Director Rob Marshall Celebrates Oscar-Winning ‘Chicago’ As It Turns 20

“It still feels like a miracle that it actually happened,” confessed director Rob Marshall as we discussed Chicago and the movie musical’s 20th anniversary.

His big screen version of the Broadway classic not only happened but went on to gross $306.8 million against a $45 million budget. It also won a slew of awards, including six Oscars.

Set in 1920s Chicago, it stars Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger as two rival Death Row inmates craving celebrity and Richard Gere’s shady yet incredibly handsome lawyer, Billy Flynn.

I caught up with Marshall to find out why he’s Hollywood’s ‘musical whisperer,’ taking a gamble on Richard Gere’s pipes and his unexpected Oscars journey.

Simon Thompson: I find it incredible that Chicago is celebrating 20 years, and after two decades, it is still considered a gold standard for contemporary movie musicals.

Rob Marshall: It’s funny because when I started work on the film, I never imagined it would have this longevity. It was such a risk. In a way, it was my first feature film, and I was coming from theater, and I love this piece deeply. It was my favorite musical growing up as a kid. I saw the original a couple of times, actually, on stage, Fosse’s version, and loved it. I directed a production of Chicago in Los Angeles with Bebe Neuwirth, so I knew it intimately. When I was asked to do it, I was actually interviewing to direct the film version of Rent, and I said, ‘Before we speak about Rent, can we talk about Chicago?’ It had been sitting there, and it hadn’t been solved. How do you do this piece on film? I had an idea of how to do it, which was, in a nutshell, holding on to the original concept of the musical. All the numbers are vaudeville musical numbers, and they need to stay on the stage. I felt the movie needed to be told linearly in two different realities, the surreality on stage and the reality in Chicago in the late 20s. Animated movie musicals were big then, but live-action musicals were so dead. As we were starting it, I remember thinking, ‘No one’s going to see this film, but we’re going to do it as fully as possible.’ That was my plan, so it’s lovely that it has lasted and is loved, so I say thank you for that. It still feels like a miracle that it actually happened.

Thompson: Did anybody try and dissuade you from doing it? As you say, they were out of fashion, and musicals are one of the most challenging sells in the movie industry.

Marshall: You’re 100 percent correct. They are one of the toughest genres to get right, and I’ve spent my whole career doing them. You’re literally on the fine line between becoming a Saturday Night Live sketch at any moment (laughs). We’ve all been to a movie musical where they start to sing, and it feels slightly embarrassing, like, ‘Why are they singing?’ It feels unearned, weird, and silly, so it’s a delicate genre. You have to have a solid conceptual idea, so we understand and justify why they’re singing. It has to be earned and be seamless. I know I was insane to take it on, but I felt I maybe had a way to make it work conceptually, which was what I held on to.

Thompson: Chicago went on to win six Oscars. Do you consider yourself Hollywood’s “musical whisperer” because so many other directors have tried and failed, and you keep hitting the mark?

Marshall: (Laughs) I don’t know. I’m somewhat proud that maybe we pushed the door open to more musicals being done. The fact that it was successful and it worked has allowed more musicals over the years to be done, which is excellent. They are delicate and have to be handled with a lot of care.

Thompson: When did you know that it was working? Was it test screenings? Was it that opening weekend? I’m assuming you were a little nervous that opening weekend?

Marshall: I remember feeling like the movie represented this piece beautifully, but I had no idea it would be embraced. In fact, Miramax bosses said, ‘We should discuss the awards campaign,’ and I said, ‘For what movie?’ I had no idea that they were talking about Chicago. It was a slow burn, I have to be honest. We only debuted in LA and New York on opening weekend. It was just a few theaters in each, and what was crazy about that was there were lines around the block because everybody wanted to see it. Now it’s day and date and opens everywhere, but building that excitement and that word of mouth, really helped the movie. We didn’t open wide until January after all the nominations came out, so it was crazy. I thought, ‘Wow. Okay.’ I remember Richard Gere saying, as we were doing a press conference in London, ‘Just so you know, Rob, it’s not normally like this. The reception we are getting is different from how this usually goes.’ I was so new to it that I didn’t know.

Thompson: I remember that well as I was living and working in London at the time and was at that press call.

Marshall: You’re kidding? Wow. I remember it very well. It was at Claridge’s.

Thompson: Catherine Zeta-Jones and I are both from Swansea in South Wales, so our paths had previously crossed a few times back home.

Marshall: Oh, I love it. I had no idea.

Thompson: Both Catherine and Renée Zellweger were riding high at the time. They did phenomenally well and nailed this. Richard had done musical stuff but wasn’t known as a song-and-dance man. Tell me about the conversations you had with him. Was he reticent at all? Some people can recover from a potential misstep, but men who don’t deliver often don’t get to live that down.

