Ariana Grande dealt with some real-life flying monkeys while filming “Wicked.”
The singer/actress said in a discussion with co-star Jonathan Bailey for V Man magazine that paparazzi were literally flying overhead to catch a glimpse of the decadent sets for the musical adaptation.
“I think we were very spoiled to have done this with [director Jon M. Chu]. It felt like a teeny, little secret student thing — its intimacy. It felt so small and private,” Grande said, “until all of a sudden, we were outside, and the Daily Mail was han[g] gliding over our set — oh, he should play the pterodactyl in your film [‘Jurassic Park’].”
Bailey added that the reporter was a “man on a massive kite, floating around with his legs hanging down” with a “GoPro on his toes.” The “Bridgerton” actor joked that “he’s actually hovering over right now” during their interview.
Despite Grande’s years as being one of the world’s biggest stars, she couldn’t believe the lengths to which the reporter went in his quest for access.
“I couldn’t believe my eyes. Well, firstly because I don’t have the best eyes. But secondly, because there’s no way,” Grande said. “There’s no way! I was like, ah, guy on a han[g] glider.”
The “Thank U, Next” singer added that the sets were the “best in the world” for the upcoming two-part film, with the first installment sharing a release date with “Gladiator II” on November 22.
Bailey concluded that he was “incredibly impressed” by the production design.
“There were certain elements of it that I was incredibly impressed by and I think that is because of the love and care of Mark Platt and Jon Chu,” Bailey said. “Obviously we’ve grown up loving theater and musical theater, I always felt attached to that wonderment. I think my expectation might have been that somehow in the making of something, you lose that. But we were on those incredible sets.”
The ensemble cast also includes Cynthia Erivo as Elphaba, Jeff Goldblum as the Wizard, Michelle Yeoh, Bowen Yang, Peter Dinklage, Adam James, Keala Settle, Bronwyn James, Ethan Slater, and Colin Michael Carmichael.
“In the Heights” and “Crazy Rich Asians” director Chu helms the two-part musical, written by Tony nominee Winnie Holzman. The story is based on Gregory Maguire’s 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West.”
Grande previously told Vanity Fair that she was determined to be in the cast and tried for a decade to get the film made.
“It was literally 10 years of being like, ‘Knock, knock, any developments? Is there an audition coming this year, or next year? I would like to start preparing today,’” Grande said.
“Wicked” will debut in two parts, with respective holiday releases in 2024 and 2025.
