Alright. So it hasn't officially been announced by the Les Mis people yet, but Hugh Jackman pretty much confirmed it himself.
Hugh was interviewed on a Toronto radio station (98.1 CHFI). They talked about a bunch of things, but about half way/two-thirds of the way in, they start talking about his musical theatre career, and then what other types of projects he would love to do. Hugh says this:
"So, I would love to do one of those [a movie-musical] one day. And, it looks like that's coming through 'cause I'm going to do Les Miserables, the movie version of it, next year."
So... yeah. I'm assuming that that means that Hugh Jackman is officially going to be Jean Valjean in the movie-musical version of Les Miserables. Which is great. (: In a perfect world, I would have loved for Alfie Boe to have been cast in the role, since Cameron Mackintosh was supposedly interested in him for it in the beginning. But that's just the fangirl in me. (: I think that Hugh will be fantastic as well. At least he has some previous musical theatre experience! (: And he can sing. Does he necessarily have a voice for Valjean? Probably, otherwise why would he have been cast? Plus, he has the star power that may just get the general public to go out and see this movie.
"24601!"
Can you see it? I'm starting to. (:
Yep. I think that I'm slowly becoming more and more excited about this. (: As if I already wasn't. (;
Anyway. If you're interested, you can listen to the whole interview right here. (:
Oh, dear. Here comes another rambling Les Mis post.
You know who else I love in Les Mis? Grantaire. Of course, there isn't much of him in the actual musical (but still enough to make him a bit lovable, of course). However, he's fantastic in the book as well. I just love him. He's such a sad, pessimistic, but also funny character. (:
As most of you may know, Grantaire is one of the student rebels who joins in on the fight at the barricade. He's a cynical, pessimistic alcoholic who happens to sign his name simply as R. Why? Because, in French, the capital 'R' is apparently pronounced a bit like "grand-air." Grantaire. Get it? It's fantastic. (;
Grantaire "doesn't believe in anything." So, why is he even at the barricade? One word: Enjolras. He idolizes him. Grantaire admires everything in Enjolras that he lacks within himself. He wants to be more than a drunken cynic, but he can't. That's why he admires Enjolras so much, because that's what Grantaire wishes he could be. He wishes he could believe in something, so he believes in Enjolras. And if Enjolras wants to start a revolution and build a barricade, then so be it.
Of course, Enjolras sadly doesn't quite feel the same way.
"Grantaire," Enjolras called. "Go and sleep your wine off somewhere else. This is a place for intoxication, but not for drunkenness. Don't dishonour the barricade."
"You know I believe in you."
"Go away."
"Let me sleep it off here."
"Go and sleep it off somewhere else," said Enjolras.
"Let me sleep here and, if need be, die here."
"Grantaire, you're incapable of believing or thinking or willing or living or dying."
"You'll see," said Grantaire gravely. "You'll see."
Aaaannnddd... we all know how that ends.
In the musical, we see the two of them on much more friendly terms. Grantaire still annoys Enjolras a little bit, but we still see them as friends. In the 25th anniversary concert, Ramin Karimloo and Hadley Fraser are fantastic as the two of them. (:
Something that I really love about Grantaire in the musical is a fairly new addition that I saw put into play when I saw Les Mis on June 5th. It's the relationship between Grantaire and Gavroche. They have a sort of big-brother/little-brother thing going on, and I love it. Since the turn table was gone, we didn't get to see Gavroche's death, only hear it. But Grantaire's reaction made up for that and made it all the more tragic.
I'm not too familiar with Grantaire actors, so I can't really say that I have a favorite. I do really love Hadley Fraser, though, who played Grantaire in the 25th anniversary concert. I also like Anthony Crivello, from the 10th anniversary concert.
They have, in my opinion, very different portrayals of Grantaire during "Drink With Me." Hadley's Grantaire is clearly talking to the rest of the men during his solo, and basically really taking a hit at their morale. He's clearly saying, "Do you guys realize what you're doing? We're all going to die, and there's nothing you can do about it." He doesn't necessarily care at all that he's going to be killed, but he would like to point out to the rest of them how stupid they are for getting into that situation.
