2:54 Dad Jokes by Beck Leavesley 3:16 more Dad Jokes by Beck Leavesley 3:57 Tom Holland slander 4:52 you know I couldn't make a video without mentioning Percy Jackson cmon 9:20 the secret is out 12:29 adhd besties unite 16:33 I'm sorry but that pink burger is nasty 😭😂 19:26 stop why am I literally crying again making this AHDGFKDSA;H ok hope you guys enjoy ☺
6:22 THE CURSED CHILD PARADOX Approval forced down on fandom in a RNC MMA style BY THE AUTHOR... So, no. Sometimes they dont know whats best and they just want to stay relevant and improve cashflow...which was not the case here
Minimal use of CGI: "This return to practical sets has brought us back to an age of MOVIE MAGIC and instead of just COMPUTER MAGIC. That is an important step in cinema." Lovely observation. Thank you.
True, but they still used a load of pitch correction for literally no reason? Like they sound so good anyway, some notes and harmonies now sound jarring to those of us familiar with pitch correction tools
@PriorCracker Definitely, it's more noticable on the soundtrack than in movies. Like I LOVEE how Cynthia said "Nobody in all of Oz, no Wizard that there is or was is ever gonna bring me down" In the movies but not so much in the soundtrack
The controversy around it annoyed me. It was mostly body shaming, people criticising even though they know nothing of the world of Oz. Events blown out of proportions. It's like people were looking for things to hate on. Cynthia over reacted, but it's also a woman who has been erased before. Ari and Ethan... Well he should've gotten more heat than she did. Ariana has always been a great comedic actress and a fan so yeah. But the body shaming was insane and how people started to talk about drug abuse etc was too much for me. Side note: both the Percy movies and the TV show are bad. The TV show has bad acting, bad pacing and overall just not believable
I know this video isn't about Percy Jackson, but because you mentioned it; I thought that the acting in the show was amazing. Some scenes certainly felt off, but the acting always made it believable. I agree that the pacing was bad, but the Lightning Thief book wasn't any better, and it wasn't necessarily the fault of the writers because they only had 8 episodes to work with.
I was a skeptic about Ariana Grande for a while, too, but the thing that sold me was the video of her getting the part. Her crying and saying "I'm gonna take such good care of her!!" melted my heart and crushed any doubts I might've had. I'm still not a huge fan of Cynthia Erivo (She's got a great voice, but there were some parts where I felt she was holding back a bit. Idk) but she's definitely growing on me the more I listen to the soundtrack
Oh 100%. The first time I saw that video, I actually cried because I just know what it feels like to have something you've waited for so long and worked so hard for happen to you. I felt like that really humanized her.
I believe in an interview or two she described the reason for holding back being that she wanted to tell the story of Elphaba being somewhat repressed and only getting that big full sound and full power during defying gravity through her voice. There are small glimpses of the power in the Wizard and I when she lets her hopes get away from her, then tiny ones in I'm not that girl. Defying Gravity is the moment she finally comes into her power and let's everything go feeling determined and strong. Maybe she'll be more forceful in terms of her voice in part 2. It seems a lot of people don't really like that choice though since I've seen so many saying she held back so idk if it was worth it. Tbh I enjoyed the choice and the story telling of it.
Also the fact she refused to let the director change popular to be more "hip-hop" and was so hesitant to do any changes to the source material. She really cares for the musical and the role and I think that's awesome
I wasn't really skeptical I watched her in victorious she was a good actor I couldn't even tell if she was actually faking it because 😭 but she really did good
And this franchise sure isn’t going anywhere. Not only was it an absolute cinematic masterpiece but all the color schemes and iconography makes it extremely marketable, two things that will ensure that a series isn’t going to be forgotten
Hi! I’m one of those audience member who saw the Cynthia Erivo poster controversy, and still didn’t gaf about it, and would have gladly seen it opening weekend (if I had the ability to). My thoughts on that whole controversy is that it seemed people were SOOO quick to crucify Cynthia Erivo, when, in my honest opinion, her reaction was totally valid. The poster covering up her face is almost insinuating that she’s ugly, while that may not have been the intent, it is very easy to see how it came off as such. The poster could NEVER have worked with the movie cast the same way it does the for show. For starters, the original poster is also a logo! And it’s meant to be adaptative between different actresses. Second of all, Cynthia Erivo is insanely talented, if something upsets her, she’s allowed to speak out on it tbh. But that’s just me. I also DIDNT want to feed into the whole controversy because it seemed like people were treating her as the “overreactive black woman” stereotype. Also, empathy. Let’s say your face was on a movie poster, and then someone on the Internet decided to HIDE your face, and said that by hiding your face, the poster looked better…I’d be upset too tbh.
This is the best take I’ve seen yet! I felt the same, just couldn’t find the rights words. Also the erasure of black women, as soon as she mentioned that all white people should’ve just hushed up and sat down. We can listen when we need to, and I know that moment was meant for me to sit back, listen and learn something. And I did, they leapt for her throat and immediately called her a narcissist just because she didn’t want to be erased.
Plus the racism and bigotry of her being cast from the get go she was getting for *years*. As supposed fans forgot the whole message of Wicked is about racism and bigotry. Like she was dealing with is your 🐈 painted green too questions. She justifiably snapped and like you said she had every right too.
EXACTLY. Besides, even though I didn't like Cynthia's outburst over that fanart poster, I still thought it was understandable because she has been bullied for being a black woman before, and I think the thing that really made her upset was that most people are so angry and miserable all the time that they keep looking for things to hate on. I couldn't even blame Cynthia for hating the AI video of her and Ariana Grande fighting in the poster even more, because fighting isn't something they do at all. Even if she and Ari did fight *(like the catfight scene in the upcoming second part),* that was only on screen, and it was probably very hard for them to do an argument scene in the movie because from what I've seen, these ladies love each other too much to fight, and they literally made a promise to take good care of each other before filming started. Besides, she also did this because she was extremely protective of Elphaba as a character, so I can see Cynthia's point for getting angry about all of this. Even though Cynthia should have been careful with what she posted, I still can't blame her for getting worked up like this, because when people keep looking for things to hate on, make us miserable to make themselves feel better, and even tell you to stop feeling emotional over a project that means so much to you, yeah, I'd be upset too.
@deenadallas2802 I have mixed feelings. I understand why people did not like being told to sit down and shut up and they weren't allowed to have an opinion, especially when the reaction was to a fan edit that was supposed to look like the original poster and nothing more. However, I also get the context behind why she felt the way she did, especially when people were saying that the edit looked better than the real poster that showed her face. Overall, I think just everyone lost with that event.
Wicked was probably one of the biggest humbling for haters I have ever seen. With it now being one of the top musical adaptions globally and surpassing its own budget with 600MIL worldwide. But they said it would flop…
To be fair the Asian director is still getting shat upon. Everything that went right was due to the fantastic actors, choregrapher, set design e.g., but the one thing that didn't (more muted colors consistent with many modern movies successful or otherwise) makes him mediocre at best according to Schaffrillas, mina Lu, and the like
@@Ty-v6v-c4rtbh the movie’s color grading is already so saturated, i think people are confusing coloring with lighting and therefore complaining about the wrong thing. for example, i saw people hating on the attic scene for “not being colorful enough,” but obviously attic’s are dark and color’s are gonna look muted. not every scene is supposed to be bright, and elphaba isn’t supposed to be a barf shade of green.
