'She does something to your eyeballs:' author of 'Wicked' praises Ariana Grande

BEST SELLING AUTHOR WHOSE BOOK INSPIRED ONE OF THE MOST POPULAR BROADWAY MUSICALS EVER, WHICH IS COMING TO THE BIG SCREEN, THIS WEEK. I’M TALKING ABOUT WICKED NOVELIST GREGORY MAGUIRE SPLITS HIS TIME BETWEEN THE BOSTON AREA AND THE SMALL TOWN OF STRAFFORD, VERMONT. HE VISITED THE WICKED MOVIE SET DURING FILMING AND ATTENDED THE OFFICIAL PREMIERES, AND HE TELLS NBC5 HE WAS THRILLED WITH THE FINAL PRODUCT. I AM DESPERATELY HAPPY. I’M STILL KIND OF ELECTRICALLY ELECTROCHEMICALLY BUZZING FROM HAVING SEEN THE MOVIE FOUR DAYS AGO. I’M JUST NOW STARTING, YOU KNOW, MY HEART RATE IS STARTING TO COME DOWN. AUTHOR GREGORY MAGUIRE INSISTS WICKED, WHICH IS BEING RELEASED IN TWO PARTS, LIVES UP TO THE HYPE. UNLIMITED. I THINK THEY DO A TERRIFIC, TERRIFIC JOB AND HE PROMISES FANS OF THE STAGE MUSICAL, BASED ON HIS BESTSELLING FANTASY NOVEL, WILL EXPERIENCE THE STORY IN A NEW WAY ON FILM. IT’S ACTUALLY HEIGHTENED BY BEING ABLE TO SEE IT NOT JUST IN IN GREATER COMPLEXITY OF STORYTELLING, BUT CLOSE UP. SHE HAD HER SECRETS. THERE IS A SENSE THAT OZ IS JUST AS BIG AND COMPLICATED AS THE UNITED STATES, WHICH IS WHAT L FRANK BAUM INTENDED, AND ALSO WHAT I INTENDED. THE NEW MOVIE MUSICAL ABOUT THE COMPLICATED AND MISUNDERSTOOD FIGURE NAMED ELPHABA, LABELED BY OTHERS AS THE WICKED WITCH LONG BEFORE DOROTHY DROPPED INTO OZ, WAS IN DEVELOPMENT SINCE 2012, SOME OF US ARE JUST DIFFERENT, BUT MAGUIRE TELLS US YEARS EARLIER HE HAD A LOT OF THINKING TO DO WHEN HE WAS FIRST FIELDING CALLS FROM TEAMS WANTING TO ADAPT HIS SUCCESSFUL BOOK. WOULD IT BECOME A TRADITIONAL FILM OR MAYBE A MINI SERIES? HE DECIDED BROADWAY WAS THE BEST PLACE TO START, THANKS TO AN IMPRESSIVE CONVERSATION WHEN THE COMPOSER STEPHEN SCHWARTZ APPROACHED ME ABOUT THE NOTION OF MAKING IT INTO A MUSICAL FOR THE STAGE BEFORE OR MAYBE INSTEAD OF IT BEING A BIG BUDGET HOLLYWOOD MOVIE, HE WAS A LITTLE NERVOUS THAT I WOULD SAY NO. I HAD THREE CHILDREN. I NEEDED TO PAY OFF MY MORTGAGE, AND I WANTED THE MONEY THAT HOLLYWOOD WAS GOING TO OFFER. AND HE SAID, RATHER NERVOUSLY, I’M SO CONVINCED YOU’RE GOING TO SEE THE RIGHTNESS OF MY IDEA THAT I WILL ADMIT TO YOU. I ALREADY WROTE THE OPENING SONG, AND I SAID, WHAT? AND HE SAID, YES, IT’S GOING TO BE CALLED NO ONE MOURNS THE WICKED. AND WITH THOSE FIVE WORDS, HE SEALED THE DEAL, BECAUSE WITH THOSE FIVE WORDS HE TOLD ME HE KNEW THAT I HAD WRITTEN THE BOOK FOR A SERIOUS REASON. I WAS NOT MAKING A SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE PARODY OF THE WIZARD OF OZ. I WAS USING A COMMONLY HELD STORY TO ASK MY READERS TO THINK ABOUT IMPORTANT THINGS, AND THAT’S WHAT THE PLAY DOES TO THEMES LIKE POLITICAL POWER, BELONGING, FRIENDSHIP. AND HERE’S THE BIGGIE HOW DO COMMUNITIES OR INDIVIDUALS DECIDE WHO IS DESERVING OF SCORN AND WHAT DRIVES THOSE ATTITUDES? THERE’S A LINE IN THE STAGE PLAY A SUNG LINE IN THE MIDDLE OF ACT TWO, WHICH WE’RE NOT GOING TO HEAR UNTIL NEXT YEAR, WHEN THE SECOND MOVIE COMES OUT AND IT’S SUNG BY THE WIZARD AND IT’S THREE LINES, THREE, THREE LINES OF MUSIC THAT I THINK ENCAPSULATE WHAT WICKED, THE NOVEL WICKED, THE STAGE PLAY AND WICKED THE MOVIES ARE ALL ABOUT. IT’S A PLACE WHERE THE WIZARD REARS BACK AND SINGS TO ELPHABA AND HE SAYS THERE ARE PRECIOUS FEW AT EASE WITH MORAL AMBIGUITIES. SO WE ACT AS THOUGH THEY DON’T EXIST. AND WHENEVER I HEAR HIM DO THAT, I THINK YOU GOT ME THAT WAS WHAT I WANTED PEOPLE TO THINK ABOUT. WE HAVE TO BECOME COMFORTABLE WITH AMBIGUITY BECAUSE THAT’S THE ONLY AVENUE FOR RESCUE FOR OUR NATION, OUR COMMUNITIES AND OURSELVES. MAGUIRE’S NOVEL IS QUITE DIFFERENT FROM THE MUSICAL. IT INSPIRED. IT SPANS A MUCH LONGER TIME PERIOD. FOR EXAMPLE. BUT STILL, THE WRITER HAS ALREADY SEEN A FLURRY OF NEW SALES FROM A MOVIE TIE IN EDITION. NEARLY 30 YEARS AFTER THE ORIGINAL BOOK WAS PUBLISHED. THE THEMES OF THE BOOK ARE EVEN MORE PERTINENT NOW THAN THEY WERE IN 1995, WHEN IT CAME OUT, AND IN MARCH 2025, HE’LL RELEASE HIS NEXT WORK, ELPHIE A WICKED CHILDHOOD, ABOUT THE YOUNGER YEARS OF THE FUTURE WICKED WITCH. SOME OF THIS WAS INSPIRED BY 2 OR 3 SCENES THAT ACTUALLY I HAD PUT IN THE ORIGINAL NOVEL, BUT THAT GOT LEFT ON THE CUTTING ROOM FLOOR BECAUSE THE NOVEL WAS TOO LONG AND I HAD TO LOSE SOME SOME STUFF UP FRONT TO GET ELPHABA AND GLINDA TO MEET SOONER. IN THE NOVEL. I ALWAYS REGRETTED THAT BECAUSE WE ALL KNOW NOT JUST ARTISTS, BUT ANYBODY. ANY REFLECTIVE PERSON KNOWS THAT WHO WE ARE IS AN OUTGROWTH OF WHO WE WERE. AS CHILDREN. WE EITHER SURVIVE OUR CHILDHOODS OR WE EMBELLISH AND IMPROVE UPON THEM. OR MAYBE BOTH. SO A CHILDHOOD STORY IS NECESSARY TO UNDERSTAND THE ADULT. IT WAS WORDSWORTH, I THINK, WHO SAID THE CHILD IS FATHER TO THE MAN AND THE CHILD IS MOTHER TO THE WITCH. AND SO THAT’S WHAT ELF IS ABOUT. MAGUIRE SPLITS HIS TIME BETWEEN HOMES IN CONCORD, MASSACHUSETTS, AND STRAFFORD, VERMONT, WHERE HE SAYS HE WROTE MUCH OF HIS NEXT TITLE, CALLING VERMONT A PLACE WHERE HE CAN LIBERATE HIS IMAGINATION. THERE ARE A