Anthony's Grantaire, on the other hand, seems to be talking only to himself. He's finally realizing what he truly got himself into, and he's terrified.
Here's Hadley. His solo starts about 47 seconds in.
And here's Anthony. He starts singing about 56 seconds in.
Notice the difference?
While I adore Hadley's voice, his portrayal of Grantaire, and just Hadley in general, I also love Anthony's take on Grantaire in DWM.
But... when it comes to my favorite... Hadley just might win this one. Why? I'm not sure.
Two words: Boyce Avenue. If you haven't heard of these guys before, then you should definitely give them a listen. (: I'd be surprised if you haven't heard of them, though. Currently, they're the most searched for band on YouTube.
And I absoutely adore them. (:
Fabian, Daniel, Alejandro
The band consists of three brothers from Florida: Alejandro, Daniel, and Fabian Manzano. Alejandro is the wonderful lead vocalist. (: They've been around since 2004, though I didn't hear about them until just a few months ago. I was sitting in my Interior Design class. My teacher turned on some music... and ended up introducing us to the wonderful music of Boyce Avenue. (:
They do both acoustic covers and original music. And they're fantastic at what they do. (:
So... listen and enjoy? I have two videos I'm sharing below, the first being one of their original songs, called "Every Breath." The second is their latest video as of today, a Coldplay cover. But I encourage you to check out more of their stuff. If you have a favorite song or band, it's possible that Boyce Avenue has done a cover. And their original music is really great, too. (:
Now. Click the link and go to their YouTube channel. Right now. Thanks. (;
I was not very aware of the fact that Hugh Jackman sings until a few days ago, when I saw him on the Tony Awards. He performed this hillarious song with Neil Patrick Harris (who I adore), and I was like, "Woah. That's cool." After that, I didn't think too much of it. And then I saw this headline on Google:
Hugh Jackman & Paul Bettany Could Square Off In ‘Les Miserables’
Which obviously peaked my interest. There's a Les Miserables movie-musical in the works right now, but there hasn't been much word about it since the director (The King's Speach's Tom Hooper) was announced in March. Until now. Apparently, the director really wants Hugh Jackman in the movie. As of right now (according to the article I read), he's already working out a deal with film makers. And what role is Jackman possibly going to play? None other than Jean Valjean. (:
Now, I think I'm kind of on the fence about this, but at the same time I kind of approve. Then again, no film maker is ever going to ask my opinion about this, so I guess it doesn't matter. But still. I think Hugh Jackman could maybe pull it off, from what I've heard of him. Then again, I haven't heard much. So, he could rock at Valjean, or he could bomb at Valjean. I have no idea. (: But, nonetheless, he can sing.
As for the Paul Bettany fellow, the only of movies that he's in that I've seen are A Beautiful Mind and The Secret Life of Bees. I loved him as Charles Herman in A Beautiful Mind. He's also been in A Knight's Tale, The Da Vinci Code, and The Tourist, among many others.
As for his musical history, I don't know anything about that.Which kind of concerns me. I mean, he could possibly be playing Javert. Obviously, I'm a bit attached when it comes to who plays that role. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.
Of course, none of this is confirmed or set in stone. This is just what's being speculated right now.
A lot of fans are angry because they want real musical theatre people to be in this movie, not popular Hollywood actors (for the record, Hugh Jackman could be considered both). In my opinion, they can't have all musical theatre actors. This movie does need a bit of talented star power for the general public to at least go see it. I think that they need to have a healthy mix of both (as long as Hollywood can sing).
As of right now, I don't really have any prefered actors to make up the cast. I've decided that I like Hugh Jackman for Valjean. I'm still on the fence about Bettany as Javert, because I haven't heard him sing and I'm not too familiar with him. Other than that, I have no idea who should be anybody else.