If you're wondering where EPIC pt 3 is, check my community posts! 🫶 I post most updates about upcoming videos there, so the best way to be aware of the progress of a video is to subscribe and check there!! ✨️✨️
honestly i think for percy jackson part of the reason i like it better is cuz that they are like more age-accurate? and of course uncle rick is leading the entire casting, directing, writing etc
I feel like the interview did raise a lot of concerns but also calling Cynthia "an amateur narcissist" and Ariana "A professional narcissist" was really going too far, like they were so excited to play these iconic characters
On a totally unrelated note though, those are ✨ BARS ✨ I will bank that critique and use it to insult someone in the future, when I run into that duo archetype.
People really just toss those words around. Calling people narcissistic and attention seeking is just the new way to shame people for taking up space. If they were crying for attention it literally doesn't even matter.
What personally irks me is that narcissism is a genuine mental illness, but the word has been boiled down these days to the point where any sort of request for some attention is called narcissism. You can have narcissistic traits, and most people actually do have one or two, but it's not nearly the same thing as being a narcissist.
The reason I knew it was gonna succeed was because I could tell everyone loved wicked and weren’t doing it for the money but to do it justice Sidenote: im definitely number 2 I didn’t care about any of the controversy if it was good amazing wow they ate it up but if it was bad I would’ve rioted but it was amazing and I feel like I wasn’t a suprised really that it would’ve ate and left no crumbs
I’ve had a bad year so I didn’t let myself entertain the thought that it could be good until two weeks after its release. Couldn’t have handled the heartbreak. As it is the movie is one of the only two bright spots I’ve had this year
Early 2000s use of CGI vs practical effects was fully realised in the Lord of the rings trilogy imo. Every opportunity they had they made everything practical leaving the CGI to things like Gollum and the large battle scenes. And even then they literally invented brand new computer software to do both.
Lengthy comment 😞😞😞 Okay but actually now- I was suspicious about Ariana’s casting too. I knew almost nothing about her, I knew she could sing high in pop, but thought the same as you. Her performance was stunning. Not only did she take so many voice lessons for the opera soprano, but she embodied Galinda in vocal tone and energy, I could tell this was her dream roll. I could tell she wanted this. I could tell even before I saw the videos of her singing the soundtrack at fourteen that she knew every damn word. Her performance was stunning im still not over it. As for the reason it’s so impactful, I also agree. I’ve never been much of a movie person but…something has changed within me. Puns aside, it actually is the writing and the display. It’s doomed from the beginning, you know that. If you read it, you know that. If you watch it on stage, you know that. I was speaking with my drama teacher who’s a huge fan of wicked after I saw the movie with her and she said something that just explained so much honestly. She said that for the first time, she could see their faces. You can read as much as you want, but seeing human emotion done well is nothing that can be done with words. They are good actors, Ariana in No One Mourns The Wicked with her pained yet forced smiles and the body expression when she turns her back. Cynthia (I may be spelling her name wrong) when she’s at the ozdust with the most genuine tears I think I’ve ever seen acted. That vocal tone when Galinda wiped away her tears and says “it’s okay.” Second comment because my ohone is glitching
It’s raw and it’s visual. That is the reason it’s so strong. So many recent movies lack that pure and raw emotion. They are afraid of tears, and they are afraid to tell a story if you know it will go horrid, so they just make it emotionless because they both end up sad in the end anyway, Don’t they? That’s where wicked is different. They are going to both be alone, and yet the movie shows them try. That’s why I’m crying, that’s why I’m emotional, because I am watching these girls fall in love with each other (romantic or platonic either way it’s happening) with so much genuine action, and I know that it ends with them apart. I’m seeing them fight and leave knowing that it actually is the last time they will ever love each other again. It’s the writing put on faces. It’s the writing put in a place where we can expirance it like real life that makes it so immersive. And not just that, but the real issues that are put into it. The repressed can relate to Elphaba and the Animals. The people forced into social norms can relate to G(a)Linda. The hot bitches can relate to Fiyero. You can immerse yourself in this ‘fictional world’ because it doesn’t really seem like fiction. These problems are written in a way that is real. The world isn’t made to be perfect, its not made to be flawed, it’s made to be real. Honestly I could write a whole ass paper on this but I’ll stop here.
@@beckleavesley oh man, I wish I was allowed to make videos on this kinda stuff. Unfortunately I’ve gotta stick to writing fanfics, but when I move out maybe you’ll see some video floating around 🤣
I talked to a guy who was into comic books and other traditional geek stuff and couldn't understand the hype around "Wicked". I pointed out that the "Wicked" stage musical makes more money per year (on average) than the entirety of DC Comics.
The thing you said about the humor is so true. There are a couple little modern turns of phrase ad-libbed in here and there, but most of it is just the script from the show from the early 2000s, which means it's not nearly as self-conscious about itself as a lot of modern big-budget movies. It's just extremely confident and earnestly the thing it is, and that's so refreshing. The sets being practical and the singing being live just enhances that feeling.
I had some doubts about it as a live action movie because love action musicals as movies don't really nail the landing, they tend to fall flat or be mid as hell, but Wicked kinda went above that and it came out really good. Maybe not the best - I love Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum, but I don't think they can sing, or at least they didn't sing as good as they could have, maybe. That and the lighting just felt kinda off? It's hard to explain. But overall, would wholeheartedly recommend people to watch it if they want a good Movie Musical. Also people forget that Arianna Grande was an actress before she was a pop singer, and was the best part of Victorious imo. Her going into this movie felt like her just going back to her roots but better and more experienced so it was fun seeing her on the big screen; she definitely did amazing as Glinda!
Yes, 100%! Yeoh and Goldblum definitely can't sing and I get what you mean about the lighting; they used a lot of flood lights which had a tendency to overexpose some shots which is too bad. But I agree, I think this is one of the better live action movie musicals. I was holding my breath, expecting a Dear Evan Hansen, but we got a Mamma Mia instead 😌
Friendly reminder. Your personal expectations will impact how you view the movie. Always clear your mind of any expectations before seeing anything you'll find that there are way more movie musicals that are good than you'd think.
I hate how people have become so pessimistic. Like why judge a movie so harshly even before it's come out? It's honestly annoying how people can't just seem to enjoy stuff without having something bad to say about it, even when they don't have enough material to conjure up something that's evidently critical. It's just pure hatred.
I sincerely hope you see it before it's done in theatres. Try to find it on the biggest screen with loudest speakers. It's a spectacular movie-going experience!
I remember when I was either a preteen or early teen, I would hear people say they balled their eyes out watching pixar movies and I wanted to know what that was like so I think I forced myself to feel sad and cry during Up So it was the first movie I shed tears watching but I'm not sure how real they were I just wanted to know what that felt like 😂😂😂
I started following your channel a while ago because I am really excited for your book and love seeing the writing process. I’m so happy I followed you, cause otherwise I probably wouldn’t have seen this video. In my opinion this is one of the best and most relatable ones about the wicked movie. 🙏✨
Sometimes i feel like people forget that Ariana started off as a child actor (in the worst director show.. But we hopefully will get to that later!) But she was the best actor and her singing voice ate alot of the songs in her show (i just hated they made cat dumb) but she was still a very good actress so i don't understand why people doubted her
Now for Cynthia Erivo I KNEW she was perfect for this role as well because as a African woman (and Cynthia as a African American woman) ELPHABA IS ALWAYS JUDGED FOR HER GREEN SKIN LIKE WE ARE ALWAYS JUDGED FOR OUR SKIN and also before Wicked I loved LOVED Harriet oh my gosh she was a GOOD actor and singer I knew her before wicked and I'm proud to say that she is perfect for this role litterly and I hope people can see that
another thing about PJO is i feel like the main issue with the movie casting was their ages not matching the books, while the show’s casting also wasn’t “book-accurate” but *was* “age-accurate”, which was an important change. funny bc neither cynthia nor ariana nor jonathan are “age-accurate” for their characters, and yet they match each other and their roles so well!
