Hello, that is Jon M. Chu and I’m the director of “Wicked”. “And Elfie. Can I call you Elfie?” “Well, it's just a little naughty.” So we're about halfway through the movie. And these two roommates, who are very different, moved into this semi-small dorm room. And it's Glinda and Elphaba, played by Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, and they've just made friends by telling stories to each other. So this is the beginning of their true friendship, their first date I should say. This is a very iconic scene. “Popular” is one of those songs that everyone knows from “Wicked.” It's probably used most often in talent shows, and there was a lot of pressure to get it right and get into it cinematically. But of course, this is all about Ariana Grande's performance, showing how strong she is in turning Elphaba into someone who could be popular. “Just what they need.” And Ari is just a master of comedy. You can see this in all of her movements and how she interacts with Cynthia Erivo. Even when you actually hear it, it's their beats and their pauses that are simply masterful. Paul Tazewell, our costume designer, designed this beautiful new word for her that I learned: peignoir, which has now become iconic for all dolls and things, as well as this giant chandelier that she swings on. It seems simple, but there's actually a lot of manpower running this thing. There's actually a guy up there turning it and helping her move around and that was a lot of play for us. We really had to let the song flow and take our time. We had a pianist in the corner because everything is live too, so she could use her own tempo. “Popular, you'll be popular.” And the concept for that was not to go into a huge closet because it's a dorm room, but that the closet contained all the bags that we had seen in the previous scenes. I love that moment where she grabs the ruby slippers and taps them three times as a nod to our Wizard of Oz reference. But in each of these devices, even if they seem simple, there are grown men in a small space opening and closing it, and it took months and months to get the technology right. One of the biggest things Cynthia really wanted was that she didn't just want to be a passenger, but to actually be a part of it. In fact, she doesn't resist as much as in the picture, she actually really enjoys this attention and this friendship. “Not when it comes to popularity” This mirror alone. It's so heavy and has so much technology. It is actually very, very dangerous. Later she will actually step on it. And just the design took many, many months, including this thing that folds back that she falls back on. And I love that moment of her swimming around her. We did this about 18 times. We had to grease the floor. Your peignoir couldn't get caught on that hanger. But again, Ari is a master of physical comedy and she does it like she was born for it. “What?”
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