Dear Evan Hansen- Official Movie Trailer

Twitter is mocking this ruthlessly

I might have to rethink my views on suicide.

It is such bullshit that a fugly troll pushing 30 continues to be pushed as the next big thing just because daddy is a producer.

The only way Ben Platt could pass as a high schooler is if he attended the Stockard Channing as Rizzo High School of Performing Arts.

I miss Osama Bin Laden.

Is he the child of Peter Bogdanovich and Polly Platt?

Julianne Moore - seriously!

No, R5...a mega-producer on Broadway, and OF COURSE this film.

DEH became a cult musical theatre hit as it legitimised the whiny self-affirmation and melodrama craved by theatre kids.

However, as a mainstream film, it'll quickly become clear to anybody with half a brain that it's a contrived indulgent piece of shit.

Christ, I loathed it.

The supporting cast of kids looks very promising.

Ben has a beautiful voice, but I would have preferred a more age-appropriate Evan. Maybe Andrew Barth Feldman if you want nerdy realism, or Sam Tutty if you want someone more camera ready.

If Ben had an ounce of self awareness he would've had the good sense to settle for a producer credit. Just because he played a role on-stage several years ago doesn't mean he was the only choice for the film adaptation.

[quote]DEH became a cult musical theatre hit as it legitimised the whiny self-affirmation and melodrama craved by theatre kids.

Mean. But accurate.

I'll go to see it just to see if Julianne Moore - seriously can sing.

I bet the violins will never stop, all through the movie. Sad!

Ben is trending on Twitter, and it's mostly people mocking him over this. And a fair bit of anger over the obvious nepotism. It's hilarious to see. Not as hilarious as the inevitable Oscar push will no doubt me, but still, pretty damn funny.

If anything, Ben looks a bit too young.

Vanity Fair puff piece - Ben's ego is on full display in it. He actually thinks he has a legacy:

[quote]“The legacy of the stage performance has really changed my life, and to jeopardize that legacy in any way is a very scary thing. But I think in the back of my mind, I always felt [that] I’m going to want to show this to my children one day, and I’m going to want this immortalized.”

And apparently still think he's teen-adjacent:

[quote]“I think everybody obviously had in their minds that I wasn’t going to stay teen-adjacent forever,” Platt said. “The need to get it done was a little urgent

Zero mention of the fact his dad is producing - instead they're acting like Universal made this their top priority and of course, they wanted him:

[quote]“Much to my pleasant surprise, Universal seemed to be really hell-bent on making it, and specifically making it with me,” he said.

Would Ben Levi Ross have been better, agewise? I've not seen the play.

R21 He's too weird to be in a lead role in a film. Literally walks around NYC dressed like a homeless housewife. No studio is going to want someone like that doing their PR.

Even the comments on the Playbill IG post are mostly mocking, and this is going to be the movie's core audience

Hilarious, r23. I find him hot, nonetheless. And I like some of his original music a lot. I wish he would stick to composing and singing. And yes, I love the shirt, of course.

In all fairness, Ben is a gay man. He'll think he can pass for 18 until he's 40.

If Platt wins The Oscar, he would have won a Tony, Emmy and Grammy for the role.

The most amazing thing about the show is the creators claim Evan doesn't have Aspergers or on the spectrum, just nervous.

EGADS! An EGOT! Possibly.

If that fellow could play the part, why wasn't I considered? I've already got the haircut.

Finally, something people hate more than me.

Why is a 40 year old still in high school?

Trending number one of Twitter largely due to mockery

Amy Adams, Juliane Moore and a deranged teenage boy- am I watching Evan Hansen or Woman in the Window?

I thought Danny Pino was his SVU character questioning a pedophile hanging out at the school

Is this NAPOLEON DYNAMITE 2?

Is Noah playing a classmate? Is Beanie? Is Jonah the gym teacher who makes Evan feel inadequate in the lockeroom scene? It’s good to know daddy Platt and be in the inner circle.

Dear God. I've never wanted to punch a movie trailer before.

He looks older than all of the High School Hellcats.

Good observation

R29 the Neurodiverse community should be as up at arms about this as the non-binary community is about Jo in Jagged Little Pill.

What of the new song to make it eligible for the Song of the Year Oscar? I’m assuming it will be sung by Ben and he’ll get a writing credit for suggesting a few word switches in the lyrics.

Are Hollywood movies all about realism suddenly?

The comment about the actor's age making the character less likable is probably right on point. That was the case with the RENT movie. 19 years old refusing to get jobs is romantic. 30 year olds squatting in empty buildings are just pathetic. I always felt that the RENT movie was key in stripping the show of its perceived greatness. Fingers crossed the DEH film achieves the same result.

I don't know anything about the movie or the play it's based on, so while I was watching the trailer I was like "please don't let it be Ben Platt, please don't let it be Ben Platt, please ... aw, fuck!".

I mean, it's kind of endearing that his father is so passionate about helping his son's career, but Ben is such a bad actor. He's like that real life character Meryl Streep played some years ago as Florence Foster Jenkins. Too much money but almost zero talent to spare.

Who is Ben Platt's father?

Well, all the kids at Harvard Westlake are going to be happy that one of their own is staring in a big Hollywood musical movie! Maybe they’ll put it on this fall as the school musical in tribute and hopes that daddy Platt will build them a new performing arts building!

The music in DEH sounds like the same boring, paint-by-numbers, affirmation-heavy songs featured in The Greatest Showman, Frozen, etc. Kids today don't know anything about good "musical theater" songs.

r29 it's fairly recently that people have begun demanding and deciding a character is "on the spectrum" just because they are odd or socially backward.

I don’t see the problem. There were actors older than him on Glee. Andrea from 90210 was like 50.

Why didn’t the father put his money behind the hot brother?

R50 It sounds like Greatest Showman because it’s by the same music and lyrics team. They also did the music of LaLa Land if that hits it further home for you.

[quote] What of the new song to make it eligible for the Song of the Year Oscar? I’m assuming it will be sung by Ben ...

Nope.

[quote] Amandla Stenberg is joining Universal’s movie adaptation of “Dear Evan Hansen.” She will appear in an expanded role from the stage production as a high school senior Alana, and she will perform a song in the film.

[quote] The role has been expanded for the film, with Stenberg singing a new original song composed expressly for the film. She is writing the song in collaboration with lyricists Benj Pasek and Justin Paul, who wrote the music for the show.

She was fantastic in "The Hate U Give."

It may be dismissed, but its going to make a boatload of money.

The new original song will probably win the Oscar, because Oscars are shit now.

I like Amandla Stenberg. She's everything Zendaya is not.

That definitely explains things, r54.

R58, it will not. It's just more white nonsense.

Twitter may hate, but the comment section under the Youtube trailer at OP is now mostly happy and positive, even about having Ben as Evan. Such as-

[quote] When I watched the musical I broke down several times.. and I'm already 100% sure I will break again during this movie. I'm so happy they decided to give the role to Ben Platt, nobody plays Evan quite like him.

So we'll see in September. Maybe angry Twitter people were never the audience for this movie no matter who was cast.

Do angry Twitter people even GO to the movies?