LOT OF TALENTED WRITERS IN VERMONT, AND I DON’T KNOW, QUITE WHY THAT SHOULD BE, EXCEPT IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL. IT’S SO BEAUTIFUL AND THERE’S A WAY IN WHICH LIFE IN VERMONT SEEMS TO BE PARED DOWN TO ITS ESSENCE, BECAUSE THE NATURAL BEAUTY OF THE LANDSCAPE KIND OF PUSHES ITSELF IN YOUR FACE. YOU CAN’T YOU CAN’T IGNORE IT. YOU KNOW, IF YOU DRIVE TO MAINE, THERE’S THAT SIGN ON ROUTE 90, I-95 THAT SAYS MAINE THE WAY LIFE SHOULD BE. AND I ALWAYS FEEL LIKE SAYING WHAT YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO VERMONT ARE PEOPLE BORN WICKED? BACK TO ONE OF THE YEAR’S MOST ANTICIPATED MOVIES, OR DO THEY HAVE WICKEDNESS THRUST UPON THEM? MAGUIRE CALLS WICKED A CAREER DEFINING FILM FOR STARS CYNTHIA ERIVO AND ARIANA GRANDE, PREDICTING AUDIENCES COULD SEE GRANDE IN A WHOLE NEW LIGHT AFTER HER ROLE AS GLINDA. I WAS BLOWN INTO THE LONG ISLAND SOUND, YOU KNOW, AND I WAS SITTING IN MIDTOWN MANHATTAN. SHE IS TERRIFIC, SHE WAS MUCH BETTER THAN I EXPECTED. I KNEW SHE WOULD SING WELL, AND I KNOW SHE’S BEAUTIFUL AND I KNOW SHE’S PERSONABLE BECAUSE I MET HER IN LONDON. GLINDA, YOU I KNOW IT’S MY GRANNY. I’D GIVE IT AWAY, BUT I DON’T HATE ANYONE THAT MUCH. I DID NOT KNOW THAT SHE WOULD CARRY OFF THE COMPLEX ACTING ARC THAT SHE NEEDED TO BE ABLE TO DO WITH SUCH FINESSE AND SHE’S SHE’S MAGNETIC. THE WAY KRISTIN CHENOWETH WAS MAGNETIC IN THE ROLE, YOU COULDN’T NOT LOOK AT HER WHEN SHE WAS ON THE STAGE. YOU CAN’T NOT LOOK AT ARIANA. SHE IS. SHE DOES SOMETHING TO YOUR EYEBALLS. I DON’T KNOW EXACTLY. KNOW WHAT IT IS. I AM HOPING THAT PEOPLE WHO SEE THE FILM AND WHO GO BACK TO READ THE NOVEL AGAIN WILL SAY TO THEMSELVES, YOU KNOW WHAT? IF I JUST TAKE FIVE SECONDS OF SILENCE BEFORE I SAY THIS NEXT NASTY THING? IF I TAKE FIVE SECONDS OF SILENCE AND CONSIDER MY MOTIVATIONS AND WHAT I CAN KNOW AND CANNOT KNOW ABOUT THE SHAPE OF SOMEBODY ELSE’S SOUL, WELL, THEN I THINK MY WORK AS AN ARTIST WILL HAVE BEEN ACCOMPLISHED. I ASK PEOPLE TO PAUSE, TAKE A DEEP BREATH, AND CONSIDER WHAT AND WHY THEY’RE ABOUT TO DO OR SAY, WHAT THEY’RE ABOUT TO DO OR SAY. THE PART TIME VERMONTER REALLY APPLAUDED THE CASTING OF CYNTHIA ERIVO AS ELPHABA AND NOT JUST FOR HER INCREDIBLE, INCREDIBLE SINGING TALENT. MAGUIRE SAYS HAVING A BLACK WOMAN PLAY THE ICONIC ROLE SEEMED TO AMPLIFY MANY OF THE STORY’S KEY THEMES AROUND THE WAY PEOPLE TREAT EACH OTHER, AND IF YOU’RE CURIOUS, YES, MAGUIRE DOES GET A CREDIT IN THE MOVIE FOR INSPIRING THE MUSICAL. HE SAID WHEN HE SAW HIS NAME CO

