EDITORIAL > A BIG CHEER
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A big cheer | 25 June 2008
With much anticipation the ABBA fan world is waiting for the Mamma Mia! movie. It looks like it will be a fun movie. It's been nine years since the musical rose to incredible fame in London. With productions in many languages and in many cities across the globe Mamma Mia! has been one of the most successful musicals of all time. An incredible 30 million people have seen the show. No wonder that Hollywood was interested. They made a hit movie from the musical Chicago so why wouldn't they be able to do the same again. All ingredients of the show were very favourable for film makers. The set was situated on a beautiful Greece island, which is ideal for great cinematographic pictures; the location is better than the stage musical itself. Some unexpected movie stars have been casted. Who knew that Meryl Streep could sing? And who knew that former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan could sing? Well, I didn't. The trailers that I have seen are very promising and I can't wait to see the film on a big screen somewhere in a cinema near me. Even loyal ABBA fans who hate the stage musical admitted that they can't wait to see the film. As can be expected the promotional machinery has been put in motion and the advertising for the film is everywhere. Dutch national radio station Radio 2 is completely absorbed by the premiere in Holland. They declared July 2 "ABBA day" and they will broadcast live from the famous Dutch Tuschinsky Theatre in Amsterdam. They will tell everything about the Dutch premiere and one of the leading actors Colin Firth will attend the screening. I very much hope (and expect) that the movie will be a massive global hit, as the music of ABBA deserves to be played all over the world. This movie will undoubtedly mean a renewed interest in the original ABBA tracks, which is great. Maybe it even attracts a new and younger generation of ABBA fans. Of course the movie comes with a soundtrack album, which will earn song writers Björn and Benny (who produced the soundtrack recording) some extra cash. And although the soundtrack album seems promising and no matter how Meryl Streep tries to do a good job belching The Winner Takes It All, you can't deny that the original songs are a league of their own. Not a single soul has ever come close to the superb vocals on the real ABBA recordings. So here's a big cheer for two ladies who tend to be forgotten in the Mamma Mia! hype. They are the masters of the game and transferred Björn and Benny's great music to classic pop songs: hip hip hooray for Agnetha and Frida! |
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