One of my many favorite bands is this duo called Sugarland. The lead vocalist is a woman named Jennifer Nettles. The other half of the band, Kristian Bush, does the background vocals, mandolin, guitar, harmonica, etc. etc. He's also lead vocals on a few songs. (: They've been around since about 2003, and I love them. (: Jennifer has such a fun personality that's all her own, and it really comes across in any performance that you watch. And Kristian has a pretty awesome voice. (:
They have one song called "Stand Up." It comes off of Sugarland's latest album, "The Incredible Machine," which was released last October. This song packs a really good message with it. (:
Here's a video of that song. It takes a while for the song to actually start, and it's not the best quality, but I still really like the video. (: The song at the beginning is actually a mini-song that Kristian sings, a version of their song "Incredible Machine."
Alright. So, I'm really big into family history. This could be because of the dominant religion in my area. But I love it simply because I love history, and knowing where I come from fascinates me. I got started about a year and a half ago. Since then, I've found out so much about my family. I've even gotten to the point where I help other people out a little with their family history basics as well. I'm by no means an expert, but I love doing it and I can sometimes come up with some interesting stuff.
Some of my favorite people to research are the Grimm family, my great-great-great grandfather Martin, his wife Katherine, and their children. In 1883, they left Germany for the United States with their young son Henry. While travelling across the ocean on a ship called the S.S. Nevada, their second child was born, a son named Otto. In Utah, Martin and his wife Katherine had seven more children, including my great-great grandmother, Amelia.
They suffered a lot of hardship once they got here, losing four of their nine children at a young age, and losing another in his early thirties. Baby Otto died when he was four months old. They lost their two-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, and had a stillborn son in the same year. And their daughter, Mary, got very sick and passed away when she was just eighteen.
Who interests me the most in this family, however, is Amelia's older brother Henry. I don't have a photo of him (in fact, the only Grimm family member I have photos of is Amelia), so I can't put a face to the name. However, his story has always fascinated me, though I've never been able to quite find out as much as I'd like. He died young as well - at the age of 31. Shortly after midnight on January 12, 1909, Henry was out walking in Salt Lake City with his friend Edward. They went to get on a Sugar House car while it was still moving. However, it was icy, and Henry slipped and hit his head. He never woke up, leaving behind his wife, Violet, and four young children. His oldest son was six, and his youngest, a daughter, was just two months old.
Why was he out there so late? Where was he going? I'll probably never know. All I know are the facts stated in newspaper articles; date, time, place, etc. I did have an interesting experience, however. One day in November, my mom and I went to Salt Lake to see a play at the Capitol Theatre. To pass time before the show, we walked around the city. I remember stopping at one street corner to talk to my mom's friend, who was wishing me a happy birthday. I absentmindedly noticed that I was at the corner of 200 South and Main Street.
Later that week, I was just doing some random researching, when I came across another article about Henry's death. This one gave the address of where he died: "Second South and Main Street." The exact corner I had been standing on a few days before.
Well. If you read my list in my second post, you should know all about my Enthusiast Interest with actors, both of the stage and film. Here's a stage actor that I absolutely adore. (:
Alfie Boe with Colm Wilkinson
My second favorite character in Les Miserables is Valjean, as you should probably already know. At first, my favorite actor for the character was the originial Colm Wilkinson. He was, after all, the first Valjean that I ever heard. And then I saw the 25th Anniversary Concert, and my ears were introduced to the amazing voice of Alfie Boe. (: Don't get me wrong, I still love Colm, but Alfie has definitely become my favorite Jean Valjean. (: The following performance was at the 25th Anniversary Concert at the O2 in London, and it earned Alfie a five-minute-long standing ovation. Here's a clip. (:
So... a little about Alfie, I suppose? He was born Alfred Giovanni Roncalli Boe (sweet name, huh?) in England, the youngest of nine children. He's 37 years old now. At the age of 17, he was working as a mechanic, and enjoyed singing opera while working on the cars to entertain his fellow colleagues. A client overheard him, and suggested that Alfie try out for the D'Oyly Carte Opera Company in London. He did, and so began Alfie's singing career. (: From what I've heard, his wife is from Utah, so they live here every so often, which makes me really happy. Maybe one day I'll meet him, huh? ;) Probably not, but a girl can dream! ;D
Now. One of my biggest dreams in life is to go visit the fantastic place known as New York City. Why? I honestly don't know. I've never been there before. But I want to go so badly. You have no idea. I want to see it all: the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Central Park, Broadway, Times Square, etc. etc. etc. There's only one little tiny problem: money. Have you seen the cost of airline tickets?! Yeah. Insane. It's getting to the point where only the rich can fly. And so, America slowly kills a teenage girl's dream.