I love how some people got angry over Cynthia being cast as Elphaba and accusing the production for "blackwashing" for two reasons: 1. Yeah, how can anybody cast a person of color as Elphaba when the whole point of her character is being judged unfairly by the color of her skin and how society discriminates against people based on what's on the surface instead of wanting to see her what she's like inside as she fights against an oppressive regime that divides the population by dehumanizing and targetting those who are seen as different? 2. The Wicked Witch of the West is green. Like did any of the people saying that know that little fact?
Cynthia definitely over-reacted to the fan poster thing but she backed down. It’s not a sin to over-react (it’s a huge role) and fans aren’t continuing to hold it against her. Feels like everyone called a truce.
As a British person, I'm sure it must have been hurtful to see British newspapers editing her out of pictures in favor of Ariana. She overreacted, but it seems like there's way more going on there than we understand.
Agreed it was an overreaction but it a bigger overreaction to still hold this over her. You think she curses out the fan and called them a slur for the way people are holding this against her. It’s actually pissing me off because people are doing exactly what causes her to react to that post. They are going out of their way to put Ariana over her in this movie.
I had not planned to subscribe to this channel. But your personal observations and encouragement to your viewers to allow themselves to be changed .. touched me. Thank you.
Only one book has made me cry, and it was because of the very expected death (in the book) of everyone in the entire world. I closed the book when I reached the end and about thirty seconds later I began bawling.
Soooo… as someone who didn’t know the story, whose first exposure was for the film that I’ve become *obsessed* with these past couple weeks: learning about the “Press Tour Controversy” I… am kinda not surprised?
Not going to lie, my inner theater geek laughed and laughed and laughed at everyone who said this movie would flop. Cats, sure, anyone could have seen that a hundred miles away... Except producers because they are blind to culture outside of their focus groups.
girllll the “no names” joke and the “now I’m not gonna name any specific names bc that would be really rude to Tom Holland” got me on the floor!! I just discovered ur channel and I’m immediately hooked, your humor is great!
I don't hate Cynthia Erivo and thought she was great in Wicked, but that reaction was not "silly", it was hysterical, unhinged, and playing victim to bully a fan who made a beautiful poster.
@ It was silly. If you get pressed about someone being upset over something stupid, you’re being just as stupid- what she did was wrong and an overreaction, I get that, but people are overreacting as well.
@Common.n.n - There's a difference between being upset, and feeling justified to lash out at someone because you're upset. The way she lashed out is a red flag, and would be a red flag in anyone because it was a grandiose display of unwarranted self-importance. I don't think most people are overreacting as much as there are a million people reacting at once.
@ No, people are definitely overreacting. Just like she lashed out because she felt offended, people are doing the exact same thing. That’s not ok, that makes you just as bad.
@Common.n.n - Dismissing criticism by pointing out that others are behaving similarly doesn’t address whether the original behavior was right or wrong. That's referred to as a "tu quoque fallacy".
Initially, I had no interest in the movie. Hadn't seen the play, just no interest. Stumbled onto Cynthia portraying Aretha Franklin and was shook! Suddenly, I couldn't get enough of her voice. There's something a little too saccharine about Ariana Grande (don't consciously know her music, I'm old...lol) but, in the trailers I felt she would be great as Galinda. I rented the movie and about half way through realized I should have just bought it. It had the same feel as the classic Hollywood MGM musicals of the past. The two actresses became those characters and, ok, I am not Galindafied, I am Elphiefied! Cannot wait for part two!
Dude I don’t why everyone is so upset. This movie is beautiful! I have never seen the broadway musical but at the same time wtf!?! It’s a movie and yall are just haters!
I appreciate you having the courage to admit you were wrong. It wasn't a perfect movie, but I agree that it was a very good piece of performance and movie art. I think more people should give it a chance. 💙
Hey! Let me start this comment by saying, omg Beck I love your videos. I’ve left a few comments on this before but. As someone who also has adhd (same here with the attention span equaling a goldfish cracker thing), I usually can’t sit through long videos without being distracted but I just love your content style and it feels so easy to sit and watch for me. Also you have very similar interests to me (books, epic, percy jackson, music, writing, musicals) so that’s probably another thing that makes your content so enjoyable! From another aspiring writer, I really look forward to reading your books as they come out :D Anyways I don’t usually leave lengthy comments but im feeling yappy right now so here you go I guess. My opinion that nobody asked for! (You don’t have to read the whole thing ofc but if you do I appreciate you!) Regarding your mention of the Percy Jackson movies, I think you’re correct. For me personally, the casting was never the biggest issue with them, it was the accuracy to the plot. They were fine movies but horrible adaptations. Also, their handling of the personalities of the characters (especially grover, like what?) was so bad. I liked the movies on their own though and liked them when I first saw them if im being honest. They made some good choices. Although I was a lot younger when I saw them for the first time. Yes I still hate on them with the rest of the fandom because of course i do. For a while, my mental images of the characters were heavily based on the movies. Obviously the books were better. The differences with the tv show (at least imo) were the ages of the characters, the book accuracy, and the personalities. To be completely fair, on their own the movies were probably better standalones than the tv show hands down. But for an adaptation, I think that the show was better. It was way more accurate to the books. Also, I know that a major complaint the people had with the casting was the idea of aging up the characters. I do think that is something the show did better. The characters look and act like middle schoolers (aka the age they are supposed to be). The characters to me had more personality and really embodied the book characters better (ik that some people do disagree with this and think the characters had no personality due to the script writing). Would I have loved book accurate characters appearance wise? Yes absolutely. Does that change the fact that I will be enjoying the show? No, I think it’s great. As for wicked: I think Wicked was destined to succeed honestly because we theater kids are everywhere. Also, it’s one of the more popular musicals. Chances are, even most people that aren’t into musicals have at least heard of it. I’ll admit I was a bit skeptical about the casting as well. From the trailers alone I was not too excited for this movie. However, I really loved it and I understand the obsession with it. I haven’t seen many people hating on it. Even though I know that currently it’s surrounded by controversy (which is ridiculous, it’s one of the most beautiful movies imo but anyway), everyone I’ve seen in person and online has loved it, even people who don’t like musicals. Although admittedly I was not aware of any controversies before seeing the movie. I have since seen it twice so im glad to say that I was wrong about it being bad. (I do think the merch has been a bit weird. I mean, there was that whole thing with the dolls? And also no offense but that mac and cheese looks kind of disgusting… But some of the merch has been cool!!) Anyways, great video as always Beck! Looking forward to more of yours. :) Sorry for the extremely long comment!! Thanks to anyone who read it! (I’d love to know your opinions if you feel like replying lol). Not sure if this makes sense since my adhd brain was jumping around as I wrote it but hopefully this little rant is still readable! Have a great day :)
(This is about you mentioning Percy Jackson) I love when movies and TV shows have accurate casting, but I can get over that if it's actually good. The Percy Jackson Movies, while innacurate and silly, were actually enjoyable. They didn't really treat you like you're dumb. The (TV) series treats you like you're dumb and can't understand the simplest of things. The characters don't have personalities and it hit Annabeth the most, as she gave THE MOST plot exposition. I don't think this is the actress's fault, the script must've been very badly written. As I could not enjoy the TV series, in my opinion, the movies are better.