Marshall: Very true. It was a very interesting experience for me because Richard is very interested in who the person is. He wanted to know who I was and if he could follow me. The only thing I knew that Richard had done was singing and playing a little in The Cotton Club, but I got a sense he was musical. I had heard that he played Danny Zuko in Grease in London, so I knew he had musicals in him somewhere. But you know what? I felt like he was excited about it and taking a risk, but he really wanted to know who I was. I remember we met for lunch downtown, and there were so few questions about the film, my take, and Billy Flynn because he wanted to know about me. We hit it off immediately. He’s such a warm, generous guy. I hadn’t heard him sing, so our studio where we were prepping the film was close by, and I thought, ‘Why don’t you come over to the studio?’ He said, ‘I know you’re doing; you’re trying to get me to sing, but I’m not going to,’ and I was like, ‘You’re right.’ I took a risk. I had never heard him sing, but I just knew he was right for it. I felt his passion and excitement, and that goes a long way. When I cast films, my hope is that I don’t have to make a decision; the decision is made for me because the actor claims the role and says, ‘This is mine.’ I felt that with him.

Thompson: Did you have a Plan B if Richard couldn’t sing as well as you wanted, Rob?

Marshall: (Laughs) I love working with actors who are new to musicals. I really do. They approach it from a different place. They don’t come from a vocal place but a character place. Most of my favorite performances on film and stage are the Rex Harrison’s who aren’t really singers, like in My Fair Lady, where they speak-sing, or Carol Channing in Hello, Dolly! or Zero Mostel in Fiddler on the Roof. These outstanding performances are actors expressing themselves through their version of a song. Richard didn’t have to have a great voice. This wasn’t an American Idol, and that’s something that’s missing right now. Many quote-unquote singers are trying to impress us with the gymnastics of their voices, but who cares? If you’re not a person, I’m not feeling anything; where is that? Where are the people that are bringing the character to life through song? That’s what I care about. When someone moves me, something that stops a show cold, it’s because of the feeling that the person has as they’re singing, not the voice.

Thompson: We touched on the fact that Chicago went on to win six Oscars. That was your first experience there. Your next movie starred Michelle Yeoh, and this year is, amazingly, her first experience of the Oscars. Have you passed on first-timer tips about how to ride that train?

Marshall: She’s so classy, wonderful, and an elegant, generous, kind, beautiful woman I loved working with and have continued to know over the years. Michelle’s had this amazing career, and it’s funny that it is only later in life that she’s being recognized this way. I’ve always known it. Here’s the thing; she’s ready. It’s so amazing when someone wears success beautifully, and she’s wearing it so well. When it happens early, many people don’t know how to deal with it. Michelle knows this is a beautiful moment for her, but she knows that then it’s the next job, and it’s part of the career. I’m just so happy that it’s come to a good person, someone I genuinely love and loved working with.

Thompson: We’re talking about the fact that 20 years ago, there was this adaptation of such a well-loved piece of work. Your latest project, which we’re getting to see this year, is another well-loved adaptation, The Little Mermaid.

Marshall: What’s interesting for me is that I remember very clearly when the last Disney version came out in 1989. It was the resurgence of musicals in an animated form in the way that I feel Chicago was a resurgence for live-action musicals. I feel a kinship to it because of that. I remember I was in the Broadway community at the time, and everybody was so excited about The Little Mermaid, this Broadway-style musical that hadn’t been done in animated films. It was so exciting to see that happen. Of course, it spawned Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and this whole wave of films. But you’re absolutely right about the surprise element. When I speak to 30 or 40-year-olds, who grew up with that VHS videotape in the big fluffy white box, they must have watched it a million times as kids. The Little Mermaid was a babysitter for many of these kids; they know it inside and out and love it. It means so much to them in the same deep way that the original Mary Poppins resonated for me. That was the first movie that I saw as a child. It’s crazy how many times I’ve said, ‘Well, I’m working on The Little Mermaid,’ and people say, ‘Oh, that’s my favorite.’ It just comes flying out of people’s mouths. It’s why I’ve been so careful from the beginning with this, to treat it with a lot of care and respect. Of course, it’s a reimagined version, but it holds on to the very important bones of what it was. We also have new material by Alan Menken and Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Thompson: They’re both pretty good, pretty reliable.

Marshall: (Laughs) Right? It’s exciting to see what you know, but it’s a bigger, more profound, maybe more emotional version. It’s a beautiful film. I’m very excited for people to see it.

The 20th anniversary Chicago Limited Edition Blu-ray SteelBook is available from Tuesday, February 7, 2023