Tag: Wicked

Taylor Swift seemingly held space for Defying Gravity with Cynthia Erivo at the Grammys

The meme lives on.

Sunday night brought all the stars of music together in Los Angeles as the 67th Grammy Awards celebrated best from last year. Mega pop star Taylor Swift was in attendance — and nominated for six awards — and sat next to Wicked star Cynthia Erivo during the ceremony.

As host Trevor Noah gave his monologue, you could see the duo of Erivo and Swift in the background. At one point, the The Tortured Poets Department singer seemed to clutch the Elphaba actress’ nail, a nod to the iconic “holding space” interview from the Wicked press junket.

Fans immediately spotted the moment and couldn’t get enough of it.

Why Wicked just took a step back as an Oscar Best Picture frontrunner

Wicked has more of a hill to climb for Best Picture at the Oscars next year.

If you’re hoping for Wicked to win Best Picture at next year’s Academy Awards, you might want to sit down.

The smash-hit adaptation of the Broadway musical surprisingly took home the National Board of Review’s Best Film award on Wednesday, which puts Wicked well in line to land a Best Picture nomination next month.

Most of the NBR’s recent winners, sans 2020’s Da 5 Bloods and 2014’s A Most Violent Year, over the last decade have gone on to get nominated in the Oscars’ biggest category.

However, only one film since 2008 has actually won Best Picture after winning the NBR’s Best Film honor: 2018’s Green Book.

That puts Wicked at a historical disadvantage, as the NBR’s Best Film award is a rather curious note of bad luck for any Best Picture contender.

The honor only lined up with the Academy in Best Picture during the 2000s on two occasions: 2007’s No Country for Old Men and 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire.

If you’re looking for an idea of how the New York City-based NBR operates, know their Best Film category typically rewards distinctly American films with its top prize and isn’t afraid to honor a blockbuster like it did in 2022 with Top Gun: Maverick and in 2015 with Mad Max: Fury Road. 

Wicked is a classic crowd-pleaser, but it’s also a work of American intellectual property and adapted from a gigantic Broadway show. Best Picture hasn’t gone to a work of IP since 2003’s The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and hasn’t gone to a Broadway adaptation since 2002’s Chicago. The broadening international impact in the Academy’s voting body doesn’t necessarily lend itself to a film like Wicked winning Best Picture, either, as international voters typically prefer more auteur-driven, arthouse-friendly fare like 2019’s Parasite, 2020’s Nomadland, 2022’s Everything Everywhere All at Once and 2023’s Oppenheimer. 

However, 2021’s CODA proved how crowd-pleasing films with a musical slant can succeed in Best Picture as of late. But that’s a film firmly grounded in reality and surged late in the Best Picture process.

These historical stats slip up all the time, so don’t assume this as Wicked‘s kiss of death. Meanwhile, the NBR’s inability to predict where Best Picture is going over the years does make you wonder if Wicked has a ceiling.

Wicked is most certainly going to be a popular film at this year’s Oscars, but don’t necessarily count on it as the clear frontrunner. This one has much more to defy than you might expect, and the “NBR Best Film curse” is now one of them. It’ll be one of the contenders, but really don’t call it a lock right now.

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Wicked’s Cynthia Erivo officially ends movie’s controversial audience singing debate

Cynthia Erivo has given the official verdict about singing at the movies.

So many moviegoers have been flocking to see Wicked, including folks like Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, who admitted to singing along in the theatre.

Unfortunately, not everyone has been belting out notes. Some people, like For The Win’s Cory Woodroof, are not huge fans of others singing mid-movie. (Cory recently begged watchers not to sing along — “for the love of Oz.”) However, there’s been a development. One of the film’s biggest stars, Cynthia Erivo, officially settled the controversial singing debate during an appearance on the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

How does she feel about the singing? “Good!” Cynthia happily told the TODAY show crew. “I’m okay with it. We spent this long singing it ourselves. It’s time for everyone else to join in. It’s wonderful.” BOOM. CASE CLOSED. Carry on, everyone. (See the 1:07 mark in the clip below.)

