# Les Mis Teaser Trailer **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 31, 2012, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600 "2012-05-31T01:04:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/41 "2012-06-02T17:59:05Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > It would seem, in my nonprofessional opinion, that you can always tweak the songs in post-production. It’s harder to tweak someone’s inability to act on film. One of the unique selling points of this production is the director is supposedly recording the actor’s singing live and not in the studio. No tweaking. The main reason to cast a big name actor in a role is to have a big name actor in a role. Not because it is impossible to find someone else who can act. I can’t argue with the practice. It is a business. But I can speculate that it makes for a worse movie. ---
**Author:** ![WhyNot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c77e96/32.png) [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/42 "2012-06-02T18:55:55Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I do see your point. I am pleased with the look of the movie so far. But a couple of problems with it. You say Hathaway’s version has a “delicate brokenness” but contrast that with the casting of Samantha Barks as Eponine. Everything I have see of her shows her as a belter. My biggest complaint about her is that she has no subtlety. She hits notes like she has been stuck with a cattle prod. How is that going to play on film? I don’t think there’s a reason they can’t cast each role for the style of singing appropriate to the role. Eponine is a little whiny drama queen (and she’s also my favorite character to sing, so I say that with genuine affection) who isn’t really “broken” the way Fantine is. Fantine was raised with grace and some amount of privilege and “fell” when she slept with the wrong dude and fell further when she crossed the wrong women. Eponine is of hardier stock, and doesn’t miss what she never had - except for the wrong dude. Makes sense to me that one would have a more delicate demeanor than the other, and that the singing would reflect that. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/43 "2012-06-02T19:16:06Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > One of the unique selling points of this production is the director is supposedly recording the actor’s singing live and not in the studio. No tweaking. Even if they are singing on stage/set, the sound still gets recorded and mixed/tweaked/edited/etc. I can’t imagine they just start the tape and fire the sound guy. Also, multiple takes to get it right. I canjust see where it’d be easier to fix the sound flaws of film actors than work around the film inexperience of stage actors or singers. ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/44 "2012-06-02T19:48:31Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > Even if they are singing on stage/set, the sound still gets recorded and mixed/tweaked/edited/etc. I can’t imagine they just start the tape and fire the sound guy. Also, multiple takes to get it right. I canjust see where it’d be easier to fix the sound flaws of film actors than work around the film inexperience of stage actors or singers. Yeah, my interpretation of the “recorded live on set” thing is that the raw audio comes from the live takes - probably as much to avoid the distinctive look of lip-synching as to get the “most real” vocal performance. But I’m sure they’ll be splicing audio tracks together from various takes and doing the normal studio manipulation to give everything a unified sound. I just hope they resist the urge to auto-tune. ---
**Author:** ![expectopatronum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/expectopatronum/32/173_2.png) [@expectopatronum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/expectopatronum)\ **Post date:** [June 2, 2012, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/45 "2012-06-02T22:40:09Z")
> [@Tanbarkie](#): > > There are many ways to sing, just as there are many ways to act. Hathaway’s rendition isn’t particularly belt-y, nor is it as “strong” (in the vocal sense) as Salonga’s, but I think it actually fits the cinematic universe better than a traditional musical voice might. Unlike stage theatre, film acting is all in the smaller, subtler moments, and I think that distinction holds true for musical theatre vs musical films as well. Salonga’s version is gorgeous, and perfect for the stage, where emotion must be projected lest it be lost. But Hathaway’s version, IMO, works just as beautifully in its particular medium - it has a delicate brokenness that aptly communicates the underlying character and story on-screen without coming off as overpowering. this, this, a thousand times this. thank you. i’ve seen the stage musical a few times and i am very, very excited. this is very close to what my dream cast would be for a film version. hugh jackman as valjean? yes please. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 4:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/46 "2012-06-03T04:27:01Z")
> [@Loach](#): > > I’m assuming they are sticking with no spoken dialog. Anyone hear different? I was wondering the same… That trailer looks good. I wonder why it took them this long to do this. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/47 "2012-06-03T17:37:22Z")
At least in the trailer, with the hair cutting scene “this _hell_ I’m living” Anne Hathaway looks positively destroyed - like her whole being has given up. I’m sure there are stage acrtresses that could do the same, but it’s something that I like from Hathaway. And the little kid who plays young Cosette is so freaking cute, I want to give her a bit hug. I want to find a stage production now and see it before the movie. Doesn’t seem to be anything in Montreal, though. Time to google! ---
**Author:** ![Tanbarkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a698b9/32.png) [@Tanbarkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tanbarkie)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/48 "2012-06-03T18:00:38Z")
> [@mnemosyne](#): > > At least in the trailer, with the hair cutting scene “this _hell_ I’m living” Anne Hathaway looks positively destroyed - like her whole being has given up. I’m sure there are stage acrtresses that could do the same, but it’s something that I like from Hathaway. That was my favorite moment of the trailer as well, and nicely illustrates what I was talking about above about film vs stage acting. Ultimately, there is no “perfect” way to cast a movie like this. If you use the stage cast, you risk making something like the film version of “Rent,” which featured great singing but made it very obvious which of the actors had any previous experience on film and which ones did not. You could also run completely in the opposite direction and cast film actors regardless of their vocal talent, and then dub over the songs in post-production with real singers. But then you usually get somewhat incongruous performances, in which the face and the voice don’t quite communicate the same emotional tone, as well as the visually unappealing “lip synch” look (“It’s incredible how much volume that actor is producing considering that he/she is clearly not exhaling at all!”). I think this production goes for the best-case middle ground, giving a little bit in both directions (but overall leaning more towards the latter approach) by casting great film actors who also have solid voices. This preserves the vocal fidelity of the singing while ensuring that you’ll get great on-camera acting. And, hopefully, the quality of the singing itself will be strong enough that serious musical fans will be able to enjoy themselves as well. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/49 "2012-06-03T18:56:00Z")