Very good review. I went into this expecting to hate it, but I couldnt, for all the reasons you mentioned. Now I've seen it 3 times and I think I have a problem lol. All three times I cried at that same part, even though i was trying not to. This movie is amazing, if you havent seen it yet, dont fight it, go see it ASAP, you wont regret it.
I will say there’s something I don’t like about the edited wicked picture that’s not showing her eyes and it’s because I think it should stay that way for the original so we can differentiate the two. I don’t think we should get upset by the picture for the movie.
About the PJ tv show and the fact that the cast didn't get as much hate as the movie's: I do think that the fans saw how they tried to make the casting more accurate in the second movie by putting a blonde wig on Annabeth and the movie somehow managed to be worse than the first one, so they realized that maybe the casting wasn't the main issue
Bro when I first heard Ariana was cast I told my gf it was gonna blow. I’ve seen wicked 11 times lol I pre ordered the digital release coming out in a few days. Like I super ate my words
They posted the entire “Popular” sequence on RUclips (which I watched ahead of time) so that was my bathroom break. The only thing that dragged was the yellow brick road scene at the end (I blame Jeff)
I personally am probably never going to be interested in this movie, not because of the casting or anything, but just because I've never been interested in Wicked in general outside of all the drama surrounding this movie's marketing and such. However, I want to bring up an interesting point that I just thought of about why I think people are getting so irritated by the heavy marketing when they were alright with Barbie's marketing. I have been a little bit irritated, myself, at points with Wicked's marketing campaign. I alsays thought I was somehow able to avoid Barbie's, but that may not be the point. What I think has actually happened is that Barbie has ALWAYS had such heavy marketing because it's a toy line. So, the BARBIE movie marketing didn't feel out of place because it's still a Barbie product, so we were used to seeing a lot of pink and glitter around the place. Maybe not to such an extensive degree, but it wasn't out of the ordinary. However, besides the Musical and those who read the books, Wicked never necessarily had that much marketing and notoriety compared to Barbie. I hadn't even heard of Wicked outside of the fact Twisted was a Starkid parody of it! So, when the marketing campaign started up and suddenly everything was pink and green, I got a bit irritated because I wasn't interested. This was some random thing I didn't want to see everywhere, but I felt like it was being forced onto me. There was Wicked shoes, Wicked soap, Wicked food, Wicked everything! I didn't feel that way with Barbie's marketing. I then suddenly had the realization that I hadn't avoided the Barbie campaign. What probably is going on is that we were already so used to Barbie's slightly aggressive marketing because we were used to them marketing their toys. Everything pink and sparkly being labeled Barbie is something we're used to, and the main difference was that it was a live action Barbie movie being marketed and it was a bit more mainstream in it's marketing. We're used to Barbie shoes, Barbie food, Barbie clothes, and Barbie makeup because that's been a thing for years. Wicked doesn't have that background, so when everything became Wicked a lot of people who weren't interested or didn't know about it were put off by it because of "aggressive marketing".
I have to say as someone who hated the casting of the Percy Jackson movie but loved the casting of the series, the reason I love the show cast is because they actually act like the characters do in the books, whereas the movie cast are flat, unfunny and not how I they characters act in the books.
I NEED TO SAY. I'm not really Ariana or Cynthia fan but seeing the reaction to a lot of this seems so forced and exaggerated there is ofc some good criticism people ALWAYS make celebrities seem like they don't live on the same planet as us or don't have a heart or feeling.. and I get it they live different from us but the conspiracies make me scratch my head obviously there is a chance that some aren't baselessly claimed but I never get the the assuming aspect and hoping the worst out of anyone
![BLACK BAG - Official Trailer [HD] - Only in Theaters March 14](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/Du0Xp8WX_7I/mqdefault.jpg)
2:54 Dad Jokes by Beck Leavesley
3:16 more Dad Jokes by Beck Leavesley
3:57 Tom Holland slander
4:52 you know I couldn't make a video without mentioning Percy Jackson cmon
9:20 the secret is out
12:29 adhd besties unite
16:33 I'm sorry but that pink burger is nasty 😭😂
19:26 stop why am I literally crying again making this AHDGFKDSA;H
ok hope you guys enjoy ☺
PLEASE do Epic pt 3 I AM BEGGING YOUUUUUU
@@beckleavesley EPICCCCCCCC
6:22 THE CURSED CHILD PARADOX
Approval forced down on fandom in a RNC MMA style BY THE AUTHOR...
So, no. Sometimes they dont know whats best and they just want to stay relevant and improve cashflow...which was not the case here
Minimal use of CGI:
"This return to practical sets has brought us back to an age of MOVIE MAGIC and instead of just COMPUTER MAGIC. That is an important step in cinema."
Lovely observation. Thank you.
Thank you!! ✨️🫶
My favorite thing about it is that all of the singing was live.
YES YES YESSSSSS
True, but they still used a load of pitch correction for literally no reason? Like they sound so good anyway, some notes and harmonies now sound jarring to those of us familiar with pitch correction tools
@PriorCracker it seems like there was a bit of switching from recording to recording for this, so I wonder if this was related to that
@PriorCracker Definitely, it's more noticable on the soundtrack than in movies. Like I LOVEE how Cynthia said "Nobody in all of Oz, no Wizard that there is or was is ever gonna bring me down" In the movies but not so much in the soundtrack
It's not ALL live. But a lot of it is. And you can tell.
The controversy around it annoyed me. It was mostly body shaming, people criticising even though they know nothing of the world of Oz. Events blown out of proportions. It's like people were looking for things to hate on. Cynthia over reacted, but it's also a woman who has been erased before. Ari and Ethan... Well he should've gotten more heat than she did. Ariana has always been a great comedic actress and a fan so yeah. But the body shaming was insane and how people started to talk about drug abuse etc was too much for me.
Side note: both the Percy movies and the TV show are bad. The TV show has bad acting, bad pacing and overall just not believable
I know this video isn't about Percy Jackson, but because you mentioned it; I thought that the acting in the show was amazing. Some scenes certainly felt off, but the acting always made it believable. I agree that the pacing was bad, but the Lightning Thief book wasn't any better, and it wasn't necessarily the fault of the writers because they only had 8 episodes to work with.
Coming from a PJO fan, yeah, I’m with you
“it’s honestly really sad, we all need a life” …and that, that hit home
I was a skeptic about Ariana Grande for a while, too, but the thing that sold me was the video of her getting the part. Her crying and saying "I'm gonna take such good care of her!!" melted my heart and crushed any doubts I might've had.
I'm still not a huge fan of Cynthia Erivo (She's got a great voice, but there were some parts where I felt she was holding back a bit. Idk) but she's definitely growing on me the more I listen to the soundtrack
Oh 100%. The first time I saw that video, I actually cried because I just know what it feels like to have something you've waited for so long and worked so hard for happen to you. I felt like that really humanized her.
I believe in an interview or two she described the reason for holding back being that she wanted to tell the story of Elphaba being somewhat repressed and only getting that big full sound and full power during defying gravity through her voice. There are small glimpses of the power in the Wizard and I when she lets her hopes get away from her, then tiny ones in I'm not that girl. Defying Gravity is the moment she finally comes into her power and let's everything go feeling determined and strong. Maybe she'll be more forceful in terms of her voice in part 2. It seems a lot of people don't really like that choice though since I've seen so many saying she held back so idk if it was worth it. Tbh I enjoyed the choice and the story telling of it.
