Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo moved room to tears with Wicked auditions
Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo moved Jon M. Chu to tears with their 'Wicked' auditions.
The 'Thank U, Next' hitmaker will portray Glinda the Good Witch opposite the 'Harriet' actress as Elphaba in the upcoming movie adaptation of the musical and the director admitted it was "incredibly humbling" to see the stars give their all when they tried out for the parts.
Responding to a fan who called for the audition footage to be made public, Jon tweeted: “It’s SO good. The whole room was in tears. I think one of the most overlooked facts of the #WickedMovie Casting was that EVERYONE HAD to audition. NO straight offers & they showed up! It was incredibly humbling to witness these actors spill their guts on the floor for this movie."
He added on his Instagram Stories: “Cynthia and Ariana EARNED their roles and brought our little audition room to tears multiple times throughout the process. I can’t believe I had the privilege of witnessing the birth of their Elphaba and Galinda. And one day you will too!!(sic)"
The 42-year-old filmmaker also shared photos of the moments he broke the news to Ariana and Cynthia that they had got the parts and admitted he still gets "teared up" thinking about it.
He wrote: “So their emotions why they find out they got the part are REAL here. And raw. I get teared up just thinking about these moments of telling them.
“I am so personally appreciative of every actor who came in and put themselves out there for the chance to be in #WickedMovie.
"Everyone gave such different [takes] on the roles. It was an incredible display of talent, humility and artistry. I wish everyone could have witnessed the beauty that we did in those months.(sic)"
Though Jon admitted he'd like to show fans the audition footage, they'll ultimately have to wait until the movie is released.
He tweeted: "Facts on the #WickedMovie Casting. EVERYONE had to audition. Nobody had a free pass. And each had compelling, personal takes on these characters. I wish I could show you the footage. It is ridiculously moving but I’ll get it on camera for the movie for you to experience soon.(sic)