‘Wicked’ author Gregory Maguire discusses new movie, Ariana Grande’s performance, and more

‘I think they do a terrific, terrific job,’ the novelist said of the film adaptation of the Broadway musical inspired by his famous book

Updated: 6:40 AM EST Nov 16, 2024

Novelist Gregory Maguire, one of the first people to see the new movie “Wicked,” based on his bestselling book, said in an interview with NBC5 News that the film exceeded his expectations.See the interview in the video above”I am desperately happy,” Maguire said of the film. “I’ve had emergency technicians on hold to make sure that I can survive the excitement of having seen that film!” Maguire’s 1995 novel, also called “Wicked,” inspired one of the most popular Broadway musicals ever. Maguire visited the London film set of the movie adaptation of the musical and attended the movie premieres in New York City and Los Angeles. “I think they do a terrific, terrific job,” Maguire told NBC5 News, referring to the new movie. “It’s actually heightened by being able to see it not just in greater complexity of storytelling, but close up, because a film camera gets right into the faces and the emotions are easier to read when you have that much to look at.”Maguire’s book focuses on the complicated and misunderstood figure named Elphaba, labeled by others as the Wicked Witch long before Dorothy dropped into Oz. The writer said he believes its themes are even more pertinent now than they were in the 1990s. Those themes include political power, belonging, friendship, and the big one, Maguire said: how do communities or individuals decide who is deserving of scorn, and what drives those opinions?”There’s a line in the stage play, a sung line in the middle of act two, which we’re not going to hear til next year when the second movie comes out,” Maguire said. “It’s three lines of music that I think encapsulates what ‘Wicked’ the novel, ‘Wicked’ the stage play, and ‘Wicked’ the movies are all about. It’s a place where the Wizard rears back and sings to Elphaba, and he says, ‘There are precious few at ease with moral ambiguities. So we act as though they don’t exist!’ And whenever I hear him do that, I think, ‘You got me.’ That was what I wanted people to think about. We have to become comfortable with ambiguity because that’s the only avenue for rescue for our nation, our communities and ourselves.”Maguire splits his time between the Boston area and Strafford, Vermont, where he does a lot of his writing. March 2025 will see the release of his next work, “Elphie: A Wicked Childhood.” It is about the future Wicked Witch’s youth.The author had overwhelming praise for the stars of the film “Wicked,” Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. He applauded the casting of Erivo as Elphaba, and not just for her incredible singing talent. He said having a Black woman play the iconic role seemed to amplify many of the story’s key themes around the way people treat each other. Maguire also predicted many audience members might see Grande in a whole new light after her role as Elphaba’s perky classmate, Glinda.”I was blown into the Long Island sound, and I was sitting in midtown Manhattan,” Maguire said of seeing Grande’s performance at the film premiere. “She was much better than I expected. I knew she would sing well, and I know she’s beautiful, and I know she’s personable, because I met her in London. I did not know that she would carry off the complex acting arc that she needed to be able to do with such finesse.”Maguire went on to call Grande “magnetic” and said, “You can’t not look at Ariana. She does something to your eyeballs.” The author said he hopes people reflect on the serious messages of “Wicked,” whether they are fans of the novel, the stage show, or the new movie musical.”I am hoping that people who see the film and who go back to read the novel again will say to themselves, ‘You know what? If I just take five seconds of silence before I say this next nasty thing, if I take five seconds of silence and consider my motivations and what I can know and cannot know about the shape of somebody else’s soul, well, then I think my work as an artist will have been accomplished,” Maguire said. “I ask people to pause, take a deep breath, and consider what and why they’re about to do or say what they’re about to do or say.” The first part of the “Wicked” movie will be released on Nov. 22, and “Wicked: Part Two” will be released in November 2025.