@ That’s so interesting, I never thought about that!!! It’s a pity it didn’t seem to shine through in her performance: love it though!!!
Also the fact she refused to let the director change popular to be more "hip-hop" and was so hesitant to do any changes to the source material. She really cares for the musical and the role and I think that's awesome
I wasn't really skeptical I watched her in victorious she was a good actor I couldn't even tell if she was actually faking it because 😭 but she really did good
And this franchise sure isn’t going anywhere. Not only was it an absolute cinematic masterpiece but all the color schemes and iconography makes it extremely marketable, two things that will ensure that a series isn’t going to be forgotten
Hi! I’m one of those audience member who saw the Cynthia Erivo poster controversy, and still didn’t gaf about it, and would have gladly seen it opening weekend (if I had the ability to).
My thoughts on that whole controversy is that it seemed people were SOOO quick to crucify Cynthia Erivo, when, in my honest opinion, her reaction was totally valid.
The poster covering up her face is almost insinuating that she’s ugly, while that may not have been the intent, it is very easy to see how it came off as such.
The poster could NEVER have worked with the movie cast the same way it does the for show. For starters, the original poster is also a logo! And it’s meant to be adaptative between different actresses.
Second of all, Cynthia Erivo is insanely talented, if something upsets her, she’s allowed to speak out on it tbh. But that’s just me.
I also DIDNT want to feed into the whole controversy because it seemed like people were treating her as the “overreactive black woman” stereotype.
Also, empathy. Let’s say your face was on a movie poster, and then someone on the Internet decided to HIDE your face, and said that by hiding your face, the poster looked better…I’d be upset too tbh.
I felt the same
This is the best take I’ve seen yet! I felt the same, just couldn’t find the rights words. Also the erasure of black women, as soon as she mentioned that all white people should’ve just hushed up and sat down. We can listen when we need to, and I know that moment was meant for me to sit back, listen and learn something. And I did, they leapt for her throat and immediately called her a narcissist just because she didn’t want to be erased.
Plus the racism and bigotry of her being cast from the get go she was getting for *years*. As supposed fans forgot the whole message of Wicked is about racism and bigotry. Like she was dealing with is your 🐈 painted green too questions. She justifiably snapped and like you said she had every right too.
EXACTLY. Besides, even though I didn't like Cynthia's outburst over that fanart poster, I still thought it was understandable because she has been bullied for being a black woman before, and I think the thing that really made her upset was that most people are so angry and miserable all the time that they keep looking for things to hate on. I couldn't even blame Cynthia for hating the AI video of her and Ariana Grande fighting in the poster even more, because fighting isn't something they do at all. Even if she and Ari did fight *(like the catfight scene in the upcoming second part),* that was only on screen, and it was probably very hard for them to do an argument scene in the movie because from what I've seen, these ladies love each other too much to fight, and they literally made a promise to take good care of each other before filming started. Besides, she also did this because she was extremely protective of Elphaba as a character, so I can see Cynthia's point for getting angry about all of this.
Even though Cynthia should have been careful with what she posted, I still can't blame her for getting worked up like this, because when people keep looking for things to hate on, make us miserable to make themselves feel better, and even tell you to stop feeling emotional over a project that means so much to you, yeah, I'd be upset too.
@deenadallas2802 I have mixed feelings.
I understand why people did not like being told to sit down and shut up and they weren't allowed to have an opinion, especially when the reaction was to a fan edit that was supposed to look like the original poster and nothing more.
However, I also get the context behind why she felt the way she did, especially when people were saying that the edit looked better than the real poster that showed her face.
Overall, I think just everyone lost with that event.
Wicked was probably one of the biggest humbling for haters I have ever seen. With it now being one of the top musical adaptions globally and surpassing its own budget with 600MIL worldwide. But they said it would flop…
It was just right wing racists refusing to believe a black actress, an Asian director, and a lgbt+ friendly singer could do a great job.
To be fair the Asian director is still getting shat upon. Everything that went right was due to the fantastic actors, choregrapher, set design e.g., but the one thing that didn't (more muted colors consistent with many modern movies successful or otherwise) makes him mediocre at best according to Schaffrillas, mina Lu, and the like
Nonsense.
@@Ty-v6v-c4rtbh the movie’s color grading is already so saturated, i think people are confusing coloring with lighting and therefore complaining about the wrong thing. for example, i saw people hating on the attic scene for “not being colorful enough,” but obviously attic’s are dark and color’s are gonna look muted. not every scene is supposed to be bright, and elphaba isn’t supposed to be a barf shade of green.
stop using the race card - you are apart of the problem
If you're wondering where EPIC pt 3 is, check my community posts! 🫶 I post most updates about upcoming videos there, so the best way to be aware of the progress of a video is to subscribe and check there!! ✨️✨️
When I read that I thought of Epic the Musical
honestly i think for percy jackson part of the reason i like it better is cuz that they are like more age-accurate? and of course uncle rick is leading the entire casting, directing, writing etc
Real
This! Imo the story works better when the characters are younger; there was just something off when they were all high schoolers.
I feel like the interview did raise a lot of concerns but also calling Cynthia "an amateur narcissist" and Ariana "A professional narcissist" was really going too far, like they were so excited to play these iconic characters
Yeah, this was like their dream role ever, why would you get angry at them for liking it?
On a totally unrelated note though, those are ✨ BARS ✨ I will bank that critique and use it to insult someone in the future, when I run into that duo archetype.
People really just toss those words around. Calling people narcissistic and attention seeking is just the new way to shame people for taking up space. If they were crying for attention it literally doesn't even matter.
I swear people throw that word around like it's hot potato
What personally irks me is that narcissism is a genuine mental illness, but the word has been boiled down these days to the point where any sort of request for some attention is called narcissism. You can have narcissistic traits, and most people actually do have one or two, but it's not nearly the same thing as being a narcissist.
The reason I knew it was gonna succeed was because I could tell everyone loved wicked and weren’t doing it for the money but to do it justice
Sidenote: im definitely number 2 I didn’t care about any of the controversy if it was good amazing wow they ate it up but if it was bad I would’ve rioted but it was amazing and I feel like I wasn’t a suprised really that it would’ve ate and left no crumbs
I’ve had a bad year so I didn’t let myself entertain the thought that it could be good until two weeks after its release. Couldn’t have handled the heartbreak. As it is the movie is one of the only two bright spots I’ve had this year
I love all the reactions that were like "my bad girls actually you should have cried in interviews MORE"
I watched ariana grande do acting for Nickelodeon while i was growing up as a kid, im glad her acting and comedy chops never left her
How dare yt hide this from me for 5 minutes
@TitlingTree not yt being the villain 😭😭
Early 2000s use of CGI vs practical effects was fully realised in the Lord of the rings trilogy imo. Every opportunity they had they made everything practical leaving the CGI to things like Gollum and the large battle scenes. And even then they literally invented brand new computer software to do both.
Lengthy comment 😞😞😞
Okay but actually now-
I was suspicious about Ariana’s casting too. I knew almost nothing about her, I knew she could sing high in pop, but thought the same as you.
Her performance was stunning.
Not only did she take so many voice lessons for the opera soprano, but she embodied Galinda in vocal tone and energy, I could tell this was her dream roll. I could tell she wanted this. I could tell even before I saw the videos of her singing the soundtrack at fourteen that she knew every damn word.
