Trivia / The Phantom of the Opera (2004)

• Acting for Two:
  • For "The Music of the Night", Emmy Rossum stands in as the doll in the Phantom's lair that is modeled after Christine. This was done because the original mannequin didn't look like her once they put the fake eyes in. So she stood in with make-up on to look like a waxwork.
  • In addition to providing the singing voice of Carlotta, Margaret Preece appears on screen as one of the confidants in Il Muto.
• Blooper: Christine's hair and makeup get visibly more sexy and elaborate during her journey to the Phantom's lair even though there's no way she could have done so herself. Word of God is that this was deliberately done to symbolize her burgeoning sexuality.
  • When the Phantom puts her to bed, she's wearing stockings. When she wakes up, they're missing. This is either an error...or something else.
  • Later, when she and Raoul are climbing the stairs of the Opera House, her hair is loose. By the time they come out onto the roof, it's partly pulled back.
• Creator-Chosen Casting: Joel Schumacher cast Gerard Butler as the Phantom after seeing him in Dracula 2000. He cast Ciarán Hinds as Firmin after working with him on Veronica Guerin.
• Cut Song: Parts of the reprise of "Notes" are eliminated.
• Dawson Casting:
  • Doing the math on Christine's headstone places Christine's age as sixteen when the film takes place. Emmy Rossum was the same age, averting this. However older actresses were screen-tested - though Andrew Lloyd Webber forbid anyone over twenty-five being auditioned.
  • However, Raoul is supposed to be about the same age as Christine (they knew each other as children), but his actor Patrick Wilson was around 30.
• Deleted Scene: "No One Would Listen", sung just before the climactic "Don Juan" performance.
• Fake Nationality: All over the place. It is set in France, and it is assumed that most characters are French. While the Phantom's nationality and family background is never explicitly stated, it can be assumed that he probably wasn't Scottish like Gerard Butler. The British Miranda Richardson plays the French Madame Giry, her daughter Meg is played also by a British actress (Jennifer Ellison), Christine Daae, of Swedish descent, is played by the American Emmy Rossum, the Italian diva Carlotta is played by the British Minnie Driver, and the explicitly French Raoul is played by the American Patrick Wilson. Of all the characters, only Richardson puts on a French accent.
• Newbie Boom: Out of all the adaptations, the 2004 movie is the most responsible for catapulting the fandom into the mainstream, especially that of the musical's. It inspired hundreds of fanfiction and internationally was the first Phantom experience for many.
• Non-Singing Voice: Although Minnie Driver is a skilled singer, she has no experience in opera, so noted English opera diva Margaret Preece serves as Carlotta's singing voice. Driver did, however, get to do her own singing for the decidedly non-opera Award-Bait Song over the credits, "Learn To Be Lonely".
• No Stunt Double: Patrick Wilson did his own stunts.
• On-Set Injury:
  • A worker suffered severe injuries when he was thrown from scaffolding that was not properly secured on the set of the film.
  • Patrick Wilson fell off his horse approximately three times while filming his own stunt scene, riding the horse bareback. He also nearly drowned while filming the water scenes in the lake.
• Saved from Development Hell: Andrew Lloyd Webber had been trying to turn the musical in the film since 1989. The original plan was to have Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman reprise their stage roles.
• Self-Adaptation: Andrew Lloyd Webber co-wrote and produced the film.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Hugh Jackman was originally cast as the Phantom, but he faced scheduling conflicts with Van Helsing. "They rang to ask about my availability", Jackman explained in an April 2003 interview, "probably about 20 other actors as well. I wasn't available, unfortunately. So, that was a bummer."
    • Other candidates included Antonio Banderas, Heath Ledger, Michael Jackson, Meat Loaf, Matthew McConaughey, Kevin Spacey and John Travolta.
  • Katie Holmes, who began working with a vocal coach, was the front-runner for Christine Daaé in March 2003. She was later replaced by Anne Hathaway, a classically trained soprano, in 2004. However, Hathaway dropped out of the role because the production schedule of the film overlapped with The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement, which she was contractually obligated to make. Catherine Zeta-Jones was offered the role, but didn't want to do another musical after Chicago. Other candidates included Charlotte Church, Keira Knightley and Kate Winslet.
  • Of all people, John Woo expressed interest in directing the film in the late 90s (being a lifelong fan of musicals), but ultimately passed.
  • The original script had the "Music Of The Night" concluding with the Phantom getting into bed with the unconscious Christine and the scene fading out as he drew the curtain around them, leaving absolutely no doubt as to his intentions. This was changed to as ambiguous as it is in the stage show, as it would be hard to present him as a romantic hero after such a blatant violation.

---