer]

I watched Mamma Mia! last night for the 10th time.

[joshua.jcbs]

From my view point, the movie was okay. Not too good and not too bad. May be im not that much into the musicals and stuff!