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Kirk Cousins admitted to singing along to Wicked when he saw it in theaters

Kirk Cousins is defying gravity.

Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins revealed himself to be one of the folks singing Wicked songs in the theater.

While talking to Atlanta media on Wednesday, Cousins said he saw the new movie during the team’s bye week and couldn’t help but sing the songs in his theater seat since he sang them in his high school choir.

“I was kind of waiting for my wife to nudge me to stop doing that,” Cousins joked about his one-man Wicked singalong. “When Elphaba goes into ‘The Wizard and I,’ it’s hard not to [sing along], and then ‘Defying Gravity,’ it’s hard not to.”

If Cousins can help get the Falcons back to the playoffs for the first time in seven seasons, we bet the folks in Atlanta won’t mind him belting his favorite Wicked songs at the movies all he wants.

After all, he’d be quite the … popular … guy.

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A bizarre moment from the Wicked press tour about ‘holding space’ with Defying Gravity is now a meme

We are all holding space for Defying Gravity.

There have been some noteworthy moments from the Wicked press tour involving stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo, but there’s one that has taken over the internet.

Let’s set the scene! A reporter from Out.com told Erivo this: “I’ve seen this week, people are taking the lyrics of Defying Gravity and really holding space with that, and feeling power in that.”

Erivo got very emotional, saying she didn’t know that had happened and that it was extremely powerful. Grande then held her … finger.

MORE WICKED MEMES: “Wicked Witch of the East, Bro!” is back!

So if you’re wondering why you’re seeing memes like this about “holding space” and such, here’s your answer:

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11 fun ‘Wicked Witch of the East, Bro!’ memes to celebrate the Wicked premiere

“SHE CAME DOWN IN A BUBBLE, DOUG!”

In honor of the Wicked movie (part one) premiere Friday, we’re here to celebrate one of the greatest internet moments ever, which evolved into one of the most beloved memes of all time: THE WICKED WITCH OF THE EAST, BRO!

The meme was born after the original video went viral in 2018 because viewers couldn’t get enough of two people intensely arguing about The Wizard of Oz. More specifically, arguing over whether Glinda, the Good Witch of the North, is a princess and what exactly her family tree looks like.

Never have you seen an argument so heated, so animated and so wildly incorrect over something so supremely innocuous, but this meme holds a special place in the hearts of Wizard of Oz and Wicked fans, along with those of us who are just too online.

WICKED MOVIE: For the love of Oz, please do not sing the Wicked songs when you go see the movie

The original YouTube video has nearly 12 million views at the time of publishing.

It’s truly magnificent:

“Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on! Her sister was a witch, right? And what was her sister? A princess! The Wicked Witch of the East, bro!”

“I’m gonna stab him.”

“You’re gonna look at me, and you’re gonna tell me that I’m wrong?! Am I wrong?!”

“It’s my favorite…”

“She wore a crown, and she came down in a bubble, Doug!”

“I’m not fighting with you.”

“Grow up, bro.

“I’m not fighting with you.”

“Grow up.”

“Get educated!”

To be clear — as Wicked will explain and The Wizard of Oz did 85 years ago — Glinda is neither the sister of the Wicked Witch of the East or West, who are sisters, nor is she a princess. So based entirely on this 26-second video, Doug appears to be very correct.

To celebrate the Wicked premiere, here are some of our favorite renditions of this incredible and beloved meme. They’re among the best, but with countless variations out there, it’s impossible to declare any single version the best.

1. The Ariana Grande rendition, of course

2. A sports rendition

3. A two-faced rendition

4. A timely Wicked rendition

5. An on-stage rendition

Watch on TikTok

6. A green rendition

7. Another green rendition

8. One more green rendition

Credit to anyone painting themselves green, including Cynthia Erivo and Idina Menzel, obviously.