However, I do think that I'll go to New York one day, either with friends or with my family. I'd be fine with either. As long as I go. All I need to do is get a job and start saving up the money. Sadly, getting a job is a lot harder than I thought it would be. But it's going to happen!
I've figured it all out. At the bare minimum, I'll be able to get a minimum wage job and work about 10 hours a week. That will earn my about $72.50 a week. There are 52 weeks in a year. So, if I worked at that minimum wage job at 10 hours a week for a full year, I would have about $3770.
Of course, my reasoning isn't perfect. I'll most likely end up spending quite a bit of that money on other things. And taxes takes a chunk out of your paycheck, of course. ;P But, it does give me hope that it can be done. (: The summer before or the summer after my senior year, I may be able to have my New York trip. We'll see what happens. (;
Around the third-to-last day of school (or something like that), my interior design teacher had nothing planned for us, so she had us all take this cool personality test that's online. It's called the Hartman Personality Test. Basically, the test has four colors: Red, Yellow, Blue, and White. You take the test and, by the end, you have a dominant color, which has your dominant personality traits. And, surprisingly... it's pretty accurate!
Now, I'm a sucker for these types of things, so I really enjoyed it. So much that I went back and retook it today, just for the fun of it. I got the same color both times (unsurprisingly). Here's what I got:
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Blues are motivated by Intimacy. They seek to genuinely connect with others, and need to be understood and appreciated. Everything they do is quality-based. They are loyal friends, employers, and employees. Whatever or whomever they commit to is their sole (and soul) focus. They love to serve and give of themselves freely in order to nurture others' lives.
Blues have distinct preferences and have the most controlling personality. Their personal code of ethics is remarkably strong and they expect others to live honest, committed lives as well. They enjoy paying close attention to special life events (e.g. birthdays and anniversaries). Blues are dependable, thoughtful, and analytical; but can also be self-righteous, worry-prone, and moody. They are "sainted pit-bulls" who never let go of something or someone once they are committed.
Blue Strengths: Blues are very observant and intuitive, noticing quality and detail. With their combined assets, their sense of purpose, and their ease with showing compassion, they become integral parts of every society. Blues sense of commitment can sometimes trap them. They will often stay in a job much longer than will serve their best interest simply because they said they would. They tend to stay because they are loyal and they care about everyone with whom they connect. You can bet Blues will be the ones to refer back to the Color Code materials because they have made a commitment to learn, to become self-aware and to be their best.
Blue Limitations: Ruling by the heart can be a double-edged sword for Blues. If you don’t appreciate their gifts, they won’t give at all. This is a constant threat when in a relationship with a Blue. Their emotions are their Achilles’ heel. They want so badly to be loved and accepted, constantly seeking understanding from others while often refusing to understand and accept themselves.
Blues remember their limitations—or what is wrong with them—more than they remember their strengths. The reason they care so deeply is also the reason they tend to struggle more with depression. Blues must realize that the reason it is so hard for them to break off a relationship or leave a job is tied to their capacity to dedicate themselves so completely and feel so deeply about those commitments.
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Now, that is surprisingly accurate for me. Like, almost spooky, even. The good and the bad, it's all me.
