‘Rock of Ages’ Set Visit: Tom Cruise Steals the Show, Mary J. Parties With Strippers, and Alec Baldin and Russell Brand Share a Kiss!
Warner Bros.
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By Aimee Carlson
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Can you f*cking believe this heat? This is awful!
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And thus begins an hour and a half long adventure on the set with director Adam Shankman, the guy who famously put John Travolta in a dress in ‘Hairspray’ and come June 15, will bring you Tom Cruise, shirtless, and belting 80s power ballads like nobody’s business in “Rock of Ages.” That hour and a half would be filled with inside scoop and colorful stories about how Adam first met Cruise (over tiny furniture at a child’s birthday party), discovering the mega-star’s inner ability to sing (he’s got opera singers in the family) and Cruise’s superhero-like commitment and laser-focus on perfecting a role. Shankman himself is similarly unstoppable – he’s like the energizer bunny of filmmaking, bringing together a stellar cast, singing and dancing and directing it all at a breakneck speed. He’s fun, candid, and generous, and even took us into his trailer for unforgettable sneak peaks of some of the most anticipated performances in the film – including Tom Cruise singing “Pour Some Sugar On Me.” What a stand up guy!
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And sure, the summertime Miami locale was temperature-wise a godforsaken place, but with its unbelievable set design and colorful characters, the set of the jukebox musical was COOL. Adam Shankman and his crew have re-created the iconic Sunset Strip as it was in the 80s, complete with the Whisky-A-Go-Go, the Rainbow, even billboard doyenne Angelyne. And, he’s assembled an unbelievable cast that according to Shankman, will surprise at every turn. From Alec Baldwin, to Catherine Zeta Jones, and Paul Giamatti, Russell Brand, Julianne Hough, Mary J Blige, Russell Brand, and yes, Tom Cruise, every single A-lister on the roster will deliver the singing and dancing goods in spades.
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We had a lot of fun on set, and I had the chance to participate in a video chat with Collider’s Frosty and IAmRogue.com’s Jami Philbrick during which we shared our first impressions hot off the set. Check it out:
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Looking back as the film nears its release date, I still feel there’s a lot to be excited about, and so I present to you:
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The Top 5 Most Exciting Things about “Rock of Ages”
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“Rock of Ages” the Movie is a “Greatest Hits” Version of the Broadway Musical
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There are 23 songs in “Rock of Ages” including mashups like “We Built this City” with “We’re Not Gonna Take It.” And no Def Leppard in the play? No problem! The movie one-ups the musical with its inclusion of “Pour Some Sugar.” And sure, you might miss some tunes like “Oh, Sherrie” which director Adam Shankman found to be a little too on the nose for the story he wanted to tell, but to make up for the loss, the movie has original tunes like “Rock Angels” from Porcelain Black. Check out the full track listing:
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1 “Paradise City” / Tom Cruise
2 “Sister Christian” / “Just Like Paradise” /” Nothin’ But a Good Time” / Diego Boneta
3 “Juke Box Hero” / “I Love Rock ‘N’ Roll” / Diego Boneta
4 “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” / Catherine Zeta-Jones
5 “Waiting For a Girl Like You” / Diego Boneta
6 “More Than Words/Heaven” / Diego Boneta
7 “Wanted Dead or Alive” / Julianne Hough
8 “I Want To Know What Love is” / Malin Akerman
9 “I Wanna Rock” / Diego Boneta
10 “Pour Some Sugar On Me” / Tom Cruise
11 “Harden My Heart” / Julianne Hough
12 “Shadows of the Night”/ “Harden My Heart” / Julianne Hough
13 “Here I Go Again” / Diego Boneta
14 “Can’t Fight This Feeling” / Russell Brand
15 “Any Way You Want It” / Julianne Hough
16 “Undercover Love” / Diego Boneta
17 “Every Rose Has Its Thorn” / Diego Boneta
18 “Rock You Like a Hurricane” / Julianne Hough
19 “We Built This City” / “We’re Not Gonna Take It” / Russell Brand
20 “Don’t Stop Believin’” / Diego Boneta
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Even If You’ve Seen the Play a Gazillion Times, There Will Still be Some Surprises in Store:
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Warner Bros.
