#taymor also created those puppets in her vision for broadway’s the lion king

[rougedraconteur]

Cinespia presents Julie Taymor’s magical “Across the Universe” at iconic viewing spot Hollywood Forever Cemetery.

Excerpts from an article in The Hollywood Reporter (June 17, 2024)—

Evan Rachel Wood was actually tripping during “Across the Universe.” According to Evan Rachel Wood, one of the scenes in the 2007 Beatles themed musical Across the Universe is more based in reality than one might assume. While presenting a special Cinespia screening of the film at Hollywood Forever Cemetery, Wood shared a behind-the-scenes story from the set.

Notably, Wood did not present the film in person but instead recorded a video because she is “recovering from knee surgery and not going anywhere.”

“They told me to share a funny story ormoment from when we were on set,” Wood said. “Well, I’ll just say this…during the “I am the Wlarus” scene, any moment you see myself and Jim Sturgess, we are actually tripping.”

Wood also explained that (the movie) “almost didn’t happen.”

“The heads of the studio wanted to change quite a bit. They wanted to remove anything political, anything queer and anything psychedelic. So, pretty much every cool part of this film would have wound up on the cutting-room floor. If it wasn’t for our amazing director Julie Taymor (Broadway’s The Lion King). She stood her ground and got the entire cast to back her up and say we would remove our names from this film if they were to gut it in that way.”

Cinespia is a Los Angeles based organization that brings movie magic to life with screenings of classic films throughout the year to an audience of hundreds of thousands from all around the world, including some of Hollywood’s most famous. They present over 30 screenings a year in and around iconic outdoor venues and historic old movie theaters, as well as presenting special productions such as movie openings and other events for clients, for over 20 years.