tellurikwaves blog : , CINEMA :Les blessures narcissiques d'une vie par procuration (75 Paris)

Rob Marshall wanted Catherine Zeta-Jones to wear her natural long hair in the movie, but she insisted on the short bob. She explained to People magazine that she didn't want her hair to fall over her face and give people a reason to doubt that she did all the dancing herself.

The translated speech by Hunyak is: "How did I find myself here? They say my famous lover (neighbor?) held down my husband and I cut his head off. But it's not true. I am innocent. I don't know why Uncle Sam says I did it. I tried to explain at the police station but they didn't understand." The original, in Hungarian: "Mit keresek én itt? Azt mondják, a híres lakóm lefogta a férjem, én meg lecsaptam a fejét. De nem igaz. Én ártatlan vagyok. Nem tudom, miért mondja Uncle Sam, hogy én voltam. Próbáltam a rendõrségen megmagyarázni, de nem értették meg."

Richard Gere took tap dance lessons for three months. His tap dance scene was shot in half a day.

Producer Martin Richards approached Catherine Zeta-Jones about appearing in this film version of the play after being wowed by her renditions of carols at a family Christmas party in Bermuda (her and husband Michael Douglas' home). Richards approached her for the role of Roxie Hart but Zeta-Jones, though not familiar at all with the original show, did know that the character of Velma Kelly sang the song "All That Jazz"; she only wanted to play that role because she wanted to sing that song.

Renée Zellweger had no singing or dancing training prior to this film.

The lead role was offered to Hugh Jackman but he declined because he felt he was too young for it. Later he admitted that he regretted declining the role after seeing the movie.

Angelina Jolie auditioned for the role of Velma Kelly.

Charlize Theron had initially secured the role of Roxie Hart while Nicholas Hytner was attached as director. When Hytner withdrew and Rob Marshall took over, Theron had to audition again and lost the lead to Renée Zellweger.

During the song "Cell Block Tango" Hunyak speaks in Hungarian, but the actress is Russian and her accent makes the speech very difficult to understand even for native speakers of Hungarian.

In the beginning of the scene introducing Mama Morton to the new inmates, Roxie Hart had a brief conversation with a woman smoking a cigarette. That character was played by long-time Broadway actress Chita Rivera who portrayed Velma Kelly in the original 1975 production of "Chicago".

At the start of the film, when the bar is shown, a painting can be seen on the wall which features the faces of the women in "Cell block tango".

A long battle took place between the agents of Renée Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones over billing on the movie poster. In the end, "diagonal billing" was settled upon - as depending on which way you read it (top to bottom or left to right), both appear to get top billing.

There are several differences between the film and stage versions that presented challenges in bringing the project to the screen. A significant difference is the portrayal of reporter Mary Sunshine (played in the film by Christine Baranski). In the stage version, Mary Sunshine is played by a very convincing female impersonator who appears to be a large, matronly woman. He sings falsetto, and the audience is not aware that he is a man until the second act, after a line to the effect of "Things are not always what they appear to be!" and someone pulls off the wig and dress, revealing the truth about Mary Sunshine.

The role of Billy Flynn was offered several times to John Travolta before eventually going to Richard Gere. This is the fourth film that Travolta has turned down and Gere accepted; the other three are: American Gigolo (1980), Les moissons du ciel (1978), and Officier et gentleman (1982). Travolta has said that he deeply regrets declining the part.

During the Cell Block Tango, each girl does an imitation of her crime, each in session using a red silk bandanna to imitate where the blood would have been. However, when Hunyak is speaking, she pulls out a white bandanna, not a red one, indicating that, she is, in fact, innocent.

Catherine Zeta-Jones added Velma's pose for the photographers in the Cell Block Tango.

Rob Marshall was originally considered by Miramax to direct the screen version of the smash Broadway play "Rent". When he arrived for his interview, he told Miramax he wanted to talk about "Chicago" instead and proposed the "musical in Roxie's mind" concept. Miramax loved the idea and put "Rent" on the back burner, finally making Rent (2005) three years later.

When mama introduces Billy Flynn for the first time, the "All I Care About is Love" dancers slowly appear behind her. There were no CGI effects involved, it was simply a scrim. In fact, the only CGI effects throughout the movie are from "erasing" the harnesses on Christine Baranski (Mary Sunshine) and on some of the reporters during the end of the "We Both Reached for the Gun" number.

Kathy Bates was director Rob Marshall's first choice to play Matron Mama Morton, but she was scheduled to film Monsieur Schmidt (2002). Queen Latifah (playing Mama in Chicago (2002)) and Kathy Bates in About Schmidt were both nominated for Best Supporting Actress Oscar in 2003.

Cited as one of the films responsible for prompting the MPAA to include smoking in their film certification criteria in 2007, due to the numerous instances of smoking from the main characters and ensemble.

The play "Chicago" was Maurine Dallas Watkins' retelling of two very public murder trials that occurred in Chicago in 1924, those of Beulah Annan and Belva Gaertner. Watkins covered these trials for the Chicago Tribune and wrote the character of Mary Sunshine as a self portrait.

When Billy Flynn is passing by the cells, Hunyak starts speaking in Hungarian but the final sentence is in Russian. She says, "Help, help me, please."

All of the musical numbers in the film except Roxie, Mister Cellophane and Razzle Dazzle are introduced by the Bandleader (Taye Diggs).

The musical numbers "My Own Best Friend" and "Me and My Baby" were originally written into the script, but were removed at the last minute. "My Own Best Friend" was to have taken place when Roxie and Velma are put in solitary confinement after getting into a cat fight. "Me and My Baby" can be heard briefly when Roxie faints and proclaims her pregnancy.

CINEMA :Les blessures narcissiques d'une vie par procuration

©-DR / CHICAGO Filmo de Queen Latifah

©-DR- CHICAGO de Rob Marshall (2003) p12

©-DR- CHICAGO de Rob Marshall (2003) p13

©-DR- CHICAGO de Rob Marshall (2003) p14

©-DR- CHICAGO de Rob Marshall (2003) p15

Academy Awards, USA 2003

Golden Globes, USA 2003

BAFTA Awards 2003

Screen Actors Guild Awards 2003

AFI Awards, USA 2003

Amanda Awards, Norway 2003

American Choreography Awards, USA 2003

American Cinema Editors, USA 2003

Art Directors Guild 2003

Awards Circuit Community Awards 2002

Awards of the Japanese Academy 2004

BET Awards 2003

BMI Film & TV Awards 2003

Black Reel Awards 2003

Boston Society of Film Critics Awards 2002

British Society of Cinematographers 2002

Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards 2003

Canadian Network of Makeup Artists 2003

Central Ohio Film Critics Association 2003

Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2003

Cinema Audio Society, USA 2003

Costume Designers Guild Awards 2003

Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards 2003

David di Donatello Awards 2003

Directors Guild of America, USA 2003

Edgar Allan Poe Awards 2003

Evening Standard British Film Awards 2003

Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2003

Golden Schmoes Awards 2002

Golden Trailer Awards 2003

Grammy Awards 2004

Hollywood Makeup Artist and Hair Stylist Guild Awards 2003

Italian Online Movie Awards (IOMA) 2003

Key Art Awards 2004

Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards 2003

MTV Movie Awards 2003