Timothee Chalamet Turned to Vocal Coach to the Stars for ‘Wonka’ 

Hugh Grant, from left, Timothee Chalamet, Olivia Colman and Rowan Atkinson pose for photographers upon arrival at the photo call of the film "Wonka" in London, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. (AP)
Hugh Grant, from left, Timothee Chalamet, Olivia Colman and Rowan Atkinson pose for photographers upon arrival at the photo call of the film "Wonka" in London, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. (AP)
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Timothee Chalamet Turned to Vocal Coach to the Stars for ‘Wonka’ 

Hugh Grant, from left, Timothee Chalamet, Olivia Colman and Rowan Atkinson pose for photographers upon arrival at the photo call of the film "Wonka" in London, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. (AP)
Hugh Grant, from left, Timothee Chalamet, Olivia Colman and Rowan Atkinson pose for photographers upon arrival at the photo call of the film "Wonka" in London, Monday, Nov. 27, 2023. (AP)

Timothee Chalamet took lessons from a top vocal coach as he prepared to follow in the footsteps of Gene Wilder and Johnny Depp to play Willy Wonka in a new movie that tells the origin story of Roald Dahl's famed character.

In "Wonka", a musical film, the "Dune" and "Call Me by Your Name" actor plays a younger version of the chocolate-loving inventor.

"(It was) daunting because the character's beloved, people are very protective over characters they love and skeptical about Hollywood remakes. But I think we did a great job. I'm very happy with the film," Chalamet told Reuters at the "Wonka" world premiere at London's Royal Festival Hall on Tuesday.

The 27-year-old said he worked with Eric Vetro, the vocal coach to singers including Ariana Grande, John Legend and Katy Perry.

"A lot of training, a lot of vocal lessons with Eric Vetro in LA, a lot of work," he said of his preparation for the film's musical numbers.

"Wonka" sees the top hat and long jacket wearing character land in a fictional city after several years at sea. The town is home to the world's top chocolatiers and Wonka, too, hopes to open his own shop. As he chases his dream and goes against a powerful chocolate cartel, he befriends a young orphan girl and a curious small creature with orange skin and green hair - an Oompa Loompa, played by Hugh Grant.

The film is co-written and directed by "Paddington" filmmaker Paul King.

"We wanted to make a movie that would stand as a companion piece to the Gene Wilder movie, which obviously has these enduring classic songs," said King.

"There's a lot of clues that Roald Dahl left as to what Willy did before 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' so we felt confident if we just picked up on those clues, we could make something that Roald Dahl would be proud of," added Simon Farnaby, who co-wrote the screenplay with King.

"Wonka" is out globally in December.



‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator’ Make Gravity-Defying Theater Debuts

 People wait to watch a screening of the film "Wicked" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, November 23, 2024. (Reuters)
People wait to watch a screening of the film "Wicked" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, November 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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‘Wicked’ and ‘Gladiator’ Make Gravity-Defying Theater Debuts

 People wait to watch a screening of the film "Wicked" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, November 23, 2024. (Reuters)
People wait to watch a screening of the film "Wicked" at the TCL Chinese Theater in Los Angeles, California, US, November 23, 2024. (Reuters)

With a combined $270 million in worldwide ticket sales, “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” breathed fresh life into a box office that has struggled lately, leading to one of the busiest moviegoing weekends of the year.

Jon M. Chu’s lavish big-budget musical “Wicked,” starring Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, debuted with $114 million domestically and $164.2 million globally for Universal Pictures, according to studio estimates Sunday. That made it the third-biggest opening weekend of the year, behind only “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2.” It’s also a record for a Broadway musical adaptation.

Ridley Scott’s “Gladiator II,” a sequel to his 2000 best picture-winning original, launched with $55.5 million in ticket sales. With a price tag of around $250 million to produce it, “Gladiator II” was a big bet by Paramount Pictures to return to the Coliseum with a largely new cast, led by Denzel Washington and Paul Mescal. While it opened with a touch less than the $60 million predicted in domestic ticket sales, “Gladiator II” has performed well overseas. It added $50.5 million internationally.

Going into the weekend, box office was down about 11% from last year and some 25% from pre-pandemic times. That meant this week's two headline films led a much-needed resurgence for theaters. With “Moana 2” releasing Wednesday, Hollywood might be looking at historic sales over the Thanksgiving holiday.

“This weekend’s two strong openers are invigorating a box office that fell apart after a good summer,” said David A. Gross, a film consultant who publishes a newsletter for Franchise Entertainment.

The collision of the two movies led to some echoes of the “Barbenheimer” effect of last year, when “Barbie" and “Oppenheimer” launched simultaneously. The nickname this time, “Glicked,” wasn’t quite as catchy and the cultural imprint was also notably less. Few people sought out a double feature this time. The domestic grosses in 2023 – $162 million for “Barbie” and $82 million for “Oppenheimer” – were also higher.

But the counter-programming effect was still potent for “Wicked” and “Gladiator II,” which likewise split broadly along gender lines. And it was again the female-leaning release – “Wicked,” like “Barbie” before it – that easily won the weekend. About 72% of ticket buyers for “Wicked” were female, while 61% of those seeing “Gladiator II” were male.

And while “Barbenheimer” benefitted enormously from meme-spread word-of-mouth, both “Wicked” and “Gladiator II” leaned on all-out marketing blitzes.

Both movies pulled out all the stops in global advertising campaigns that spanned everything from “Wicked” Mattel dolls (some of which led to an awkward recall) to an Airbnb cross-promotion with the actual Colosseum in Rome. For “Gladiator II,” Paramount even took the unusual step of simultaneously running a one-minute trailer on more than 4,000 TV networks, radio station and digital platforms.

Though “Wicked” will face some direct competition from “Moana 2,” it would seem to be better set up for a long and lucrative run in theaters. Even at 2 hours and 40 minutes, the film has had mostly stellar reviews. Audiences gave it an “A” on CinemaScore. The reception for “Wicked” has been strong enough that Oscar prognosticators expect it to be a contender for best picture at the Academy Awards, among other categories.

Producers, perhaps sensing a hit, also took the step of splitting “Wicked” in two. Part two, already filmed, is due out next November. Each “Wicked” installation cost around $150 million to make.

“Gladiator II” has also enjoyed good reviews, particularly for Washington's charismatic performance. Audience scores, though, were weaker, with ticket buyers giving it a “B” on CinemaScore. “Gladiator II” will make up for some of that, however, with robust international sales. It launched in many overseas markets a week ago, earning $87 million before landing in North America.