After Amélie was released in 2001, there were requests to turn the beloved film into a play or continue its life in some way as TV series or Amélie 2 movie. The world had been captivated by Amélie Poulain and her mission to cultivate joy for others while confronting her own loneliness. However, the response was always “no.”
Screenwriter Guillaume Laurant and director Jean-Pierre Jeunet were determined to preserve Amélie's specialness and reserve it for that one medium. Especially since it had been such a long, arduous journey to get the film produced. They agreed there would be no sequel, no TV series.
“Amélie is kind of a miraculous film. It was turned down by several producers and difficult to make,” says Laurant of the movie which became a global sensation, is one of the highest grossing French films in the United States and was nominated for five Academy Awards. “We wanted to keep it unique.”
But the request to make Amélie a musical was a total game changer. “Where some other form might have betrayed the film, there is something about a musical that really expresses its essence,” shares Laurant. “A musical expresses the lightness and soul of the film.”
And so began the odyssey to turn the story of Amélie Poulain into a musical. After so many years, the spirited world of the waitress from Montmartre was revived for the stage.
As Amélie opened on Broadway earlier this month, Laurant and Craig Lucas, a Pulitzer Prize and Tony nominee, who wrote the musical's book, swapped stories.
Jeryl Brunner: Can you talk about featuring Audrey Tautou and Phillipa Soo as Amélie?
Guillaume Laurant: At the very beginning when we were writing the screenplay, we didn’t know that Audrey Tautou would be playing the part. That seems so strange now because Audrey Tautou seems so obvious, like the only choice. But back then, Emily Watson was supposed to play Amélie. Eventually Emily Watson wasn’t going to play her. So Jean-Pierre Jeunet went looking for an actress. At the time, Audrey Tautou was not well-known at all. She had been in one film in a supporting role. And yet, when we saw her, there was something obvious and evident about the fact that Amélie had to be her.
I believe it’s the same with Phillipa Soo. I was charmed by her, by her grace. She has something so fresh, you never take your eyes off her. She’s simple, happy, joyous, fragile, yet strong, graceful, and she sings really well, which is important for a singer.
Brunner: Craig, what was your take on turning Amélie into a musical?
Craig Lucas: I was hesitant. When you’re dealing with something that is beloved, you have to be respectful of other people’s feelings. I don’t blame Jean-Pierre Jennet who said, ‘ugh, musicals!' I feel the same way. Most of them are not very good. So to be worth doing, it would have to be good. It would have to bring something different to the table. Otherwise, I don’t understand doing it.
For example, to take movie like Singing in the Rain and recreating it on stage seems dumb to me. No matter how well you do it. If you could you watch something for $5, why would you pay $200? That seems cuckoo to me. It’s not going to be Gene Kelly. It’s not going to be Debbie Reynolds and Donald O’Connor or Jean Hagen. It’s just not. My teacher taught me that if you’re going to adapt something, you have to bring a point of view that is different enough to justify doing it, but in respect to the original.
Brunner: Then how did you get interested?
Lucas: I was interested because of the song writers, {Nathan Tysen and Daniel Messé} and because of the director, {Pam MacKinnon}. At the very first table read we had Phillipa Soo. She had just literally gotten out of Juilliard that month. She was very funny and moving. It seemed that this could actually be very touching. This is about trying to connect. And as Guillaume has said, it is very much about how you become an adult and what you keep alive from when you are a kid. That was fun. Also, I don’t like musicals when they sound like they were written in another era. I wanted the music to sound like something that I would put on in the car when I’m driving, something that I would want to sing along or listen to like Beyoncé.
You have to live with the music for five years, day in, day out. And believe me, I have worked on musicals where five days was too long with the music. I’ve been very fortunate. I came of age and worked with Mr. Sondheim and then I worked with Adam Guettel whose music you can listen to every day for the rest of your life. I thought this was of that quality. It was genuinely original. It does not sound like another musical. It does not sound like another composer. And the lyrics are not like anyone else’s lyrics.
Brunner: In Amélie you brought us into a world filled with uniquely distinctive and interesting people, like Joseph, who loves popping bubble wrap. How did they come to you?
Laurant: Even before we had a story, the first stage was to make a film in which we would put everything that we wanted into it. That included as many personal anecdotes and memories as possible. There are a lot of childhood stories and memories in the film, both my own and Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s. Also, for years, I have been looking everywhere, all around me. I have been looking out the window at my neighbors. I spent a lot of time sitting on café terraces. I just love unusual characters and trying to find a way to put these people into a story. And in this case these characters became the principal part of the story.
Lucas: What Guillaume has just said is so interesting. In drama, what has intrigued your curiosity in life is useful. If it was interesting to you sitting with your latte by the Seine, it’s going to intrigue other people too.
Brunner: How do you both marry being artists, staying true to your work and thriving as professionals?
Laurant: I try to do what fits me. If I don’t take pleasure in something, there is no desire for me to do it. But I believe my success is due in large part to all the intermediaries, the go-betweens, the people who help me meet the audience. First among whom is my agent. But I try to make sure that I remain coherent, that my work sticks to what is true to me. I’m not a producer. I’m just a writer. And so far, I’ve been very lucky in my career to be surrounded with people whose job is to make sure that the ideas I’ve put in place find their audience.
Lucas: Years ago I heard Jonathan Demme say, ‘they are never going to pay you enough to have a bad time.’ I thought, I’m with him. I tend to say 'no' when I think it’s going to be a bad time. Whether it’s a very, very difficult actor, or director, or producer, I simply say ‘no.’ And I have been fortunate. I don’t need, nor am I very interested in having vast amounts of money. The one time I made money, I sold one play to the movies for a large sum, I became someone I didn’t like. I thought, what is this about?
Brunner: Guillaume, what did you think of Amélie when you saw it?
Laurent: Once things were in place, I knew this was a process that would take a lot of time. I was just waiting, with apprehension, with hope. And then I saw the show with my daughter and daughter-in-law. When the film came out over 15 years ago, so many people came to me and said, 'that film did me good. It made me feel good. It reconciled me with life.' And that is how I felt when I saw the musical.