With the curls he looks like Leonard Frey in The Boys in the Band

No. And the people this movie will appeal to the most also don't go to the movies. They use pirate bays.

Not enough black people!

Why does he look like Jacob Trembly in Wonder all grown up in this?

It could only work if Ben played a 30 year-old "boozer, user, and loser" returning to high school. Like Jerri Blank.

He looks too thin, which ages his face. He was on a podcast (Las Culturistas I think) and talked about the pressure to be slim in Hollywood - has he maybe gone too far in that direction? If you told me this was an AIDS movie I'd believe you.

The thinkpieces cancelling the movie are probably already written - Evan is an asshole when you think about it

Ben Platt had the perfect face for podcasts.

Ben's face is CGI'd to look AGELESSLY youthful and dewy-fresh!

Oh come on, he doesn’t look that old. This is just Gen Zers pitching a fit on Twitter because no one from their talent-deprived generation was up to the role.

Why wasn't Helen Lawson cast as the mother?

r73 BWAHAHAHAHAH Oh yes he looks too fucking old. AND THE HAIR...what the fuck were they thinking.

Surely someone will spoof it with Martin Short reprising his Clifford character as a teen. SNL?

Lol, maybe they should have retooled the plot to make him 21 Jump Street or a pervert exploiting unknowing underaged teens?

Fun fact... the deleted scenes include the twist ending where Evan is revealed as an undercover narc - [italic]to no one's surprise![/italic]

[quote]Why wasn't Helen Lawson cast as the mother?

She looks too young to play the mother opposite Platt.

[quote]So we'll see in September. Maybe angry Twitter people were never the audience for this movie no matter who was cast.

I feel Twitter comments are mostly nonsense and people attempting to get attention for themselves by being as mean as possible.

However, if you think no reviewer is going to call attention to the fact that Ben looks far too old for this role, nepotism or that the piece would have been served better on screen by casting someone younger then that's a pipe dream.

This is going to be (hopefully) the only complaint people will have about this project but it will be one beyond Twitter.

I think sooner or later Hollywood will have to rethink the whole idea that's behind releasing trailers. I mean, does the Twitter response indicate good interest in the movie that will result in more ticket sales or a negative reaction that could mean fewer tickets being sold, or producers losing faith in the project and releasing it on a streaming service directly?

ben platt is more insufferable and more of a fucking menace than dan levy.

My twitter isn't mocking this but praising the trailer, then again I'm not 80. People are saying that the film will reveal that Connor Murphy was gay and killed himself after a break up from his boyfriend. Apparently this is what the novel based on the play says.

They should have called this Jagged Little Ben.

Twitter is filled with people who hate this show due to its moral ambiguity. For them, every character in a play, movie, or TV show must be sneaky clean, never selfish, and try not to get in trouble.

[quote] I mean, does the Twitter response indicate good interest in the movie that will result in more ticket sales or a negative reaction that could mean fewer tickets being sold, or producers losing faith in the project and releasing it on a streaming service directly?

I see no real negative reaction. My twitter is trilingual, English, Spanish and Dutch and this film is trending in all of them. Mostly people excited about the story. Some people are mocking Ben's age though.

[quote] However, as a mainstream film, it'll quickly become clear to anybody with half a brain that it's a contrived indulgent piece of shit. Christ, I loathed it.

So funny to see 50+ mocking this film. It's projected to be a major teen hit and it will be, trust me. I'll come back here later to mock you when the box office hits. This trailer is trending worldwide, you have to be an idiot to think this is gonna fail given the track record of the play and novel. This is probably Marc Platt's safest bet to success.

R83 Well, on my twitter it is around 80 - 20 against. Some funny mocking.

My fave.

Is wearing a tie with a short-sleeved shirt a "thing" somehow?

In theaters only? Sounds like they don't think their. product is good enough for streaming.

Twitter is an echo chamber. You follow people that share similar views as you whether you realize it or not.

I won't completely mock Twitter's opinions, they did make the Sonic the Hedgehog movie a success by completely trashing it beyond all comprehension and offering actual opinions on what they did wrong which helped the creators make it a hit.

My problem with the show was that there was no way it could have gone on that long without him being found out. I also found the parents' reaction(s) completely false. A close friend's son committed suicide. It took them years to recover to the degree they could. There's no way those parents would have cuddled up to Hansen like that. They would have been wallowing in grief. I almost walked out.

What R92 said.

22% of American adults use Twitter.

Big deal.

Most people don't fuss about movies like we do or Twitter does.

Back in the day, most of the critics hated Les Miserables and it became a worldwide phenomenon that time can't kill.

The point being, if something's got the magic it has the magic and it the screaming can't get in the way of it.

So get the fuck over the omnipresent Twitter. Most mortals don't give a damn.

But Les Mis was also shut out at the Oscars and knocked by the critics. All those shiny awards really matter to Evan Hansen team. They can't be happy with this response...

R94 Fuck off, Ben.

I know it’s been said, but...why the hair?

[quote] This trailer is trending worldwide, you have to be an idiot to think this is gonna fail given the track record of the play and novel.

What novel? Wasn't this a completely original piece written for the theater and not an adaptation?

I saw this onstage (touring production) and it was fine. I like the rest of the cast, but I don’t think I can watch 2 hours of Ben Platt on a movie screen.

This will make “Ishtar” look like a box office smash!

It will be cancelled for glorifying gaslighting.

R100 here. Shame on me. It will be known as “Evan’s Gate.”

R3 He ain’t no Stockard Channing.

Relax people, it's just a movie.

[quote]ben platt is more insufferable and more of a fucking menace than dan levy.

You know, there are people you can talk to.

Who knew Ben Platt had fangirls, and yet here they are in this thread whining about people being "mean".

You wanna see mean, wait until they stop making mild jokes about how old he looks once they find out his dad is producing the film. The outrage at the nepotism will show you what mean really is.

They should've hired whoever it was who did the Forbidden Broadway version.

look ben has a hot younger brother who is also a singer.....

Is "hot" what the kids use today instead of "morbidly obese?"

r105 oh really? and who should i talk to about my opinion that ben platt is a menace? aside from a bitchy gay gossip site?

Ben Platt looks 46.

Has there been a quicker Broadway to film musical than this? Seems like it just opened.

R111 If you use 2015’s off Broadway date of DEH it is six years, which is what it was from stage to screen for How to Succeed in Businesses Without Really Trying, 1961 to1967.

The 2005 film version of The Producers was based on the 2001 musical starring Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick (who reprised their stage roles).

Lauren Bacall did Applause on Broadway in 1970 and then filmed a TV version in 1973 with outfits created by Halston just for the production.

I'd rather see and hear him.

Isn’t he too old for this? And Amy Adam’s and Julianne Moore seem like washed up old broads.

Unfortunately, Amy and Julianne seem hellbent on destroying their careers by appearing in mediocre bullshit.

Funny how none of the Broadway people I follow have posted about the trailer on their social media, though they did for In the Heights and/or West Side Story.

[quote]Has there been a quicker Broadway to film musical than this? Seems like it just opened.

Rock of Ages -- on Broadway in 2009, onscreen in 2012.

"In The Heights" looks like shit, how many group dance numbers can one movie have?

That Lin Manuel queen annoys me and the trailer was awful. It looked like a bunch of flash mob dancing and lip synching. I wouldn't even tell what character we were supposed to be following.

I had to turn off the trailer the song it was so annoying. But I watched Levi Ross all the way through. I usually hate this kind of shit but that was good.

Julianne has always worked for money.

[quote]You wanna see mean, wait until they stop making mild jokes about how old he looks once they find out his dad is producing the film. The outrage at the nepotism will show you what mean really is.

What are you babbling about? Who are they? You think anyone gives a shit about show biz nepotism?

[quote] This trailer is trending worldwide, you have to be an idiot to think this is gonna fail given the track record of the play and novel.

I remember another musical trailer that trended worldwide. It was called CATS.

Ben Platt in Pitch Perfect is meant to be older than Ben Platt in DEH.

He has no business on a large screen.

The Fleshlight song from Pitch Perfect reminds me of the song from DEH.

Ben is perfectly cast if you pretend that Evan was left back....15 times.

You mean held back, R129.

Go write a letter of complaint to the editor of the Urban Dictionary, R130.

Well, he does look like someone who probably has learning disabilities.

So I’m assuming you all want a black or Asian or Trans actor to play the role?

Left back, held back, kept back, the key part of that phrase is back and it's clear what they all mean. R130

He may be a better singer than Lucille Ball was but at least she had tricks for making herself look decades younger on screen.

Evan Hansen definitely rides the short bus.

Amy and Julianne were also in the awful Woman in the Window. Amy needs to make some better choices if she doesn't want to be the new G. Hopefully the Enchanted sequel gets good reviews and is a box office hit.

Will he do the big drool snot cry singing final song as he did on Broadway?

R115 Gross as he is, Ben Platt does the song much better IMO. I have no dog in this fight, just sayin...

LOL r37. Danny Pino is a pleasant surprise but yeah... I can’t be bothered.

R115 I don’t have any skin in this game but as an outsider looking in, Ben Platt (maybe gross, maybe old?) sings the song beautifully, much better than the boy here.

*Platt much better than the Ben Levi

[quote] What novel? Wasn't this a completely original piece written for the theater and not an adaptation?

After the play became a hit, they released a novel with extended backstories etc. One of the stories is about Connor's sexuality and his romance with what I think is a college guy. He supposedly killed himself because of that. That's what comments on Youtube say anyway, haven't read it.

The film will address this issue apparently, so there's some gay content there. The Deadline article even talks about the sexual diversity of the characters. Since everyone is straight in the play, one can only speculate that the diversity has to do with Connor.

[quote] My problem with the show was that there was no way it could have gone on that long without him being found out. I also found the parents' reaction(s) completely false. A close friend's son committed suicide. It took them years to recover to the degree they could. There's no way those parents would have cuddled up to Hansen like that. They would have been wallowing in grief. I almost walked out.

You're wrong on so many levels it's not even funny. Since you're using anecdotal evidence, so will I. My sophomore year a kid killed herself during Halloween and we only found out about it at graduation. People just assumed she left the school, she wasn't popular at all, just like Connor.

As for how the parents reacted, this is textbook grieving process. My aunt worked briefly as a grieve counselor and parents holding into anything that would connect to their kids is the most common behavior, this play doesn't even try to be anything other than psychology 101.

*grief

[quote]You mean held back, [R129].

Not R129, but in NY we called it left back. He was left back.

When I wanted to commit suicide my father was like well what are you waiting for?! So I don't understand the whole the worst thing that can happen to a parent is that they lose a child especially to suicide. To my parents the relief of the death of a gay son would have been a pleasure. A fabulous catholic funeral mass and a weepy pity party repast then off to their vacation home and their social life. And of course they could dine off of it the rest of their lives and never have to tell people their son never got married. Well he was dead at 21!

[quote] Amy needs to make some better choices if she doesn't want to be the new G.

I think Amy is learning to live life and career without her metabolism, by the looks of her.

R143 Great, so it’ll all boil down to a bury your gays trope. Aren’t both creators gay and obliviously Ben, who I would presume to have a producer credit on this? That’s inexcusable that three of the top people on the project would fall back on that old ugly chestnut and turn this into a PSA musical.

Is Evan Hansen Jewish?

that is one rough ass 27 this musical sucks must he nice to have daddy to further your career

I really wanted to see this film, but, after seeing the trailer and how hideous Platt looks, I'll pass.

If they can manipulate and change Cats fur and CGI Tig Nataro into a movie to replace a cancelled comic, surly they have more than enough time to fix Ben’s hair before the movie launches right?

Except they can't really do it without admitting they got it wrong to begin with, and I doubt the Platts' egos will allow that.

For some odd reason, most people born on 3rd base like to feel like they hit a homerun based on their own merits. Ben was gifted success on a silver platter and just couldn’t imagine he wasn’t the best person to play a role for which he won a Tony, Emmy, and Grammy.

They probably should have cast Stockard Channing as Connor's sister.

Gabrielle Carteris was originally cast as Evan Hansen’s classmate and potential love interest, but her duties as the president of SAG-AFTRA forced her to back out.

You can bitch and moan about nepotism but the kid is talented. How many of you could handle singing live in front of 17,000 at that age?

And with that face, R158!

The reactions on this thread seem oddly personal.

I was asked to do this film, but the role was to play a senior in high school. Honestly, I can only pass in freshman roles, perhaps sophomore, and that’s only if I’m “aged up”. Pity.

I'm enjoying how R158's proof of his talent is his ability to go on stage in front of thousands - nothing to do with what he actually does on there.

Platt has a gorgeous voice. That's pretty much a fact. But he's also a terrible, TERRIBLE actor and wildly inappropriate to play the role at this age and with the fact that he looks like he's got progeria.

I do think this will end up being a really bad idea. It could join the ranks of Mame, Cats, and other misguided movie musicals. Suddenly, Barbra Streisand's Gypsy and Glenn Close's Sunset Boulevard don't seem like such a bad idea.

Does Julianne Moore's character sing? I've never pegged her as much of a singer, but I'm happy to be pleasantly surprised. I know Amy Adams has a decent voice, so I'm not too concerned about her.

I’m just concerned that Amy’s going to take another three prong hand rake to the face again with another psychotic teen running around.

R164 The Mother character has an amazing song in the show.

I hope when it comes out digitally that some one does a mash up edit between this and Woman In the Window calling it Woman Waving through A Window making Evan a deranged stalker.

Damn, R165. That hand rake really dug deep....I thought it would rip her face off.

R168 My take is that they took her to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital where they have very good plastic surgeons.

I wonder if the muted response to the Politician scared Ben, and so he went crying to daddy to get this film made quickly to try and regain his career.

I’m wondering if daddy Platt is buying time and using this hopeful win to justify casting him as Fieyro in the Wicked movie?

Can we try to have an optimistic outlook...huh?

well Ben has words for us....

[quote]I've never pegged her

Well, I should hope not!

R173 He seems tiresome.

[quote]I wonder if the muted response to the Politician scared Ben, and so he went crying to daddy to get this film made quickly to try and regain his career.

Playing another high schooler is a choice.

It's never a good sign when you whine this early in the process.

I watched a few minutes of the bootleg, it was all I could handle. He has Tourette’s right? Why did he sing the word “waving” in a falsetto voice, but none of the other parts? And he cries and gets snotty during his song? I watched this overly long developed video where a voice expert ripped AnnE’s performance in Les Miz to shreds because of her crying, that it’s the worst thing a Broadway perform can do since crying produces mucus which is counter productive to having a good clear voice while singing. Also, person who has bootlegs, do you have one of Jagged Little Pill, I’ve become obsessed with Antonio Cipriano. Thanks.

R178 No.

This headline was written by a DLer.

[quote]And he cries and gets snotty during his song?

Half his stage time was occupied by rubbing off snot in his sleeve, like a five-year old. It was bizarre.

Ben Platt and Jonathan Groff in MUCUS WARS!

Groff is hot and talented and very appealing. And doesn't have a powerful father who is financing his career.

The opposite of Ben Platt on almost every level. Except the mucus.

[quote]Why did he sing the word “waving” in a falsetto voice, but none of the other parts?

Because that's how the song is written and he was directed to. Do you actually think Broadway performers just wing it and do what they want?

In fairness to Ben, he really looks like a high school student.

R173 The ego he must have to think it wasn't going to get that reaction...and to actually tweet that. Mind you, he actually compared playing Evan to Hamlet, so...

R178 Nope, no Tourettes, just how Ben thinks he should act a part which is suggested to have some form of mental illness. I'm genuinely surprised no-one criticised his performance, given it's like someone playing a 1950s stereotype of someone with mental illness.

R181 Which is going to make his performance even harder to bear during the movie - it doesn't look like he's adapted it at all to suit the fact he looks like an adult amongst children.

Still basically no social media reaction from a bunch of Broadway figures, including at least one who's actually in the film.

This film will join Hillbilly Elegy and Woman in Window on... Netflix... and more Razzie for Amy

Marc Platt's hot son Jonah played Fiyero, he can sing too.

Why do the movie going masses get Ben instead?

Colton Ryan plays Connor, the high school student who kills himself. He currently is age 25, which is 2 years younger than Ben. I have no idea if they applied any de-aging software to Colton as they did for Ben.

R190 Pretty obvious who's dad's favourite.

Ben's age isn't the only twitter 'whoa'...

[quote]If Platt wins The Oscar, he would have won a Tony, Emmy and Grammy for the role.

How did he win an Emmy?

He won an Emmy for going on some morning show and singing a song from the musical to promote it.

I was tearing up at the suicide and letter hand off. When he started singing, it took me out of it. IDK about this one. I feel like we have the entire movie in that trailer.

Even I know when someone is too old for a part and no amount of airbrushing will change it. I’m looking at you, Ben- with my less squinting eye.

I still can't get over the fact that the guy who created Dream Curly in the original production of Oklahoma has a son in his 20s. Talk about a late in life child.

Umm....

[quote]How did he win an Emmy?

Outstanding Musical Performance in a Daytime Program Today (1952) And the cast of Dear Evan Hansen. "You Will Be Found"

Does Evan Hansen have Progeria?

Ben might be too old for the role, but no one really wants to see a homely, acne-afflicted teenager like Andrew Barth Feldman on the big screen either.

R203 Plus he's incredibly annoying. Hopefully they keep him restricted to the Disney Channel now

Is there a role for a younger, classier sister? Call my agent. Who, coincidentally, has the same number as moi!

There are plenty of young twink actors in the world who can sing those songs and could have played this part. Dime a dozen.

But no they needed 40 year old Ben platt in a brunette orphan Annie wig to do it.

I agree the entire movie seems to be in the trailer.

Also, Ben Platt was perfectly okay in the first "Pitch Perfect" movie. A little side part, where he was kinda creepy and weird. It fit him well.

Dunno about this. I'm not as negative as most of you and most of the responses, but I also have no real desire to see it... though I probably eventually will some day when it hits cable. I mean, I eventually saw "La La Land", and it was awful.

I could have played his best friend, but no one called me.

The CGI to make Ben Platt look young sort of wanders into the uncanny valley. He doesn't look like a kid. He looks like someone much older than himself who has some kind of medical condition that causes him to resemble a younger person--the kind of thing you'd see on Phil Donahue.

What is this thing all about? I get that Ben Platt is nervous and socially awkward. How was his arm broken? Did Connor do it? And why did Connor write his name on the cast? Who is Connor, anyway? He's good-looking. So, why no friends? Why did he kill himeself? Were they gay? Closeted? Where are the gay angles to this or are there any? I need answers and want spoilers. Please feed me, Daddies!

Will there be nudity? Why has no one asked the most important question?

R210 The show is posted above.

The show is very precious, cloying and dare I say, maudlin... and now it is compounded by being “woke” with these extra characters expanded, played by POC (who are also way too old, but that’s another story). I will not be stunned and amazed because there are no trans black women involved.

Who is POC?

Ms Roxane Gay is perplexed:

The CGI looks so awkward. Platt's facial features look so blurry while the rest of the film is ... well, not. And I highly doubt the viewer gets used to that. It's like that old trick old Hollywood used where they put vaseline on the lense to make old actresses look "young".

[quote]He looks like someone much older than himself who has some kind of medical condition that causes him to resemble a younger person--the kind of thing you'd see on Phil Donahue.

Or perhaps, R209, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.

And WW for R213.

So much hate for poor Ben Platt . Will she become the male version of Lea Michele?

It is not cgi. It's vaseline on the lens. The cameraman got the idea watching too many Doris day movies and Lucy in Mame. He put it on with a trowel.

Glenn, take note. You may want to rethink Sunset Blvd.

What are you talking about, R220? Glenn Close was born to play a washed up actress whose best days are far behind her.

I think the problem was that instead of actually putting the Vaseline on the lens they just put heaps of it on Ben’s face, that’s why it moves around so much and seems to be melting in some shots.

You will be found Evan Hansen, underneath all that Vaseline.

R214 Amandla Stenberg will be taking on the role of POC and apparently gets a song as well, I assume some ode, lament, call and response or gospel tinged rousing anthem of BLM to shoehorn it all into the plot.

This is Cats all over again, isn't it? Hollywood never learns.

The seriousness of the movie will be overshadowed by the, or or less childish, mockery of how much effort was put to make Platt look younger. Culminating in a mocking "Release the Butthole Cut" like meme.

Sorry,

more or less childish,

They really should have gone the Chicago route where it’s all just a movie fantasy in his mind and he’s a middle age man thinking back on high school making a movie for his powerful Broadway and Hollywood producer father. You know, a meta film.

[quote]Glenn Close was born to play a washed up actress whose best days are far behind her.

Unfortunately she's now too washed up and her best days too far behind her to play a washed up actress whose best days are far behind her.

R213 So they only cast POC to be woke? Couldn't possibly be because that person was the best person for the role? Fuck off.

[quote]My problem with the show was that there was no way it could have gone on that long without him being found out. I also found the parents' reaction(s) completely false. A close friend's son committed suicide. It took them years to recover to the degree they could. There's no way those parents would have cuddled up to Hansen like that. They would have been wallowing in grief. I almost walked out.

R93, your second point is sound, but why do you say there was no way it could have gone on that long without the truth coming out? The only reason it does eventually come out is that Evan finally tells the truth because he can't stand the lying anymore. The ONLY other person who knows the truth is his friend (I forget the character's name), so unless one of the two boys cracked, the secret would presumably be safe forever.

What is Evan’s I Want song?

I haven’t seen it, but isn’t Connor’s ghost a character? Why isn’t he the one to secretly out him after he co-op his life, family and sister, he hates Evan and would want him exposed anyway and would justify the supernatural thriller element.

What did Connor's suicide note (actually written by Evan to himself) say?

[quote] Dear Evan Hansen,

[quote] Turns out this wasn’t an amazing day after all. This isn’t going to be an amazing week or an amazing year, because why would it be?

[quote] I know, because there’s Zoe, and all my hope is pinned on Zoe, who I don’t even know, and doesn’t know me. Maybe if I could just talk to her. Maybe nothing would be different at all. I wish everything was different.

[quote] I wish I was part of something. I wish that anything I said mattered to anyone. I mean face it, would anyone notice if I just disappeared tomorrow?

[quote] Sincerely, Your most best, and dearest friend, Me

Seems like this letter would deeply hurt Zoe, Connor's sister, if Connor was thought to be the author. And Evan had to know that.

Sounds like Hanson is too serious to go the Grease route. It would be like doing Lord of the Flies with 20 somethings. Ben being so defensive realizes that the ship has sailed for him being right for the role on film.

What a shitty thing to do: call un-famous member of the public "randos." Like they are interchangeable and don't matter because they aren't celebrities.

What an asshole.

R234 How did the Hanson brothers get dragged into this?

You know, I’m thinking, maybe what was wrong with the Cats movie was it was woke enough?

Weren't half the cats POCs?

[quote]Seems like this letter would deeply hurt Zoe, Connor's sister, if Connor was thought to be the author. And Evan had to know that.

Yes, and anyway, why would Connor have written this about his sister: "All my hope is pinned on Zoe." Why would a brother have written that about his sister, whether she's older or younger than him? (I'm not sure which, I don't remember.) It makes perfect sense for a guy who's not a member of the family and in love with Zoe (i.e., Evan) to write that about her, but what did Connor's parents and everyone else think he meant with that phrasing, since they assume it was Connor who wrote the letter?

Just another plot hole in DEH, I guess. Like the fact that nobody ever addresses a letter to a friend by using that friend's full first and last name. Nobody. Ever.

[quote] (The Letter, supposedly written by Connor:) ...there’s Zoe, and all my hope is pinned on Zoe, who I don’t even know, and doesn’t know me.

I guess it makes sense that Connor doesn't even know Zoe and Zoe doesn't know who he has become, especially when played Mike Faist in the play.

The part where "Connor" says "all my hope is pinned on Zoe" should trigger a big wave of survivor guilt in Zoe, and I don't remember if that part was even handled in the play. If someone wrote a suicide note that mentioned me as his only hope, I would be in therapy.

Anyway, the text of that letter is what appeared in the play. They may have adjusted it for the movie. We'll see.

I find it interesting that people seem to be focused on Platt's age and looks, vs the fact that his career has essentially been gifted by his rich and influential father. Online posters suggesting there 'are so many other actors that would have been a better Evan!' are, incredibly, not taking into account that his father produced not only the play but the film.

[quote] Culminating in a mocking "Release the Butthole Cut" like meme.

I think I speak for everyone here when I say we really, really do NOT want to see a Butthole Cut of Dear Evan Hansen.

[quote]I find it interesting that people seem to be focused on Platt's age and looks, vs the fact that his career has essentially been gifted by his rich and influential father. Online posters suggesting there 'are so many other actors that would have been a better Evan!' are, incredibly, not taking into account that his father produced not only the play but the film.

First of all, some people may not be aware that his father produced the show and the film. But also, many people feel that BP gave an excellent performance in the Broadway show and certainly seemed age-appropriate for the part, with the help of the distance of the stage. Because so many people loved his performance in the show, they didn't hold it against him that his dad was the producer, whereas if he had not been able to hack it in the show, you can bet that fact would have received a LOT more attention.

Now that BP is recreating the role in the more literal medium of film -- with, you know, closeups -- five years after he opened in the show on Broadway, and with a wig or hairstyle that many people see to find risible, it's only natural that BP's age and looks are going to be the main focus of comment. Don't you think?

Interestingly somebody pointed out on ATC that Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer and Ann-Margret in their 'teen' musicals were as close to being teens as Platt is to being 30. It will be interesting if somebody fesses up on what they did to make Platt look younger. Hair, make-up, cgi, a stocking over the lens?

His dad didn't produce the theatrical production, just the film. But still, he's obviously aided Ben's career all along. Like buying the film rights to DEH.

Ben sang it well, but he acted it appallingly.

Uh huh. By the way, where do you keep your Tony R246?

Just how much does the poor guy need to be roasted for having given a really great performance?

Overrated..Ugly.....And I have seen spittle come out of his mouth when singing live in YT videos...He looks ridiculous trying to pass as a HIGH SCHOOLER...Geez....

[quote] Just how much does the poor guy need to be roasted for having given a really great performance?

Until you stop lying.

I want to see Deer Evan Hansen.

And of course if the letter had really been written by a high school student today - it wouldn't be a letter. It would be a text or instagram....and it would have been spelled incorrectly: Dere Evin Hansin.

[quote]And I have seen spittle come out of his mouth when singing live in YT videos

Don't they have live performances there in Bumfucke? Many, many performers let loose while singing. People in the front row of "Spring Awakening" could have used ponchos when Jonathan Groff came down front.

Based on the online response this movie is fucked.

It looks so jarring because the rest of the supporting cast look closer to age appropriate. Stockard Channing is easy to accept within the universe Grease sets up because most of her co-stars look to be a similar age. That and Rizzo's a world-weary type, so seeming a bit older suits her.

[quote]And of course if the letter had really been written by a high school student today - it wouldn't be a letter. It would be a text or instagram....and it would have been spelled incorrectly: Dere Evin Hansin.

PLUS, I doubt that many, or any, present-day high schoolers begin letters or emails or texts of whatever with "Dear," and it's certainly not something that the sullen, troubled, anti-social Connor would have written.

[quote]It looks so jarring because the rest of the supporting cast look closer to age appropriate. Stockard Channing is easy to accept within the universe Grease sets up because most of her co-stars look to be a similar age. That and Rizzo's a world-weary type, so seeming a bit older suits her.

I think this is spot on. Good for you!

It must not be a good week in the Platt house, but god knows, they'l just all stay all over social media because we're supposed to care...

I feel sorry for Noah Galvin having to talk Ben off the ledge every five minutes. I bet he's in a really "Fuck My Life" mood right now.

Remember Noah’s hole pics?

R258 Meh, Noah's a cunt too so they deserve each other.

The person most excited for this film is Stockard Channing. She'll no longer be considered the oldest-looking teen in movie history.

Was Stockard mocked this much for Grease?

R262 If only we had social media back then she would have been.

[quote]Was Stockard mocked this much for Grease?

No; by the time "Grease" was released, casting over-30s as teenagers was the norm (eg, "Happy Days", "Welcome Back, Kotter").

I wonder if he deleted that defensive tweet because he realized it was a bad idea or people behind the movie call him.

R265 If Ben was capable of realising things are bad ideas he would never have done the film in the first place.

I hope the rest of the cast has as flat an ass as Ben- so it’s not as distracting as the preview. If his eyes were set any closer he’d be Cyclops.

What’s Mike Faist up to these days? Love his luscious hair and lean dancer body (former Newsie). Movie Connor looks cute too, but Mike has a particularly unique look I like.

Can we get back to the hole?

Okay, these two together looks like a NAMBLA recruitment poster....

this one will make you puke...

R271 = Noah is a HERO for coming out against Bryan Singer and TRYING to expose him.....

Noah Galvin looks like Ryan O'Connell on Special. The only difference is Ryan has Cerebral Palsy and also wears really thick glasses that make his eyes (and strabismus) look freakishly magnified. Noah is just hideous.

R273 Wait til you see his hole.

Oh, I've seen it. It looks like his face.

R270 I don’t know what cosplay they are into based on those outfits, but it makes me uncomfortable.

[quote]I'll go to see it just to see if Julianne Moore - seriously can sing.

Will she be doing her own singing or will someone be dubbing her? I didn't know she was known for being able to sing as well as act.

[quote]If Platt wins The Oscar, he would have won a Tony, Emmy and Grammy for the role.

If he's nominated, I could see this becoming the meme promoted by the studio to Academy voters -- i.e., "if Platt wins the Oscar, he'll be the first actor to EGOT for the same role!"

I believe that Evan's mother sings almost as much as he does in the play. It's an important, singing part, and they didn't give it to Amy Adams for some reason.

Can Julianne sing? She played an opera star in some movie and was dubbed, but she also played a singer in "What Maisie Knew" and there was a soundtrack album where she sings about 2 songs.

Here's one song at link. I'm still not sure she can sing well enough for role, but maybe it's all been fixed in studio.

Here's a video of some actresess who have played Evan's mom in different tours singing one of the mother's big songs.

"They used to shoot Shirley Temple through gauze. They should be shooting me through linoleum."

I'm old (in gay years, anyway) and I used to love musical theater, but don't really like this kind of show, anyway. I was also a theater kid when they weren't whiny or melodramatic (see quote from another poster, below).

[quote]DEH became a cult musical theatre hit as it legitimised the whiny self-affirmation and melodrama craved by theatre kids.

I'm not qualified to say much about the show, I don't know Ben Platt. But he literally looks like he's in his 30s. I've liked a couple of teen shows on TV and they do have actors in their late 20s or 30s playing high school kids, at times - but they're convincing. This is pretty tragic casting. I also don't think I'd care to look at that face for 2 hours, unless he was a total genius, and playing someone his own age.

I think rather than Ben Levi Ross or someone else from the show (or from New York) they may have been wiser to cast a Hollywood kid, like an actual younger guy who's a good film actor, because movies are a different medium and people in them have to be liked by the camera, as well as believably cast.

[quote]If he's nominated, I could see this becoming the meme promoted by the studio to Academy voters -- i.e., "if Platt wins the Oscar, he'll be the first actor to EGOT for the same role!"

Make that EGGGOT for the same role.

Does Noah ever fuck Ben?

[quote] What’s Mike Faist up to these days?

Faist is playing Riff in West Side Story.

R284 Movie or Broadway?

R285 Movie.

There's a few videos which are claimed to be of Noah out there too, including one of him pushing a load out, and another of him getting fucked and asking the top "you like that faggot hole?". The big question is whether these were recorded before or after he and Ben started dating. And no, the top isn't Ben.

The link would help, wouldn't it?

R288 Isn't there one of Noah on a bed, presenting hole, and some random enters and fucks him?

[quote]If Platt wins The Oscar, he would have won a Tony, Emmy and Grammy for the role.

Daytime Emmys won't count, I think.

Best avoid such travesty altogether.

Unfortunately, they do count. And Cynthia Erivo also has 3 of the 4 awards for playing the same role, as do Katrina Lenk and Ariel Sta'chel. But the daytime emmys got rid of the category after they realized how many people were coming so close to being EGOTS.

R287 amazing thank you for your service

[quote]I think rather than Ben Levi Ross or someone else from the show (or from New York) they may have been wiser to cast a Hollywood kid, like an actual younger guy who's a good film actor, because movies are a different medium and people in them have to be liked by the camera, as well as believably cast.

The cold hard fact is that the only reason this movie is getting made is because daddy Platt decided to produce it as a vehicle for Ben Platt. There was never even the remotest chance of somebody else being considered for the Evan role in it. The movie exists only to satisfy Ben Platt's ego.

[quote] And Cynthia Erivo also has 3 of the 4 awards for playing the same role, as do Katrina Lenk and Ariel Sta'chel.

Also Rachel Bay Jones for playing Evan's mom on Broadway. Three awards for the same role, same as Ben.

You're correct. I forgot about RBJ. I knew I was missing someone.

R289 I may be mistaken, but I think the one you're thinking of is from some scammer who pretended he was fucking a celeb, and everyone pretty much assumed it was Noah for whatever reason. But the guy who posted it is a scammer, catfisher, blackmailer, and all round freak (in the bad sense), so zero reason to believe he's telling the truth about it being a celeb in the first place.

Noah’s hole is the hallway, Ben’s dick is the Vienna sausage.

What did RBJ do to piss off Ben that she didn’t get carried over into the movie too based on those credentials?

No one ever heard of her, that's what she did.

R298 She was good.

Two guys review the trailer of DEH. One knew about the story of the show, the other did not.

They explain why they are crying after see it at timemark 6:00.

The content/story seems to be what is getting to them.

I don't think a Grammy win for the cast recording of your show should count as your Grammy win. In fact, they should be stricter about those things, like only counting the top prizes.

Emmy = acting, writing, directing, producing only Grammy = singing, writing, producing only Oscar = acting, writing, directing, producing only Tony = acting, writing, directing, producing only

This makes it tougher and a more rewarding feat. As it is, it's like they're handing out gold stars to anyone.

REFORMATTED: I don't think a Grammy win for the cast recording of your show should count as your Grammy win. In fact, they should be stricter about those things, like only counting the top prizes.

Emmy = acting, writing, directing, producing only

Grammy = singing, writing, producing only

Oscar = acting, writing, directing, producing only

Tony = acting, writing, directing, producing only

This makes it tougher and a more rewarding feat. As it is, it's like they're handing out gold stars to anyone.

I definitely don't think a daytime emmy should count.

Well, thankfully the Golden Globe isn’t part of this exhalation!

[quote]I don't think a Grammy win for the cast recording of your show should count as your Grammy win. In fact, they should be stricter about those things, like only counting the top prizes.

But who are "they?" It's totally a matter of personal opinion whether a Grammy for a cast recording should "count," or a daytime Emmy for an appearance on a TV doing a song from a Broadway show should "count." And though I'm sure people like Cynthia Erivo and Ben Platt will not hesitate to claim themselves as EGOTs as soon as possible, that doesn't mean you or I or anyone else has to buy into it.

The performer inclusion for Grammys is a very new thing. It used to just be the album producer who got the award. Then it included composers and then performers.

R307 It is a very nonexistent thing now.

No it isn't, R308. What changed was they got rid of the Daytime Emmy category. The Grammys have not changed from their current standing.

Noah Galvin is so cute as the little Orthodox outcast resident on The Good Doctor, I wish they would create a sequel he could star in.

R310, I would've much preferred him as Freddie Highmore's love interest than that boring Leah chick he's been with.

Scott Rudin get himself a Grammy by nominating himself as a producer of Book of Mormon. Not that kind of producer, Scott, but of course he still got it. It was also that year (2012) when they started giving awards to the principals

Rachel Bay Jones was really good as the mom. You got a sense of how hard she was trying to reach Evan, and failing.

I really don't understand Ben Platt. If he doesn't want people to ridicule him as a rich kid whose daddy is buying him a career, why not tell his father to back off? It's not like he doesn't actually have talent and probably could've made it in the business on his own. He should learn to tell his father thanks but no thanks.

R314 Oh...you didn't see his concert, did you?

Ariel Sta'chel is modestly talented and I thought he was hot as hell in The Band's Visit, for which he won a Featured Tony. I don't expect him to have a major career but I certainly enjoyed seeing him.

Sta'chel's Tony award was one of the worst wins in a long time. Not because he was bad, but because he did absolutely NOTHING. My guess is many of the Tony voters skipped Spongebob SquarePants and just voted for Stac'hel because there was no one else, but Gavin Lee was wonderful in Spongebob (which was a truly awful show), and should have easily won.

I have no idea what the play is about but The Trailer looks like a FAT 33 YEAR OLD MAN is trying to sneak into a High School and pretend to be a student...Am I close?...Does he get caught?

[quote]Gavin Lee was wonderful in Spongebob (which was a truly awful show), and should have easily won.

Gavin did deserved the Tony but Spongebob is a clever funny musical comedy which should have won Best Musical.

R318 I get your point, that shot of him leering at half naked guys in the locker room made me very nervous.

Back to point, Ben would not want any of the original cast back. They fucking rocked, and supported him so well.

Ben and Dad would not allow anyone to distract. From him.

And that will be the problem. Good, and assured performers allow the other actors in a show to feed the, and make thw show better.

Ben doesn't play that. OR allow that. On Screen. Now.

I totally understand not wanting stage actors in a film adaptation. They often come off broad and actor-y when the camera's right on top of them. So if the rest of the original cast was passed over, I get it. But dear God, Platt looks he’s actually giving a BIGGER and even more mannered performance in the film.

I think that one headline should read Noah Galvin and Ben Platt are DATED.

R322 Words fail. Watch the bootleg of the show I posted above. They serve the text. They are all very very good.

You will be found…eating dinner at Golden Corral at 4:30.

R325 I think you have something there, if Ben would have play the role as a girl he could easier have carried off looking younger, “Dear Evana Hansen,” they could have shoehorned in the lesbian relationship with the sister and scored more woke points.

[quote]I get your point, that shot of him leering at half naked guys in the locker room made me very nervous

Leering? He's clearly horrified he has to be there, and yes, schools forced everyone to do gym, and completely out of his element. If I didn't have to be anywhere near my gym when I was in school I'd have been be alot happier.

[quote]If I didn't have to be anywhere near my gym when I was in school I'd have been be alot happier.

If you'd spent more time in English class, you would've learned that "alot" is not a word.

They don't have gym in school anymore? Jesus, liberals are turning our young people into wimps in more ways than one. No wonder they get easily triggered.

R329 = Megan McCain.....

[quote]r301, thanks for the link, I watch their videos sometimes.

As they mentioned in the video, the reason that DEH resonates so deeply is that it captures that feeling of being adrift and totally out of place, the feeling of crushing loneliness that so many experienced during high school and, for quite a few of us, well after. There is room for debate about its effectiveness but many, myself included, thought it hit the target. So, whilst I might wonder why they chose such an awful hairdo for Plattt, it won't stop me from enjoying the film because the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.

[quote]totally out of place, the feeling of crushing loneliness that so many experienced during high school

Except in this, there's a really good reason that the guy who looks like he's in his thirties should feel out of place in high school. Platt's arrogance in allowing (read: demanding) himself to be cast will completely undermine the entire story.

They could've at least mitigated it a bit by casting actors into the other high school roles who look older. But instead it's like they all couldn't mention the elephant in the room and had to pretend this was all normal.

They did try to mitigate the age issue a bit by casting 60-year old Julianne Moore as Evan's mom.

Here's an article that discusses the ages of the cast compared to the high-schoolers they play.

Platt (Evan)- age 27, playing 17

Colton Ryan (Connor) - age 25, playing 17

Kaitlyn Dever (Zoe) - age 22, playing 16

Nik Dodani (Jared) - age 26, playing (probably) 17

Amandla Stenberg (Alana) - age 22 playing 17

R333 = The problem isn't a 27 year old playing a 17 year old....The problem is the 27 year old looks 37 playing a 17 year old...Don't ask me to suspend belief because the FAT SLOB you picked looks like a creepy adult man walking around a high school pretending to be a student...........

Are we sure Daddy Platt isn't covering up Ben's real age? I find it hard to believe he's only 27.

[quote]If you'd spent more time in English class, you would've learned that "alot" is not a word.

R328 Isn't "you'd" the contraction for "you would"? So you're saying, "if you would spent". Shouldn't it be, "if you'd have spent"?

*If you're using "you'd" to mean, "you had", though, that's correct.

DEH releases new TV spot featuring Ben Platt performing "Waving Through A Window":

I'm really feeling like this movie will end in tears for everyone involved. Movie musicals are so fucking hard to get right and no one seems to have ever been to figure out exactly why. The best ones are insanely good and the bad ones reach depths of horror and boredom you can't even imagine.

Why am I picturing a short bus student Evan in the window flapping his arms at strangers in self stimulation?

Can’t they get a more attractive lead ?

It they could put Tig Nataro into that Zombie Las Vegas movie seamlessly, I’m sure they can do it here too, if need be call Zack Snyder in with his ability to redo movies after the fact.

Waving Through a Window- with the blinds closed, hopefully.

You mean we could have gotten a Hugh Jackman Evan movie?

I’m available to “ghost” Mr. Platt!

So Am I...

Will Ben have to move to Europe in disgrace after this bombs? Will he be CGI out of the Sondheim movie early years and replaced with Harry Styles as it always should have been?

R347, I know you're joking, but I have a serious question: Have they begun any filming for MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG yet?

Harry Styles is also 27, I hope the part wasn't that of a teenager.

R348 Yes, filmed the young stuff, now waiting thirty years to film the old styff.

R350 are you joking, or do you know for a fact that filming has actually begun?

R351 Keep up, Puppy.

R352, thanks dog, but that Wikipedia entry only says what was planned to happen. I wasn't sure if they had actually started filming MERRILY yet, I thought the start might have been delayed by the pandemic.

P.S. I just checked imdb, which says the current status of MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG is "filming" -- but it says that information was last updated on August 2019, and the only three cast members listed are the three leads.

This is the danger of shooting part of a movie and waiting 30 years to finish it. What if your leading actor is no longer popular or well liked or has some big scandal or even dies? This doesn't seem like a smart idea. Slap some makeup or CGI on the fuckers and finish it while the stars have aligned. Isn't someone else in that movie no longer popular because of some texts or tweets?

[quote]This is the danger of shooting part of a movie and waiting 30 years to finish it. What if your leading actor is no longer popular or well liked or has some big scandal or even dies? This doesn't seem like a smart idea.

Sweetie, filming a movie of a show that played a whooping 16 performances isn't a smart idea either.

[quote]The show is very precious, cloying and dare I say, maudlin... and now it is compounded by being “woke” with these extra characters expanded, played by POC (who are also way too old, but that’s another story). I will not be stunned and amazed because there are no trans black women involved.

The casting of the mixed race black girl and the South Asian guy and Danny Pino are the straws that broke this snowflake's back!

“Stunned” and “Amazed” will be the pull quotes from that review that end up in the ad.

Well, the black female character was black in the play, as well.

A friend who works on crews in NY told me he hears there will be “reshoots” over the next few weeks at soundstages in Greenpoint, Brooklyn.

Did they give Ben's Botox a chance to settle?

The Toronto Film Festival will open with "Dear Evan Hansen" on Sept. 2nd, so there will be reviews of the film in early September.

The movie opens in the US on September 24th.

The Toronto premiere for DEH is actually Sept 9th at the film festival.

One Sheet (movie poster) released

It’s clear the PR department hates Ben.

What a weird thing to admit:

[quote]Moore tells the magazine that she wanted the role of Evan Hanson's mom so badly that she auditioned for the first time in years for the role. Moore lost the role to another actress, but due to Covid the actress dropped out for a prior role and Moore was cast. She says she was scared because she is not a singer, but was up for the challenge.

This sounds like Marc Platt trying desperately to make it sound like working with his son is a dream job for people

Wow. Who was the actress who dropped out and was replaced by Moore, and could SHE sing.

Three Evans

Ben Platt talks about how the film version of Dear Evan Hansen will be different from the stage:

[quote] In an interview with The Telegraph, he has revealed that some changes have been made for the upcoming movie, including a revised ending, that allegedly holds Evan more accountable for his actions than was seen in the stage version.

[quote] "We see this kid do all these things and tell all these lies in real time, so we need to see the redemption and the forgiveness and the repentance," Platt said. "Watching Evan do the work to figure out who Connor was and heal the family in a much healthier, more removed way, and see him take a breath and heal outside of the trauma he's experienced, is really, really effective.

[quote] It was also revealed that two new songs will be included in the film, written by composers Benj Pasek and Justin Paul. One song is called "Anonymous Ones" and will be sung by the character Alana (played by Amandla Stenberg). The second, for which the title has yet to be revealed, will be sung by Connor (Colton Ryan).

I wonder if they're bringing in the thing from their tie-in book where it was revealed Connor had had a relationship with an older boy.

Julianne and Amy are so over in these minor mom roles? Isn’t Ben Platt 40?

Interesting that, in the Broadway show, Connor was portrayed as sort of goth-like and anti-social, whereas he looks a lot more average-mainstream in the movie. I wonder why they made that decision and how it will affect the story.

In the movie Connor is played by Colton Ryan. He was the understudy for Evan (Ben Platt), Connor, & Jared.

Here's a 2017 video where he talks about his journey.

The re-written ending is that Evan becomes trans and realizes that white men are over in this society.

He still thinks he has a chance at the Oscar judging by the full interview. So much do he defends Matt Damon:

[quote]But the entertainment industry evidently still has a lot of work to do. How disheartening is it that Matt Damon has apparently only just retired the homophobic f-word? “I don’t know anything about that specific situation,” hedges Platt. “I would say getting hung up on little slip-ups maybe isn’t the most productive thing. Obviously, when somebody says something abhorrent, like what [rapper] DaBaby said, that’s something we all need to be responding to, and I think he really is being held accountable, which is great.

They also apparently didn't learn anything from the Les Mis movie:

[quote]All the songs were recorded live on set so that they felt conversational, explains Platt. “I didn’t want there to be such a shift from scene to a song that it felt canned or fantastical. I really like that a lot of the singing is a bit unpolished or raw.”

And as for nepotism - of course not! His dad tried to get him to not get into the business, guys! Odd then that he'd still send him to a performing arts school. Maybe Ben and his PR handler need to work better on that one

[quote]He recalls that, far from giving them a leg up, his father actually deterred his kids from entering his uncertain business – particularly Ben, who, like Evan, was an anxious adolescent, although he found solace in the theatre community via a performing arts school in LA. This movie adaptation, he explains, was the first time that they came together organically on a project, “on our own merits.” Certainly, anyone who saw Platt’s psychologically detailed, intense and deeply felt performance on stage will know how exciting it is that it’s been captured on film.

Really weird that of all the places to buy a puff piece they chose the Telegraph, though I guess it's the only readership to who Ben will actually look young.

When you trashed "Reminiscence," I thought you people were being your usual horrible, negative selves. But Rottentomatoes gives it a 38% rating, so I apologize.

Uggghhh they're singing live. That's what did in Les Mis . People want to hear beautiful singing, not unpolished or raw.” Only Hathaway's song worked that way.

R377 Cue the snot cry/singing.

They are starting to release songs from the film soundtrack before the Toronto premiere of film on Sept. 9th.

One of the first songs released is "Waving Through a Window," with vocals supposedly recorded live on set of the film.

I love Julianne Moore and Amy Adams and I'll watch just about anything either of them is in. I even watched "The Woman in the Window", and that was a stinker. But I just can't get myself motivated to watch this.

[quote]One of the first songs released is "Waving Through a Window," with vocals supposedly recorded live on set of the film.

Well, that sounds studio recorded simply because he has sung that song live eight times a week for a year not including all the TV performances and can sing it well in his sleep. Let's hear the rest of he cast now.

Why the movie might actually be good. (Director Stephen Chbosky describes filming in the forest.)

[quote] STEPHEN CHBOSKY: Day two of shooting, Ben is in front of that huge tree where he’s confronting the memory and he sings his guts out. I had heard that, physiologically speaking, he was this freak of nature who could somehow have a full breakdown, cry his eyes out and sing open-throated all at the same time, which is physically — I would call it an impossibility if I didn’t see it with my own eyes. I set up the shot, we do the first take where he sings his heart out, I yell “Cut” and there is a stunned silence. And then there’s a crackle on the walkies and some crew member went, “Well, this is going to be a good fucking movie.” I just remember thinking, “That was one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen anybody do.” He made Justin Paul cry.

They're trying really hard to sell this as awards bait

For real, R383.

On the latest Big Brother epi the competition included wining a chance at an advanced screening of Dear Evan Hansen. LOL!!!

Ha, oh I'm sure they all wanted to win that one! Not even the premiere, just an advanced screening!

Going to be interesting to see if the rumours Marc Platt ended up paying to get Ben's hair CGIed are true.

LMAO