[QUOTE=mnemosyne] want to find a stage production now and see it before the movie. [/QUOTE] A bit of a hijack (but I started the thread so I’ll allow it ;)): When the 25th anniversary stage show came around recently the tickets were absolutely outrageous. For the weekend shows in Atlanta the cheapest seats were around $115 plus surcharges, which considering I’ve seen the show 3 three times (never paying anything remotely like that) and that it’s going to be a big budget movie that you see many times for that price\*, I thought it was ridiculous. Considering it had no name stars and, to my knowledge, no more extravagant special effects than previous versions I’d seen which cost far less (I think I once paid around $75, but those were excellent seats), it also reeked of gouging to me. Of course if it was gouging it worked as most of the seats apparently sold. For that matter several other road shows seem to have gone up dramatically, far more than just the difference you’d expect from inflation since the '90s/early '00s versus today. Is this anybody else’s observation? \*(Yes, I know the qualitative and exciting differences in a stage show and a movie, but the quantitative difference of over $100 is not a small amount either, especially since it would also require a long drive/parking/ideally a hotel/etc., it just wasn’t worth it) ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/50 "2012-06-03T21:45:03Z")
I haven’t even found any nearby. It looks like plans to bring the show to the Royal Alexandria in Toronto are on hold, and while I’ve got plenty of people I could go visit in Toronto, it’s not really ideal either. Maybe I’ll find a DVD somewhere… ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [June 3, 2012, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/51 "2012-06-03T22:30:07Z")
When I saw it in Indianapolis this April, my ticket (first balcony, first row) was about $100 after Ticketmaster fees. I have the ticket stub still from seeing it in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1997 and it says $45 for Row X. I remember it being roughly equal for experience (could make out the actors & costumes; couldn’t pick them out of a line-up by face) and I won’t guess at how supply & demand affects Indianapolis vs. Lincoln. But I sure do see legitimate theater in all the most exotic locations, huh? ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/52 "2012-09-22T05:43:41Z")
[Extended first look](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-uw5TehnZA), with a long discussion of how and why they’re doing live singing on set… and it makes me VERY optimistic (although their technique seems to make a lot more sense for individual songs as opposed to big group numbers). ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/53 "2012-09-22T15:08:38Z")
Thanks! I agree that it’s looking very promising. The music, the singing, the sets and fact that they can zoom in on faces or things rather than have the whole stage before you… I think this is going to be good. Also, the gods have smiled upon me after my aborted attempt to see the musical in Indianapolis (mentioned upthread). Sixth row for the first weekend in Chicago. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/54 "2012-09-22T15:42:26Z")
I saw that trailer the other day, and decided there and then that I won’t be able to watch this movie in the theater. Not because I don’t love _Les Miz_, because I do. Not because the trailer looks awful, because it looks absolutely, fabulously awesome. No, it’s because I can tell already that I’ll be sobbing from beginning to end of the movie, and no one in the theater should have to put up with that. I wonder how long it’ll be before I can watch it at home. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/55 "2012-09-22T15:55:27Z")
My wife sent me the link to the extended first look yesterday. She suggested that this year, we might want to have a “Jewish Christmas” - go out for Chinese, then go see this movie! ---
**Author:** ![Barrett\_Bonden](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5e9695/32.png) [@Barrett\_Bonden](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barrett_Bonden)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/56 "2012-09-22T18:19:07Z")
I’m very very excited, although a little nervous since we still haven’t heard any singing from Mr. Crowe. I’m sure a good deal of self-awareness was lost on the cutting room floor, but I was amused at how earnestly multiple film actors explain to the camera that singing live allows them to act “in the moment.” Why yes, yes it does. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Ruffian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/71e660/32.png) [@Ruffian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ruffian)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2012, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/57 "2012-09-22T19:35:20Z")
As my grandfather would say, Oooooh, goody goody gumdrop! ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 1:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/58 "2012-09-23T01:15:53Z")
> [@BrotherCadfael](#): > > My wife sent me the link to the extended first look yesterday. She suggested that this year, we might want to have a “Jewish Christmas” - go out for Chinese, then go see this movie! My 16yo daughter and I are planning on seeing it that day. She’s currently rereading the book… ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/59 "2012-09-23T15:27:54Z")
The fact that it opes the same day as **The Hobbit** is leading to some logistical excitement in our neck of the woods… ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2012, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600/60 "2012-09-23T16:19:41Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > The fact that it opes the same day as **The Hobbit** is leading to some logistical excitement in our neck of the woods… According to [this story](http://www.movieweb.com/news/les-miserables-moves-to-open-on-christmas-day-2012), The Hobbit opens on December 14 in the US. If that’s true, then for us, Christmas will be a double-feature of **Les Miserables** and [Django Unchained](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1853728/). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/les-mis-teaser-trailer/623600.md?page=4)