He’s perfect for anything. I would hire Hugh Jackman to come to my house and have dinner. Craig Zadan Read Quote
We’ve spoken to a lot of friends who are stars who could be great, and they say to us, ‘Look, if you were doing a movie musical, and we could pre-record and lip-synch, sure. But live? So if we hit a bad note it’s there for posterity? We’re not going to go out there without a safety net.’ People are scared to death of that. Craig Zadan Read Quote
We wanted to take on social and political and LGBTQ stories which no one at the upper level of the entertainment industry ever really wants to do. So you have to fight, and you have to persuade, and you have to manipulate the studios and the networks. And you have to go back – over and over again – until they say yes. Craig Zadan Read Quote
The reality of producing the Oscars is that it’s a blood sport. With social media, everyone has a chance to voice their opinions. You have to know that entering into this special world requires a very thick skin. Craig Zadan Read Quote
When we went to Judy Davis and said, ‘We want you to play Judy Garland in the mini-series ‘Life With Judy Garland,’ she was shocked, but we just had an instinct about her. Craig Zadan Read Quote
It was very, very difficult to be a student in the drama department and also review my professors’ school shows. I got a lot of pressure from them to quit the paper and concentrate on studying dramatic literature. Craig Zadan Read Quote
We’d go to studios with ideas to do movie musicals and they’d literally kick us out. They said, ‘Audiences aren’t interested in movie musicals. You’re wasting our time.’ Craig Zadan Read Quote
We have a great musical sequence in episode five of ‘Smash’ called ‘Let’s Be Bad,’ and it probably is the closest to ‘Chicago’ that I think any of us have ever experienced. Craig Zadan Read Quote
Chicago’ kind of set the bar in terms of how we approach musicals, and tone is one of the key elements. Craig Zadan Read Quote
I don’t think we’re going to break the law in terms of what you can or can’t do on TV. We’re looking to do something edgy, different, and special. Craig Zadan Read Quote
