Evita
All actors and roles (10)
All team (74)
Short description
Evita is a musical drama about Eva Duarte, a poor, illegitimate girl from rural Argentina who moves to Buenos Aires as a teenager and works her way into radio, modelling and acting. Her ambition and her relationships with powerful men carry her to Juan Perón, the colonel she marries, and to the position of first lady when he takes power. A narrator figure, Ché, follows her rise and comments on the gulf between the devotion she inspires among Argentina's poor and the corruption and self-interest that surround her. The story is framed by her death from cancer in 1952 at the age of 33 and the enormous public mourning that followed.
The film adapts the Broadway musical with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice, staged by Robert Stigwood with David Land. Alan Parker directs, and the screenplay is credited to Oliver Stone, Parker and Rice; Stigwood, Parker and Andrew G. Vajna produce. Madonna plays Eva, with Antonio Banderas as Ché, Jonathan Pryce as Juan Perón and Jimmy Nail as the singer Agustín Magaldi.
The film was the tenth of the twelve features Parker directed, arriving between The Road to Wellville and Angela's Ashes. Made for around 55 million dollars, it took roughly 141 million dollars worldwide. On IMDb it holds 6.3 out of 10 from about 39,000 votes, and on TMDB 6.1 out of 10 from over 500 votes. A critics' rating of 6.6 out of 10 from 38 reviews places it slightly above the audience scores.
What's left behind the scenes
- Thanks to the film, Madonna set a world record (entered in the Guinness Book of Records) for the number of costumes used in a single film. In 'Evita,' Madonna changed costumes 85 times; among other things, the props included: 39 hats, 45 pairs of shoes, and 56 pairs of earrings.
- Antonio Banderas secured the role in the film by submitting a tape recording and performing all the songs for Alan Parker during a lunch meeting in Miami.
- Michelle Pfeiffer was also considered for the role of Eva, and when Oliver Stone was thought to be directing, she even trained her voice for the part for several months.
- Madonna was given the role after she wrote a letter to director Alan Parker, requesting the part and providing arguments in its favor. The letter included a copy of the music video for “Take A Bow,” in which the style of the 1940s and 1950s was specifically preserved at her request. Furthermore, Madonna wrote about the similarities between her own life story and that of the character – both had lost a parent in childhood, and both subsequently moved to a large city with no money or connections, and both managed to succeed.
- Preparing for the role of Eva Perón (1919-1952), Madonna seriously studied vocals; she even took lessons from Patti LuPone, who was the first to play Eva in the Broadway production.
- The majority of the costumes worn by Madonna’s character were based on authentic costumes of Eva Perón. Some were recreated from photographs, but many were copies of the originals, which are still kept in Argentina.
- It proved impossible to obtain official permission to film at the Casa Rosada (the official residence of the President of Argentina, located in Buenos Aires), as ministers of the government of then-President Carlos Menem (1930-2021) demanded to review the script. Approximately six months after the request was submitted, Madonna, Alan Parker, Jonathan Pryce, and Antonio Banderas were summoned to an official meeting with the president, where Madonna directly asked him if they would be allowed to film on the balcony. Menem gave his permission. Madonna later said that the president only approved it because she allowed a bra strap to fall onto his shoulder. A replica of the Casa Rosada was built nearby.
- 4,000 extras participated in the funeral scene.
- Oliver Stone was planning to film a movie about Eva Perón, but he left the project due to disagreements with President Carlos Menem. Stone is mentioned in the credits as one of the scriptwriters, although he had absolutely no involvement in writing the screenplay.
- When Madonna first came to New York to become an actress, she auditioned for the role of Eva. The director not only rejected her, but also told her she would never play that role. After completing the film, Madonna sent him a copy.
- Alan Parker later said that he only realized how important Eva Perón was to Argentinians after arriving in Buenos Aires. Fearing that filmmakers would defile her image, locals left graffiti everywhere saying: “Madonna and Alan Parker, go home.”
- Alan Parker filmed the movie about Eva on his third attempt. The first attempt was in 1977, but it didn't work out because producer Robert Stigwood (1934-2016) wanted to release a stage version in London first; the next time was in 1979, when at the premiere of the Broadway production, Stigwood brought up the topic in conversation with Parker. Parker promised to call him, but never did, because he was working on the musical 'Fame' (1980), after which he vowed never to take on musicals again; and only in late 1994 did Parker begin filming 'Evita'.
Similar movies
Auditions in India
Casting calls in USA
Castingi w Polsce
Кастинги в Україні