Her performance was stunning im still not over it.
As for the reason it’s so impactful, I also agree. I’ve never been much of a movie person but…something has changed within me. Puns aside, it actually is the writing and the display. It’s doomed from the beginning, you know that. If you read it, you know that. If you watch it on stage, you know that. I was speaking with my drama teacher who’s a huge fan of wicked after I saw the movie with her and she said something that just explained so much honestly. She said that for the first time, she could see their faces. You can read as much as you want, but seeing human emotion done well is nothing that can be done with words. They are good actors, Ariana in No One Mourns The Wicked with her pained yet forced smiles and the body expression when she turns her back. Cynthia (I may be spelling her name wrong) when she’s at the ozdust with the most genuine tears I think I’ve ever seen acted. That vocal tone when Galinda wiped away her tears and says “it’s okay.”
Second comment because my ohone is glitching
It’s raw and it’s visual. That is the reason it’s so strong. So many recent movies lack that pure and raw emotion. They are afraid of tears, and they are afraid to tell a story if you know it will go horrid, so they just make it emotionless because they both end up sad in the end anyway, Don’t they? That’s where wicked is different. They are going to both be alone, and yet the movie shows them try. That’s why I’m crying, that’s why I’m emotional, because I am watching these girls fall in love with each other (romantic or platonic either way it’s happening) with so much genuine action, and I know that it ends with them apart. I’m seeing them fight and leave knowing that it actually is the last time they will ever love each other again. It’s the writing put on faces. It’s the writing put in a place where we can expirance it like real life that makes it so immersive.
And not just that, but the real issues that are put into it. The repressed can relate to Elphaba and the Animals. The people forced into social norms can relate to G(a)Linda. The hot bitches can relate to Fiyero. You can immerse yourself in this ‘fictional world’ because it doesn’t really seem like fiction. These problems are written in a way that is real. The world isn’t made to be perfect, its not made to be flawed, it’s made to be real. Honestly I could write a whole ass paper on this but I’ll stop here.
Ok casually dropping the most well-thought-out, mini commentary moment on the most meaningful aspects of Wicked. Where do I subscribe to YOU?? 🥹🤩
@@beckleavesley oh man, I wish I was allowed to make videos on this kinda stuff. Unfortunately I’ve gotta stick to writing fanfics, but when I move out maybe you’ll see some video floating around 🤣
I talked to a guy who was into comic books and other traditional geek stuff and couldn't understand the hype around "Wicked". I pointed out that the "Wicked" stage musical makes more money per year (on average) than the entirety of DC Comics.
This is so relatable 19:13 I dont cry over fiction much but Wicked had me bawling and the end of the Divergent Series had me depressed for a week.
AHHHH I need to get into Divergent! I still can't believe I've never read/watched it 🙊🙊
@beckleavesley OMMGG YOU HAVE TOOO
You need to read better fiction.
@@BritneeStar thank you for that very kind comment 😲😲😲😲
The thing you said about the humor is so true. There are a couple little modern turns of phrase ad-libbed in here and there, but most of it is just the script from the show from the early 2000s, which means it's not nearly as self-conscious about itself as a lot of modern big-budget movies. It's just extremely confident and earnestly the thing it is, and that's so refreshing. The sets being practical and the singing being live just enhances that feeling.
I had some doubts about it as a live action movie because love action musicals as movies don't really nail the landing, they tend to fall flat or be mid as hell, but Wicked kinda went above that and it came out really good. Maybe not the best - I love Michelle Yeoh and Jeff Goldblum, but I don't think they can sing, or at least they didn't sing as good as they could have, maybe. That and the lighting just felt kinda off? It's hard to explain. But overall, would wholeheartedly recommend people to watch it if they want a good Movie Musical.
Also people forget that Arianna Grande was an actress before she was a pop singer, and was the best part of Victorious imo. Her going into this movie felt like her just going back to her roots but better and more experienced so it was fun seeing her on the big screen; she definitely did amazing as Glinda!
Yes, 100%! Yeoh and Goldblum definitely can't sing and I get what you mean about the lighting; they used a lot of flood lights which had a tendency to overexpose some shots which is too bad. But I agree, I think this is one of the better live action movie musicals. I was holding my breath, expecting a Dear Evan Hansen, but we got a Mamma Mia instead 😌
@@beckleavesleyidk he sung pretty well in the beginning of the movie in no one mourns the wicked.
Friendly reminder. Your personal expectations will impact how you view the movie. Always clear your mind of any expectations before seeing anything you'll find that there are way more movie musicals that are good than you'd think.
And now that the Oscar nominations are out, we can say it really, really, wasn't going to flop.
I hate how people have become so pessimistic. Like why judge a movie so harshly even before it's come out? It's honestly annoying how people can't just seem to enjoy stuff without having something bad to say about it, even when they don't have enough material to conjure up something that's evidently critical. It's just pure hatred.
I liked your review. I wasn't planning on seeing this movie but now I think I might
I sincerely hope you see it before it's done in theatres. Try to find it on the biggest screen with loudest speakers. It's a spectacular movie-going experience!
I remember when I was either a preteen or early teen, I would hear people say they balled their eyes out watching pixar movies and I wanted to know what that was like so I think I forced myself to feel sad and cry during Up
So it was the first movie I shed tears watching but I'm not sure how real they were
I just wanted to know what that felt like 😂😂😂
AHHHH you get me 😭😭 I feel like such a cold-hearted monster because I've never cried for Up, but my best friend LOVES it 😆
I started following your channel a while ago because I am really excited for your book and love seeing the writing process. I’m so happy I followed you, cause otherwise I probably wouldn’t have seen this video. In my opinion this is one of the best and most relatable ones about the wicked movie. 🙏✨
Sometimes i feel like people forget that Ariana started off as a child actor (in the worst director show.. But we hopefully will get to that later!) But she was the best actor and her singing voice ate alot of the songs in her show (i just hated they made cat dumb) but she was still a very good actress so i don't understand why people doubted her
Now for Cynthia Erivo I KNEW she was perfect for this role as well because as a African woman (and Cynthia as a African American woman) ELPHABA IS ALWAYS JUDGED FOR HER GREEN SKIN LIKE WE ARE ALWAYS JUDGED FOR OUR SKIN and also before Wicked I loved LOVED Harriet oh my gosh she was a GOOD actor and singer I knew her before wicked and I'm proud to say that she is perfect for this role litterly and I hope people can see that
I love how Beck is very slowly turning into a commentary channel (THE OPPOSITE OF COMPLAINING RN)
Very cool, Beck 👍🏼
@@mrs.samuel.L.jackson YES YOU UNDERSTAND 👏👏
@beckleavesley YESSSS
You are so hilarious!! I loved this video!!! Refreshing and positive! Just subscribed!! Bravo 👏🏼
I kind of feel like I need to see it now!
You should! It was so much better than I thought it was going to be; and it's PG! ✨️✨️
EPIC. RIGHT NOW. PLEASE.
YES
Bingo.
YES
Look at my community post!! 🙌🙌
another thing about PJO is i feel like the main issue with the movie casting was their ages not matching the books, while the show’s casting also wasn’t “book-accurate” but *was* “age-accurate”, which was an important change. funny bc neither cynthia nor ariana nor jonathan are “age-accurate” for their characters, and yet they match each other and their roles so well!