Watch on TikTok

9. A Times Square rendition

10. A perfect pink kitchen rendition

11. A peak TikTok-in-your-car rendition

Watch on TikTok

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Are Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater still dating as Wicked premieres? What we know.

Here’s what we know.

Wicked the movie is here, which is very exciting (but please don’t sing when you see it, please!).

There’s a subplot that has nothing to do with the movie that has popped up now that Ariana Grande and Ethan Slater star in it — back in 2023, there were rumblings that they were dating, which got very messy.

MORE WICKED: 11 stunning red carpet photos of the cast

And just recently, people noted their PDA on the red carpet at the New York premiere of the movie.

So … are they still dating?

We have no official word, but they’ve talked a lot about each other in stories as of late, so it seems like they still are dating!

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Does Wicked have a post-credits scene?

Is there a post-credit scene after Wicked?

It’s time to head back to Oz for the film adaptation of the Broadway hit Wicked.

The long-awaited film is now playing in theaters, leaving fans of the musical and Wizard of Oz lore in general excited to see Elphaba and Glinda’s origin story on the big screen.

However, should you hang out during the credits to see if there’s one last scene before the lights come up?

Not this time around. While there is technically a post-credit movie waiting for you next November when the second half of Wicked hits theaters, there is not any extra scene at the end of this first installment.

If you want to stick around and hear the end credits music, that’s fine and dandy. Just don’t expect a tease for the second film or an extra scene.

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For the love of Oz, please do not sing the Wicked songs when you go see the movie

You will not be popular if you sing Wicked songs during the movie.

Something Wicked this way…sings?

Rather than just recline in the comfy theater seat, eat some Goobers and soak in the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked, The New York Times reports that some Wicked fans are treating early screenings of the film as their personal sing-along space.

Oh yes. People are going to a movie theater, a place where thousands of public announcement videos have aired before movies to encourage you to please just shut up for two hours and enjoy the show, and belting out their favorite Wicked songs as if they’re auditioning for a community playhouse.

As much as rampant cell phone use and idle chatter are heinous crimes in the filmgoing space, loudly singing a Broadway tune around other people who have absolutely no desire to hear your voice is a cardinal sin of going to the movies. It is a gross violation of a sacred space. It is just flat-out wrong.

Sure, historically, people have sang songs in theaters in the past. That’s typically reserved for midnight movies like The Rocky Horror Picture Show or specifically designated sing-along screenings.

Hearing a theater major loudly belt “Popular” right next to you while you’re just trying to drink your Diet Coke and enjoy the IMAX movie you paid good money for is like having someone blow cigarette smoke in your face while you’re trying to enjoy a nice steak dinner.

If it’s really that important to you to sing Wicked songs loudly with strangers, Universal will be offering sing-along screenings starting this Christmas. It’s then when you can dress like your favorite Wicked character and sing all the songs you want in a public space with other people without driving the rest of us bonkers.

For the love of Oz, please don’t do it before then. This is going to be one of the most packed houses this holiday season at the movies, and there are a lot of people who just want to hear trained professionals sing the songs. No disrespect, but if you’re getting such an outrageous itch to sing the Wicked songs loudly at the movies, you’re probably not a trained professional.

Just wait until Christmas to open your pipes and sing at the movies. We all pay a good amount for the movie ticket, and we all deserve the decency to enjoy the movie in silence. If you defy that silence and use the movies as your personal audience to sing, you deserve to be splashed with water.

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Do Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth make a Wicked cameo in the movie?

We have the answer.

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE WICKED MOVIE! DO NOT READ IF YOU DON’T WANT SOMETHING SPOILED.

Ready?

OK.

The Wicked movie is here and we’re so pumped as we get to watch Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo perform in the highly-anticipated Broadway adaptation.

But if you’re wondering if the original Elphaba and Glinda will appear in the movie? We have an answer about Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth.

MORE WICKED: The most stunning photos from the red carpet

Yes, they do appear! They’re in the One Short Day scene, and they sing, at least according to this clip I found:

There you have it.

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