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Like for example, the drastic changes to the character of Lonnie. He’s no longer the narrator, but even so, he may be even more important in the movie than in the play. He’s played by Russell Brand, and acts as a sidekick to Alec Baldwin’s club owner character Dennis Dupree. And, they share a smooch! Shankman explains why the development is such a natural fit for the characters:
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He’s Alec’s sidekick. He’s there to have someone for Dennis to talk to and to have someone for Dennis to fall in love with. They fall in love. I was laughing because in the play they sing “I Can’t Fight This Feeling” and they have this big number with lifts and all that. So I’m getting into it because its one of the biggest moments in the play and it’s this weird, gay, out of nowhere thing. Then they were like, “Oh, they’re not gay, it’s a bromance.” I was like, are you f*cking kidding me? You can’t sing this song! Songs exist in musicals because characters feel more then they can just speak because they have to sing. They have to dance because they feel so much. In this particular thing, every song is so anthemic, that its like people really feel a lot. So when they sing it, I had to just go there so I made them fall in love, they kiss and everything.
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It’s a Musical Everyone Can Love. Even Guy’s Guys
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Warner Bros.
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Eighties hair metal hits that sweet spot of appeal for both the ironic bar hopper and the nostalgic memory seeker, and “Rock of Ages” is chock full of power ballads and rock anthems to please even the most musical-averse moviegoer. Explains Shankman:
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I was so stunned when I went to see the play that the house was full of straight guys rocking out, freaking out, and loving a musical. I was like, if I can make a musical for straight guys, are you fucking kidding me? Then I’d be a rock star! That is a big deal for me to be able to grab that audience and make them ashamedly admit that they love a f*cking musical that is really sexy, that would be awesome. So that was my way in to doing this whole project, doing a musical for straight guys.
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Mary J. Is In The Spot Tonight
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Warner Bros.
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Our sojourn into Adam Shankman’s trailer included a sneak peek at Mary J Blige and a bevvy of beautiful and talented ahem, exotic dancers doing a very sexy rendition of Pat Benatar’s “Shadows of the Night,” but star Julianne Hough (“Footloose,” “Burlesque”) described the excitement around the R&B diva’s involvement in the film. She could barely contain herself singing Mary J’s praise, and she wasn’t alone. Even Tom Cruise was a little star struck. When we asked Julianne about who she was excited to sing with, she didn’t hesitate to tell us:
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Mary freakin’ J. Blige! It is kind of ridiculous. We were at the read through before anything started and not a lot of the vocals had gone on yet. Tom (Cruise) actually started singing through the read through and we were like, “Crap. We all have to start singing now. Okay.” So we all started singing and at the end of the read through Tom was like, “Do you know why I did that?” and I was like, “No. Why?” and he goes, “So that we could hear Mary J. sing live.” I was like, “You are a genius!” But Mary J. is literally unbelievable. I sing “Every Rose Has its Thorn” and Mary J. has this huge part that goes over everybody’s vocals. It is ridiculous and so beautiful.
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And so is Tom Freakin’ Cruise!
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Warner Bros.
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Tom Cruise is going to absolutely steal this show. We got a sneak peek at Cruise performing his heart out as Stacee Jaxx, absolutely destroying “Pour Some Sugar On Me” – and I assure you, in a good way! Shankman credits Cruise’s incredible focus and dedication to crafting a character down to the minutiae of movements. After we had the privilege of watching Cruise’s take on Def Leppard, Shankman couldn’t contain his glee:
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This is a guy who is 49 years old – he should be playing a senator! And this is what he’s doing instead. And that is his voice, that’s him singing and we did not really help him. You know what I mean? That is him singing and that is him dancing and every single movement from every finger is choreographed. He worked on all of that. I could not be more proud.
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But now, the weirdest thing is that I have him doing that, Russell doing that, Catherine doing that, Alec doing that, Diego, Julianne, and Paul, I mean, like, I have them all with that level of commitment. So I mean it’s intense! It’s super intense. You know?
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I think we do!:
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Rock of Ages opens June 15th, 2012
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Synopsis:“Rock of Ages” tells the story of small town girl Sherrie and city boy Drew, who meet on the Sunset Strip while pursuing their Hollywood dreams. Their rock ‘n’ roll romance is told through the heart-pounding hits of Def Leppard, Joan Jett, Journey, Foreigner, Bon Jovi, Night Ranger, REO Speedwagon, Pat Benatar, Twisted Sister, Poison, Whitesnake, and more. ...
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