I love how some people got angry over Cynthia being cast as Elphaba and accusing the production for "blackwashing" for two reasons:
1. Yeah, how can anybody cast a person of color as Elphaba when the whole point of her character is being judged unfairly by the color of her skin and how society discriminates against people based on what's on the surface instead of wanting to see her what she's like inside as she fights against an oppressive regime that divides the population by dehumanizing and targetting those who are seen as different?
2. The Wicked Witch of the West is green. Like did any of the people saying that know that little fact?
The unskippable part was so true, occasionally I wanted to leave but just…couldnt
Cynthia definitely over-reacted to the fan poster thing but she backed down. It’s not a sin to over-react (it’s a huge role) and fans aren’t continuing to hold it against her. Feels like everyone called a truce.
As a British person, I'm sure it must have been hurtful to see British newspapers editing her out of pictures in favor of Ariana. She overreacted, but it seems like there's way more going on there than we understand.
She has been through a hate and discrimation before I think the poster triggered her to think about that causing her to over react
Agreed it was an overreaction but it a bigger overreaction to still hold this over her. You think she curses out the fan and called them a slur for the way people are holding this against her. It’s actually pissing me off because people are doing exactly what causes her to react to that post. They are going out of their way to put Ariana over her in this movie.
I had not planned to subscribe to this channel. But your personal observations and encouragement to your viewers to allow themselves to be changed .. touched me. Thank you.
Two books have made me cry. Both times it was because I was blindsided by a character's death.
Only one book has made me cry, and it was because of the very expected death (in the book) of everyone in the entire world. I closed the book when I reached the end and about thirty seconds later I began bawling.
@@kevinbailey8827it’s always, very specifically, those thirty seconds post closing the book
Cynthia Erivo is an icon periodt 💅
as someone who got here through the obvious musical but loves commentary videos, i thoroughly enjoyed this and will be staying :3
4:00 Beck: I’m not going to name anyone
Also Beck: cos that would be really rude to tOm hOLLaNd
Hehe glad you appreciate my kind of humor 🤣🤣
@ of course 😂😂
4:00 I LITERALLY GASPED OMG BECK 💀
The tom holland slander was uncalled for lol
BAHA I put that there just for you 😉🤣
Soooo… as someone who didn’t know the story, whose first exposure was for the film that I’ve become *obsessed* with these past couple weeks: learning about the “Press Tour Controversy” I… am kinda not surprised?
Not going to lie, my inner theater geek laughed and laughed and laughed at everyone who said this movie would flop. Cats, sure, anyone could have seen that a hundred miles away... Except producers because they are blind to culture outside of their focus groups.
girllll the “no names” joke and the “now I’m not gonna name any specific names bc that would be really rude to Tom Holland” got me on the floor!! I just discovered ur channel and I’m immediately hooked, your humor is great!
Haha glad you liked the joke! 😅 It was risky, but I had to 🤣🤣
I personally think that people overreacted over Cynthia's overreaction. We all have our silly moments, there's no need to hate someone for it.
I don't hate Cynthia Erivo and thought she was great in Wicked, but that reaction was not "silly", it was hysterical, unhinged, and playing victim to bully a fan who made a beautiful poster.
@ It was silly. If you get pressed about someone being upset over something stupid, you’re being just as stupid- what she did was wrong and an overreaction, I get that, but people are overreacting as well.
@Common.n.n - There's a difference between being upset, and feeling justified to lash out at someone because you're upset. The way she lashed out is a red flag, and would be a red flag in anyone because it was a grandiose display of unwarranted self-importance. I don't think most people are overreacting as much as there are a million people reacting at once.
@ No, people are definitely overreacting. Just like she lashed out because she felt offended, people are doing the exact same thing. That’s not ok, that makes you just as bad.
@Common.n.n - Dismissing criticism by pointing out that others are behaving similarly doesn’t address whether the original behavior was right or wrong. That's referred to as a "tu quoque fallacy".
Initially, I had no interest in the movie. Hadn't seen the play, just no interest. Stumbled onto Cynthia portraying Aretha Franklin and was shook! Suddenly, I couldn't get enough of her voice. There's something a little too saccharine about Ariana Grande (don't consciously know her music, I'm old...lol) but, in the trailers I felt she would be great as Galinda. I rented the movie and about half way through realized I should have just bought it. It had the same feel as the classic Hollywood MGM musicals of the past. The two actresses became those characters and, ok, I am not Galindafied, I am Elphiefied! Cannot wait for part two!
I am a crier so I'll have to hydrate while watching this movie
@@fierygold489 oh 10000000% it was my greatest mistake 😭
The marketing for this movie was really good. I honestly think that’s why.
Wicked deserves an Oscar.
I love how honest you were with this, AND I TOTALLY AGREE WITH THE CRYING PART, AT RHE END OF THE FILM I JUST COULDN’T HOLD IT BACK ANYMORE
Ariana is not Hispanic lol, she is Italian and always has been… (Italian falls into the white category)
The face palm that my face palmed when I saw that 🤦🏼♀️🤦🏼♀️
I bought tickets for the movie 😂
"They had mother!" 😂
Dude I don’t why everyone is so upset. This movie is beautiful! I have never seen the broadway musical but at the same time wtf!?! It’s a movie and yall are just haters!
I appreciate you having the courage to admit you were wrong. It wasn't a perfect movie, but I agree that it was a very good piece of performance and movie art. I think more people should give it a chance. 💙
EPIC PT 3 WHEN QUEEN
Suuuubscribeddddd 🎶🎵
I'm not gonna name any names because that would be really rude to *Tom Holland* 💀💀
I ACTUALLY SUBSCRIBED BC UR SO FUN TO LISTEN TO
Thank you so much for this!!! I love Wicked. Subbed 💚🩷💚🩷💚🩷💚🩷
I seriously think the second season of Percy Jackson is going to be even better than the first.
not tom holland catching strays
NEXT SAGA INCOMING!!!
You know what you should continue to try? Epic The Musical💕💕
Give us more epic!
0:57 Is this the beginning of what is this feeling 🤗
Hey! Let me start this comment by saying, omg Beck I love your videos. I’ve left a few comments on this before but. As someone who also has adhd (same here with the attention span equaling a goldfish cracker thing), I usually can’t sit through long videos without being distracted but I just love your content style and it feels so easy to sit and watch for me. Also you have very similar interests to me (books, epic, percy jackson, music, writing, musicals) so that’s probably another thing that makes your content so enjoyable! From another aspiring writer, I really look forward to reading your books as they come out :D
Anyways I don’t usually leave lengthy comments but im feeling yappy right now so here you go I guess. My opinion that nobody asked for! (You don’t have to read the whole thing ofc but if you do I appreciate you!)
Regarding your mention of the Percy Jackson movies, I think you’re correct. For me personally, the casting was never the biggest issue with them, it was the accuracy to the plot. They were fine movies but horrible adaptations. Also, their handling of the personalities of the characters (especially grover, like what?) was so bad. I liked the movies on their own though and liked them when I first saw them if im being honest. They made some good choices. Although I was a lot younger when I saw them for the first time. Yes I still hate on them with the rest of the fandom because of course i do. For a while, my mental images of the characters were heavily based on the movies. Obviously the books were better.
The differences with the tv show (at least imo) were the ages of the characters, the book accuracy, and the personalities. To be completely fair, on their own the movies were probably better standalones than the tv show hands down. But for an adaptation, I think that the show was better. It was way more accurate to the books. Also, I know that a major complaint the people had with the casting was the idea of aging up the characters. I do think that is something the show did better. The characters look and act like middle schoolers (aka the age they are supposed to be). The characters to me had more personality and really embodied the book characters better (ik that some people do disagree with this and think the characters had no personality due to the script writing). Would I have loved book accurate characters appearance wise? Yes absolutely. Does that change the fact that I will be enjoying the show? No, I think it’s great.