There are some things that really stood out to me. Like the "love to serve." I love helping people out. Or how Blues "need to be understood and appreciated." Also, something that very well relates to me.
The "paying close attention to special life events" made me laugh, because I'm go-to person in my family when it comes to birthdays. I can spout off the birthdays of my parents, six siblings, and 20 nieces and nephews with out missing a beat. It's just something that I know.
So, yeah. I challenge anyone reading this to go take that test, just for fun. (: If you have a blog, post it on your blog, even. Just go to this website and click "Try Our Personality Test." You'll have the option to take the free test or the costly test. Obviously, I'm telling you to take the free one. (:
Anyway. I'd better leave it at that. The summer day outside is calling to me. (:
"Summer afternoon, summer afternoon -- to me, those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language." ~ Henry James
Oh, summer. How I love this wonderful time of the year. (: School is out, the weather is warming up, the sun is out... it's all so PERFECT. (: That picture up there is one I took at a park that I went to with a few of my friends last Friday. We spent over an hour just hanging out, wandering around the little "forest" that boarders one side of the park. It was such a perfect day; our first day out of school, warm air surrounding us, the sun shining down... in other words, the epitome of summer! (;
I rarely do anything fun or exciting during the summer. It's sad, but true. While I have friends who will go on cruises, visit Disneyland, or go to some other awesome place, I stay home. Hang out with friends, if I'm lucky. (By the way, in my life I have never been on a cruise, visited Disneyland, or been to very many "awesome" places. Sad, but true). But, I guess that that really doesn't matter, right? It's SUMMER! A time of friends, family, fun, and sunshine! Some of my favorite things in the world! (:
So... maybe I can survive with out Disneyland? Maybe? ... eh, we'll find out.
However, there is one tiny little thing that I may or may not dislike about summer. Most people probably won't understand. This reason is... The Mentalist. Yes, The Mentalist. Maybe some have heard of it? It's a crime drama on TV starring Simon Baker. The main character is a man with a dark past with uncanny skills at observation. And I adore it. (: The thing is... it's not a summer show. It runs from September to May... in other words, no Mentalist in the summer. And it slightly kills me! I mean, how am I supposed to survive with out THAT face up there greeting me every Thursday night?! (;
Oh... I'm pathetic. Yes, I do realize that fact. But that does not lessen my love for this show in any way. (:
So... never heard of The Mentalist before? Like I said, The Mentalist is one of those many crime dramas. But, it's not quite like the rest. It's special. And why is it special? Patrick Jane, played by Simon Baker. (;
Anyway. Season three of the Mentalist just ended this past May with a shocking finale. I'm not going to spoil it for anybody who hasn't watched the show. (: But, the ending did slightly scare me, because, while it was a cliff hanger, I could see CBS just leaving it at that - no closure. So, for the next few days, I was wandering the internet, searching for any news of The Mentalist being renewed.
Thankfully, it has. (: The Mentalist will return for a fourth season this fall. HALLELUJAH! (:
While I'd love for summer to be as long as possible, there's always one tiny part of me that is just begging for September to come around. Ah, well.
Ah, Les Miserables. I'm a self-proclaimed expert on the subject. (; So, be prepared for some rambling. This is probably my biggest "Enthusiastic Interest." So I suppose I should start off my posting with this subject, yes? Yes. (: I have an indescribable love for the musical, and I enjoy the book very much as well. Starting with the book, I've only ever read the unabridged version, and I prefer the translation by Norman Denny. As of right now, I'm on my third time of reading it. It's by far the longest book I have ever read, but also one of the best. The characters and messages that this book has inside are all so beautiful and thought-provoking. I love it all.
