For Gerard Butler, beating out John Travolta, Antonio Banderas and Robert Redford for the title role in the movie adaptation of “The Phantom of the Opera” was the easy part. Figuring out how to get the trademark half-mask to stay in place was a little more challenging.
“During all the fittings for the mask, I just held it on with my finger,” recalls Butler. “And then, one day, I said, “How is this going to stay on my face, exactly, when I take my hand away?’ Immediately, everyone started running around all concerned.
“[Director] Joel Schumacher was understandably upset. He said, “What the hell happened? We’re about to film, and no one even knows how to put the mask on Gerry’s face!”‘
A day before filming was set to begin, make-up artists came up with the solution of using two-sided tape. “It behaved wonderfully in the make-up trailer but because the opera house sets were so dry, the tape would literally fuse to my skin,” recalls Butler, 35. “I’d bruise myself taking it off. Then if we were filming in the Phantom’s underground lair, with all the water and hot lights, the air would be so moist the mask would keep slipping off.”
Despite that minor hitch, starring in the $80 million “Phantom” was the high note of Butler’s career. “It was everything that I hoped for and more,” says the actor about the lavish film adaptation, a Best Picture nominee at the Golden Globes.
If you’re a Broadway buff, you know that Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “Phantom of The Opera” is the highest-grossing stage production in history. Adapted from a Gaston Leroux novel about a disfigured musical genius, a beautiful young opera singer and a dashing nobleman, the musical has been performed in 17 countries to an estimated 80 million theatergoers. Since its London premiere in 1986, it has earned $3.3 billion.
As far back as 1988, when the show debuted on Broadway, Lloyd Webber has been interested in turning the musical into a feature film. In 1989, he contacted Schumacher, who was, at the time, best known for helming the vampire thriller “The Lost Boys.”
“I thought Joel had an incredible visual sense and his use of music in the film was exceptional,” notes Lloyd Webber. “One of the great joys of collaborating with Joel is that he has a great ear for music; he really gets it, understands how the music drives the story.”
A movie version starring the original Broadway stars, Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman, was weeks away from getting started in 1990 when the whole project was scrapped. The movie’s collapse seems to be the result of a falling out between Lloyd Webber and then-wife Brightman, who were in the beginning stages of a divorce.
When Lloyd Webber and Schumacher mounted the current film adaptation, they set out to cast fresh faces in the principal roles. Emmy Rossum was all of 16 when she won the role of Christine, the innocent chorus girl who obsesses the Phantom. For the role of Christine’s suitor, the handsome Raoul, the filmmakers turned to 31-year-old Patrick Wilson (from Broadway’s “The Full Monty”).
In Butler’s case, it all came down to one night in a St. Louis cineplex. Schumacher was in pre-production on “Phantom” when he took time off to conduct a location-scouting trip to Missouri. After the day’s work was done, the filmmaker couldn’t find anything to do. So he decided to go to the movies. Behind Schumacher’s hotel was a multiplex screening 15 films, 14 of which he’d already seen. The last title was Wes Craven’s “Dracula 2000” starring Butler.
“As soon as Gerard popped out of the coffin, I thought he had such great presence,” notes the director. “A friend of mine who was with me said, “Gerard’s been trying to get a meeting with you for months now.’ I said right there, “Bring him in. I think he’s the guy.”‘
Butler netted the role even though he had no prior experience in musical theater. Before he was cast, the actor had to audition for Lloyd Webber. After Butler crooned “Music of the Night,” he earned Webber’s seal of approval.
“I think Gerard’s a fantastic Phantom,” notes the composer. “He has the physical presence, which is so important.”
“BUS’ IN READING, SORT OF
Berks County in general and Reading in particular is the setting for a Hallmark Hall of Fame TV movie, “Riding the Bus With My Sister.”
The film, directed by Anjelica Huston and starring Rosie O’Donnell, is about a mentally challenged woman (O’Donnell) who spends her days riding public transportation around Reading. Andie MacDowell co-stars as O’Donnell’s sister.
Huston, who appears in the new flick “The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,” originally hoped to shoot the movie in Berks County. “But I wasn’t allowed,” she says. “I had to go to Hamilton, Ontario, for budgetary reasons.”
Set to air next year, the film marks Huston’s third time behind the camera. She made her debut with the 1996 TV movie “Bastard Out of Carolina,” which was written by Quakertown’s Anne Meredith, and then helmed the 1999 feature film “Agnes Brown.”
Huston met O’Donnell when she cast her in “Agnes Brown,” but the two never worked together on that project. O’Donnell was forced to withdraw before filming.
“I was really happy when Rosie came to me with this [Rachel Simon] book, which she owned the rights to,” notes Huston. “I think that she’s a fantastic actress, and I think that her performance in this film is amazing.”
ZELKER DOING SUNDANCE
Allentown filmmaker Zeke Zelker and his Lehigh Valley-based production company, Independent Dream Machine, have officially hit the big time. On Jan. 21, the Zelker/IDM-produced “Loggerheads” will premier at the prestigious Sundance Film Festival.
The movie, which marks director Tim Kirkman’s debut, stars Bonnie Hunt (“Cheaper by the Dozen” ), Michael Learned (“The Waltons”), Kip Pardue (“Remember the Titans”) and Tess Harper (“Tender Mercies”). The action centers on characters whose lives intersect over three Mother’s Days in three different regions of North Carolina.
“We’ve been working for this for so many years, that to have it happen is a bit surreal,” says Zelker, who was still fine-tuning the film’s titles earlier this week. “It’s actually a blessed curse because it made us realize how much more work we have to do.”
Zelker is hoping that the movie will attract distributors during its Sundance run. “That’s the strategy,” he says. “We’ve already talked to distributors but no one has seen the movie yet. And it’s a beautiful picture. We’re all really happy with it.”
Amy Longsdorf is a Palmerton-based freelance writer who doesn’t want to imagine a world without Preston Sturges, Judy Garland and Chow Yun-fat.
Len Righi, Film/Music Editor
len.righi@mcall.com
610-820-6626
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