Novelist Gregory Maguire, one of the first people to see the new movie “Wicked,” based on his bestselling book, said in an interview with NBC5 News that the film exceeded his expectations.

See the interview in the video above

“I am desperately happy,” Maguire said of the film. “I’ve had emergency technicians on hold to make sure that I can survive the excitement of having seen that film!”

Maguire’s 1995 novel, also called “Wicked,” inspired one of the most popular Broadway musicals ever. Maguire visited the London film set of the movie adaptation of the musical and attended the movie premieres in New York City and Los Angeles.

“I think they do a terrific, terrific job,” Maguire told NBC5 News, referring to the new movie. “It’s actually heightened by being able to see it not just in greater complexity of storytelling, but close up, because a film camera gets right into the faces and the emotions are easier to read when you have that much to look at.”

Maguire’s book focuses on the complicated and misunderstood figure named Elphaba, labeled by others as the Wicked Witch long before Dorothy dropped into Oz. The writer said he believes its themes are even more pertinent now than they were in the 1990s. Those themes include political power, belonging, friendship, and the big one, Maguire said: how do communities or individuals decide who is deserving of scorn, and what drives those opinions?

“There’s a line in the stage play, a sung line in the middle of act two, which we’re not going to hear til next year when the second movie comes out,” Maguire said. “It’s three lines of music that I think encapsulates what ‘Wicked’ the novel, ‘Wicked’ the stage play, and ‘Wicked’ the movies are all about. It’s a place where the Wizard rears back and sings to Elphaba, and he says, ‘There are precious few at ease with moral ambiguities. So we act as though they don’t exist!’ And whenever I hear him do that, I think, ‘You got me.’ That was what I wanted people to think about. We have to become comfortable with ambiguity because that’s the only avenue for rescue for our nation, our communities and ourselves.”

Maguire splits his time between the Boston area and Strafford, Vermont, where he does a lot of his writing. March 2025 will see the release of his next work, “Elphie: A Wicked Childhood.” It is about the future Wicked Witch’s youth.

The author had overwhelming praise for the stars of the film “Wicked,” Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande. He applauded the casting of Erivo as Elphaba, and not just for her incredible singing talent. He said having a Black woman play the iconic role seemed to amplify many of the story’s key themes around the way people treat each other.

Maguire also predicted many audience members might see Grande in a whole new light after her role as Elphaba’s perky classmate, Glinda.

“I was blown into the Long Island sound, and I was sitting in midtown Manhattan,” Maguire said of seeing Grande’s performance at the film premiere. “She was much better than I expected. I knew she would sing well, and I know she’s beautiful, and I know she’s personable, because I met her in London. I did not know that she would carry off the complex acting arc that she needed to be able to do with such finesse.”

Maguire went on to call Grande “magnetic” and said, “You can’t not look at Ariana. She does something to your eyeballs.”

The author said he hopes people reflect on the serious messages of “Wicked,” whether they are fans of the novel, the stage show, or the new movie musical.

“I am hoping that people who see the film and who go back to read the novel again will say to themselves, ‘You know what? If I just take five seconds of silence before I say this next nasty thing, if I take five seconds of silence and consider my motivations and what I can know and cannot know about the shape of somebody else’s soul, well, then I think my work as an artist will have been accomplished,” Maguire said. “I ask people to pause, take a deep breath, and consider what and why they’re about to do or say what they’re about to do or say.”

The first part of the “Wicked” movie will be released on Nov. 22, and “Wicked: Part Two” will be released in November 2025.