CT: A Love Letter to Hugh Jackman
Dear Hugh Jackman,
CT here. Big fan. Big fan for a long time actually. I was 12 when X-Men came out, just about to discover a love for movies that would change my life and my career path and my future. It was one of the first movies that I fell in love with, that made me think about story and character and writing in a way that pushed me to write my own stories and characters. I've heard that you were a last-minute addition to X-Men, and I'm here to tell you how thankful I am for that.
Little C and I happy-sobbed our way through The Greatest Showman this week (my second time seeing it), and it got me thinking. I've heard all the stories about how you championed that film, pushing for years to get it made. How you used every ounce of your star collateral to get a town (that's famously resistant to taking chances) to gamble on an original musical. An expensive original musical. But you got it done, and on its own that is an inspiration.
But it's one thing to hear a story like that and another to see it play out in front of you. Bless whoever recorded this video, because it is a vision. Firstly and most obviously because of your simple passion for what you do. To see you literally not be able to help yourself but jump in and sing- I get that in the parts of my soul that itch to have a camera in my hands every time I watch a movie. And trust me, sir, that passion read in every frame of The Greatest Showman. You are having a BLAST on screen and even if I'd hated everything else in the movie that would have been worth the price of admission on its own.
But it's more than that. The love and the trust and the excitement in the rest of the cast as they watch you perform and sing with you is truly breathtaking. I've watched that video a dozen times and cried almost every time.
They know. They know that without your star power, earned over a career of hard work and long hours and taking roles you might not have normally taken, this movie is going nowhere. They know that you are fighting for this project with everything you have. They know that you are so inspired by this story that you want everyone to see it. They know that this workshop for Fox is a huge part of whether or not the movie gets a green light, and so to see you throw yourself behind the work in this moment is an act of love. They trust you.
It's beautiful.
I could re-tell all of the wonderful stories about you I've heard over the years. I could talk about all the fantastic films you've been in and how those stories have impacted me. But I'm sure you know all that.
What I think is more worthy of saying here is that as a young filmmaker, a young writer, a human who wants to tell stories that inspire and entertain and open people's hearts, seeing The Greatest Showman and watching that video of the workshop reminded my why I do it. Why I fight to get a project made. It reminded me of what's possible and what's at stake and why we do this in the first place.
Thank you, sir.
CT
CT here. Big fan. Big fan for a long time actually. I was 12 when X-Men came out, just about to discover a love for movies that would change my life and my career path and my future. It was one of the first movies that I fell in love with, that made me think about story and character and writing in a way that pushed me to write my own stories and characters. I've heard that you were a last-minute addition to X-Men, and I'm here to tell you how thankful I am for that.
Little C and I happy-sobbed our way through The Greatest Showman this week (my second time seeing it), and it got me thinking. I've heard all the stories about how you championed that film, pushing for years to get it made. How you used every ounce of your star collateral to get a town (that's famously resistant to taking chances) to gamble on an original musical. An expensive original musical. But you got it done, and on its own that is an inspiration.
But it's one thing to hear a story like that and another to see it play out in front of you. Bless whoever recorded this video, because it is a vision. Firstly and most obviously because of your simple passion for what you do. To see you literally not be able to help yourself but jump in and sing- I get that in the parts of my soul that itch to have a camera in my hands every time I watch a movie. And trust me, sir, that passion read in every frame of The Greatest Showman. You are having a BLAST on screen and even if I'd hated everything else in the movie that would have been worth the price of admission on its own.
But it's more than that. The love and the trust and the excitement in the rest of the cast as they watch you perform and sing with you is truly breathtaking. I've watched that video a dozen times and cried almost every time.
They know. They know that without your star power, earned over a career of hard work and long hours and taking roles you might not have normally taken, this movie is going nowhere. They know that you are fighting for this project with everything you have. They know that you are so inspired by this story that you want everyone to see it. They know that this workshop for Fox is a huge part of whether or not the movie gets a green light, and so to see you throw yourself behind the work in this moment is an act of love. They trust you.
It's beautiful.
I could re-tell all of the wonderful stories about you I've heard over the years. I could talk about all the fantastic films you've been in and how those stories have impacted me. But I'm sure you know all that.
What I think is more worthy of saying here is that as a young filmmaker, a young writer, a human who wants to tell stories that inspire and entertain and open people's hearts, seeing The Greatest Showman and watching that video of the workshop reminded my why I do it. Why I fight to get a project made. It reminded me of what's possible and what's at stake and why we do this in the first place.
Thank you, sir.
CT
Fun fact: First DVD I ever bought was X-Men. I've been a Hugh fangirl ever since. Also fun fact: I watch this video of Hugh (and the one of Keala Settle singing "This is me") workshopping the movie at least once a week. I hope the DVD and Blu-ray release has a ton of special features for me to obsess over.
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