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cover of episode Inside the Making of ‘Wicked’

Inside the Making of ‘Wicked’

2025/2/19
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The Book Review
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Winnie Holzman
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Winnie Holzman: 我从格雷戈里·马奎尔的原著小说中获得了创作灵感，并与斯蒂芬·施瓦茨合作创作了广受欢迎的音乐剧《魔法坏女巫》。在改编成电影的过程中，我们对故事进行了重新构思，力求在保留原有精髓的基础上，充分利用电影的艺术表现形式，展现更丰富的人物情感和更宏大的故事场景。电影版《魔法坏女巫》从邪恶女巫的死亡场景开始，展现了更完整的故事情节，并对一些经典桥段进行了扩展和改编，例如‘蔑视地心引力’这首歌在电影中被赋予了更重要的意义。此外，电影版还展现了邪恶女巫的童年和与妹妹的关系，以及其他一些舞台剧无法展现的细节，从而使人物形象更加丰满，故事更加引人入胜。在创作过程中，我们始终坚持以观众为中心，力求为观众带来一场精彩的视听盛宴。虽然面临着来自观众的各种期待和压力，但我始终坚持自己的创作理念，并与团队成员紧密合作，最终完成了这部电影的创作。 Gilbert Cruz: 本期节目邀请到了《魔法坏女巫》电影版的编剧温妮·霍尔茨曼，与她一起探讨了舞台剧改编成电影的幕后故事以及她个人的创作理念。温妮·霍尔茨曼分享了她从阅读原著小说到创作音乐剧，再到改编电影的整个创作历程，并详细阐述了电影版与舞台剧的不同之处，以及她在创作过程中面临的挑战和收获。她还谈到了电影版中一些经典桥段的改编，以及如何利用电影的艺术表现形式来展现人物情感和故事场景。通过与温妮·霍尔茨曼的对话，我们深入了解了这部电影的创作过程，以及舞台剧改编成电影的诸多技巧和挑战。

Deep Dive

Chapters
Winnie Holzman recounts her initial discovery of Gregory Maguire's novel, "Wicked," in a New York City bookstore and how its premise captivated her. She discusses the process of adapting the novel into a musical with Stephen Schwartz, highlighting the challenges of translating a dense, episodic novel into a stage musical while retaining the core themes and emotional impact.
  • Winnie Holzman's discovery of Gregory Maguire's "Wicked" in a bookstore.
  • Collaboration with Stephen Schwartz on adapting the novel into a musical.
  • Challenges of adapting a novel into a musical.
  • Maintaining emotional impact while changing the format.

Shownotes Transcript

One day, several decades ago, the writer Winnie Holzman was shopping in a Manhattan bookstore where a particular cover caught her eye. It showed a woman with a green face, a black hat pulled down over her eyes. The book was “Wicked” by Gregory Maguire, a retelling of L. Frank Baum’s “Oz” stories from the perspective of the Wicked Witch of the West. “When I turned it over and read the little précis on the back, it blew my mind,” Holzman said. “I thought it was such a brilliant premise.” The book ended up on Holzman’s bookshelf, with its enigmatic cover facing out.

Years later, the composer Stephen Schwartz contacted Holzman to ask if she’d be interested in adapting Maguire’s book for the stage. The musical they wrote together opened in 2003, and it is now one of the most successful shows in Broadway history. The producers started talking about a movie adaptation, but Holzman was cautious: “We had to really kind of clear our minds and kind of reconceive the whole story.”

The film version of “Wicked” opened in 2024, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, and with a screenplay by Holzman and Dana Fox. It is one of the highest-grossing movies of the year and is nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.

Winnie Holzman joins Gilbert Cruz, the editor of the Book Review, to discuss the benefits and drawbacks of adapting your own adaptation.

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