As for the musical, I can never get enough of it. The music, the story, the characters, I'm in love with it all. Through out my entire life, I pray that I'll be able to see the musical as many times as possible. I actually saw my first performance of Les Mis live and in person this past Sunday, on June 5th. (Yes, I was so deeply in love with the musical even before I saw an actual performance of it. Thank God for YouTube and iTunes). It was an amazing experience that I'll never forget. The characters, in both the book and the musical, are so memorable and touching. My two favorite characters are the antagonist and the protagonist: Javert, followed by Valjean. Valjean is an easy character to love; his story of redemtion and the lengths he will go to to be good in the eyes of God, and also to protect his beloved daughter Cosette can touch anybody's soul.
As for Javert, many people will look at me funny when I say that he's one of my favorite characters. 'Why would you love the villain of a story?' First of all, Javert is not necessarily the villain. He's not necessarily a bad man. He's simply misguided. (:
Why do I love Javert? Well, for one thing, I'm usually a sucker for the "misunderstood" characters. Here's my take on him: Javert is the way he is because of his belief system; being born in a jail, the son of a gypsy fortune teller and her convict husband, he grew up unwelcome in society. He came to find that he had only two options in life: to attack society, or to defend it. He chose to defend it, and the law became his religion. Anybody who choses to break the law needs to be punished justly. And that's why he treats people the way that he does. It's true, he's not right in the way thinks, but in his mind, he is.
On a side note, I have one more favorite character, but this one is only in the musical, not in the book: Enjolras. Oh, Enjolras. (: I don't like him much in the book, but I simply adore him in the musical. (: So full of passion, usually quite attractive, most of the time an fantastic singer, and all-together amazing. Not my absolute favorite, mind you, but definitely up there. (; I honestly think that the biggest reason as to why I fell in love with the musical's version of Enjolras would be this man:
Ramin Karimloo. (: With a smile that could melt your heart and a voice that could melt your soul, I absolutely love this man and his take of Enjolras in the Les Miserables 25th Anniversary Concert. He. Is. Fantastic. (:
Anyway. I should probably stop this rambling now. Though, to be honest, I could go on and on. I'll save it all for later. ;D
Well, well, well. I suppose I should say a little about myself and my blog, yes? Yes.
Why the blog name? Well, once I develop an interest for something... I can get a bit "overenthusiastic" about it. (: Some may call them "obsessions", but that sounds a bit too negative for me. I prefer "enthusiastic interests." (:
What are some of my top "enthusiastic interests," you may ask? Well, let me tell you. (:
1) Les Miserables
2) The Mentalist 3) New York City
4) Stage Actors & Movie Actors
5) Family History
6) Music
People need to be careful around me when they bring up any of those subjects, especially the top four. Because, when they do, I get a bit excited. And then I go on and on about whatever subject was brought up, to the point that whoever I'm talking to begins to wonder what they've gotten themselves into. So, I've gotten to the point where I have to severely restrain myself. (; To be honest, I think that this blog may be a sort of outlet for me, where I can ramble on and one about any of these Enthusiastic Interests of mine without annoying people. (:
So, that's kind of how this blog will be. I'll ramble about my Enthusiastic Interests, and throw in a bit of my day-to-day life in there as well, just to add some boring to the mix. (: For the first few entries, I'll probably focus on each of my "Top Six" listed above. After that, anything's game. We'll see what happens. (:
I used to have a different blog. But I slightly moved on from it, and fell out of blogging for a long time (nearly a year!). Now, I've decided to pick it up again! But, just to officially start things fresh and new, I created a whole different blog. (:
Why blog, you may ask? Well, maybe I just like pouring out my life to invisible readers. I don't know. (:
So, let's see if I can keep this up, alright? No promises. But I'll try. (:
And please excuse the short post. This is just sort of my "Welcome" to anybody who stumbles across this. Posts will be longer in the future, once I get back into this whole blogging activity. (:
Hm. Me? Well, let's see. I'm a girl with many "enthusiastic interests" (some may call them "obsessions"). These include movies, New York City, photography, the color lime green, and the ever-amazing Les Miserables. I'm sixteen years old and live in a nice little town. (: Me in a nutshell... hope you're happy. (:
