One of the benefits of living in Los Angeles and covering the film industry is that there are plenty of invites in any given year to premieres and special screenings. While I’m perfectly happy seeing a film under pretty much any condition, it’s fun to take the family to a premiere so they can enjoy the party and see a movie in the best possible conditions.
The big winter premiere for the family this year was “Frozen” at the El Capitan, and my kids had a tremendous time with the film and with the party afterwards. They got to meet Josh Gad in the lobby of the theater and when they realized he was Olaf the Snowman, they practically hoisted him onto their shoulders for a victory lap around the room.
It’s uncommon for me to get excited about saying hello to someone at a premiere, if only because I’ve met so many people at this point that there’s no real novelty to it. At the “Frozen” premiere, though, I had two people I wanted to speak with, and when I was introduced to them, I gushed. I gushed, and I don’t care who knows it. I gushed because I think Robert Lopez and Kristen Anderson-Lopez are really, really good at what they do, and between “Avenue Q,” “The Book Of Mormon,” and “Frozen,” I think they’ve staked a claim for themselves as both hilariously funny and also able to do traditional show tunes as well as anyone working.
Borys Kit is reporting that Allan Loeb is coming onboard to write the script for “Bob The Musical,” a film that has been in development for a while now at Disney. It’s about a guy who gets hit in the head who suddenly sees the world as a musical, complete with show-stoppers for everyone he knows. A project like this depends on having a great score. It can’t just be good. It’s got to crush it with every single number, and according to Borys, several other composers and filmmakers have already taken a shot at making it work.
What got me excited was the idea that Robert and Kristen Lopez are attached to write the music. Loeb is a strong writer whose best work, in my opinion, is still the unproduced scripts of his that launched him to prominence. Films like “Just Go With It,” “Here Comes The Boom,” and the “Wall Street” sequel seem like they aren’t really his, and I’ve heard enough stories about some of the other films he’s worked on to wonder just how much of Loeb’s voice we’ve actually seen make it all the way to the bigscreen.
This is a cool combination of people, and I like the premise. I hope “Bob The Musical” actually comes together, because I’ll take all the Lopez-scored projects I can get right now.
“Frozen” is still playing in theaters everywhere.