As for wicked: I think Wicked was destined to succeed honestly because we theater kids are everywhere. Also, it’s one of the more popular musicals. Chances are, even most people that aren’t into musicals have at least heard of it. I’ll admit I was a bit skeptical about the casting as well. From the trailers alone I was not too excited for this movie. However, I really loved it and I understand the obsession with it. I haven’t seen many people hating on it. Even though I know that currently it’s surrounded by controversy (which is ridiculous, it’s one of the most beautiful movies imo but anyway), everyone I’ve seen in person and online has loved it, even people who don’t like musicals. Although admittedly I was not aware of any controversies before seeing the movie. I have since seen it twice so im glad to say that I was wrong about it being bad.
(I do think the merch has been a bit weird. I mean, there was that whole thing with the dolls? And also no offense but that mac and cheese looks kind of disgusting… But some of the merch has been cool!!)
Anyways, great video as always Beck! Looking forward to more of yours. :)
Sorry for the extremely long comment!! Thanks to anyone who read it! (I’d love to know your opinions if you feel like replying lol). Not sure if this makes sense since my adhd brain was jumping around as I wrote it but hopefully this little rant is still readable! Have a great day :)
Ahhhh!! Thank you so much for watching and commenting! Glad you're here 🥹🫶
for the pjo thing, I get it, I'm pretty strict on book character casting, but like SHE'S A KID GUYS.
19:25 🎶something has changed within me…🎶
"This is not normal"
Would you rather watch a boring normal movie?
imo the press tour was a massive success
This is a logical fallacy called a false dichotomy. If a press tour isn't super weird, then it has to be boring?
(This is about you mentioning Percy Jackson) I love when movies and TV shows have accurate casting, but I can get over that if it's actually good.
The Percy Jackson Movies, while innacurate and silly, were actually enjoyable. They didn't really treat you like you're dumb.
The (TV) series treats you like you're dumb and can't understand the simplest of things. The characters don't have personalities and it hit Annabeth the most, as she gave THE MOST plot exposition. I don't think this is the actress's fault, the script must've been very badly written.
As I could not enjoy the TV series, in my opinion, the movies are better.
EXACTLY. I was so tired of the exposition. It really was a “tell don’t show”
Please do epic the musical reaction p.3 🙏❤️
@@graysonwalker7333 PLEASEEEEEEE
GIRL. YOUR EYES? SO PRETTY. OMG.
Very good review. I went into this expecting to hate it, but I couldnt, for all the reasons you mentioned. Now I've seen it 3 times and I think I have a problem lol. All three times I cried at that same part, even though i was trying not to. This movie is amazing, if you havent seen it yet, dont fight it, go see it ASAP, you wont regret it.
Girl your actual so gorgeous
Beck has finally made a reappearance 😍
@mj-aro and you're back on your comment streak!! 🫶🥹 appreciate you 👏
@ yessss you know it I’ve been trying to keep up with my fav 🥹
Read “A Fault in the Stars” ~ full blown crying from the last paragraph.😢
I will say there’s something I don’t like about the edited wicked picture that’s not showing her eyes and it’s because I think it should stay that way for the original so we can differentiate the two. I don’t think we should get upset by the picture for the movie.
Love your videos BUT MORE EPIC PLEASE
How old are you? I’m curious as for a TL about getting your first novel out! How long it took to write, etc.
Thanks, I actually had not heard about half of the drama!
About the PJ tv show and the fact that the cast didn't get as much hate as the movie's: I do think that the fans saw how they tried to make the casting more accurate in the second movie by putting a blonde wig on Annabeth and the movie somehow managed to be worse than the first one, so they realized that maybe the casting wasn't the main issue
I’ve been thinking of watching this movie and this video definitely made me want to go do just that.
I think I’ll try defying cancel culture and just adoring this movie.
People will hate on anything. It's just a fact.
Bro when I first heard Ariana was cast I told my gf it was gonna blow. I’ve seen wicked 11 times lol I pre ordered the digital release coming out in a few days. Like I super ate my words
CANCEL CULTURE IS SO DUMB 😒
omg yes aslan is just built different i love that movie sm
Saw it 3 times!
On the contrary i THANK you for the pjo comparison (please do a pjo related video beck i NEEDD your thoughts on the series as a whole now)
I knowwwww right I have SO MANY more thoughts 😭😭
17:50 sadly, same. I wish I cried over book characters’ deaths, but I just don’t.
I'm gonna have to do a video of "I'll stop reading when a book makes me cry" 🤣🤣
@@beckleavesley you should!
They posted the entire “Popular” sequence on RUclips (which I watched ahead of time) so that was my bathroom break. The only thing that dragged was the yellow brick road scene at the end (I blame Jeff)
I personally am probably never going to be interested in this movie, not because of the casting or anything, but just because I've never been interested in Wicked in general outside of all the drama surrounding this movie's marketing and such. However, I want to bring up an interesting point that I just thought of about why I think people are getting so irritated by the heavy marketing when they were alright with Barbie's marketing.
I have been a little bit irritated, myself, at points with Wicked's marketing campaign. I alsays thought I was somehow able to avoid Barbie's, but that may not be the point. What I think has actually happened is that Barbie has ALWAYS had such heavy marketing because it's a toy line. So, the BARBIE movie marketing didn't feel out of place because it's still a Barbie product, so we were used to seeing a lot of pink and glitter around the place. Maybe not to such an extensive degree, but it wasn't out of the ordinary.
However, besides the Musical and those who read the books, Wicked never necessarily had that much marketing and notoriety compared to Barbie. I hadn't even heard of Wicked outside of the fact Twisted was a Starkid parody of it! So, when the marketing campaign started up and suddenly everything was pink and green, I got a bit irritated because I wasn't interested. This was some random thing I didn't want to see everywhere, but I felt like it was being forced onto me. There was Wicked shoes, Wicked soap, Wicked food, Wicked everything! I didn't feel that way with Barbie's marketing.
I then suddenly had the realization that I hadn't avoided the Barbie campaign. What probably is going on is that we were already so used to Barbie's slightly aggressive marketing because we were used to them marketing their toys. Everything pink and sparkly being labeled Barbie is something we're used to, and the main difference was that it was a live action Barbie movie being marketed and it was a bit more mainstream in it's marketing. We're used to Barbie shoes, Barbie food, Barbie clothes, and Barbie makeup because that's been a thing for years. Wicked doesn't have that background, so when everything became Wicked a lot of people who weren't interested or didn't know about it were put off by it because of "aggressive marketing".
I want to see your next reactions to Epic! I want to see your reaction to the wisdom saga!
I have to say as someone who hated the casting of the Percy Jackson movie but loved the casting of the series, the reason I love the show cast is because they actually act like the characters do in the books, whereas the movie cast are flat, unfunny and not how I they characters act in the books.
I NEED TO SAY. I'm not really Ariana or Cynthia fan but seeing the reaction to a lot of this seems so forced and exaggerated there is ofc some good criticism people ALWAYS make celebrities seem like they don't live on the same planet as us or don't have a heart or feeling.. and I get it they live different from us but the conspiracies make me scratch my head obviously there is a chance that some aren't baselessly claimed but I never get the the assuming aspect and hoping the worst out of anyone
i love your intro so much