The Phantom of the Opera - Trivia, Questions and Fun Facts

[discussimdb]

Fan of The Phantom of the Opera or just want to share your movie knowledge? This topic is dedicated to all trivia and questions related to The Phantom of the Opera

[willard]

In very early stages of production, Kevin Spacey was considered for the role of The Phantom.

[charlie]

The doll in the Phantom's lair that is supposed to resemble Emmy Rossum is not actually a wax mold. It is Emmy Rossum. The production produced a mask of her face to use on the mannequin but when they put in the fake eyes it didn't look like her. She suggested to stand in as the mannequin instead. This was done by her being made up like a doll with waxy makeup on, and her standing very, very still.

[leo]

Keira Knightley auditioned for the role of Christine Daaé.

[dustin]

La Carlotta's deep purple outfit is comprised of over twenty-seven meters of silk.

[jim]

Filming of the final lair scene took a week to complete.

[ray]

In the original stage production the chandelier is dropped at the end of the first act (just after the reprise of "All I Ask of You"), but it was decided to have it at the end of the film. This change has been incorporated into the new Vegas production of the show.

[lynn]

During Madame Giry's story flashback scene of the carnival, you can hear part of the score from Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Love Never Dies" which is the stage sequel to Phantom of the Opera.

[gerald]

Over the course of the film's development, John Travolta, Antonio Banderas, Meat Loaf, Heath Ledger, and Matthew McConaughey were considered for the role of the Phantom. Banderas actually spent several years in vocal preparation and sang the role of the Phantom in Great Performances: Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration (1998).

[nora]

The film project was confirmed in 1989. Terry Semel and Bob Daly, then studio bosses at Warner Bros., were "Phantom" fans and wanted it filmed. The project was ready to begin filming in 1990 and be released in November 1991; it was set to star Michael Crawford and Sarah Brightman (the original stars of the stage version). Just before filming began, Andrew Lloyd Webber divorced Brightman and the project was put on hold.

[jesus]

The movie went through 18 masks, mostly because the masks would get fingerprints on them.

[alyssa]

While others have been mentioned through the years, Joel Schumacher was Andrew Lloyd Webber's choice for director since the movie project was conceived in the early '90s. He chose Schumacher after being impressed by the use of music in The Lost Boys (1987).

[gabriel]

In the novel instead of threatening to strangle raoul if she doesn't marry him, he has christine turn the grasshopper or the scorpion. The grasshopper if her answer is no, will blow up the opera house. If her answer is yes, it will drown the blackpowder and she will become his wife. In the novel she turns the scorpion and marries him.

[alyssa]

In playing Christine's father in this movie, Ramin Karimloo becomes the only actor to have played all three of Christine's loves. Her father in the movie version, and both Raoul and the Phantom on the stage.

[russell]

In an interview on The View (1997), Minnie Driver (Carlotta) says that to master her diva-like Italian accent, she channeled an old neighbor she had when she lived in Venice as a child.

[scarlett]

The part where Raoul nearly drowns is also a nod to the original novel, where Erik (The Phantom) floods the torture chamber with water from the lake after Christine agrees to marry him.

[ivan]

Michael Jackson wanted to play The Phantom himself in the film version. Jackson had a strong interest in musical theater and was a fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber's stage adaptation when he saw it open in New York in 1988, in which Jackson saw it several times since and talked to Lloyd Webber backstage. However, Lloyd Webber has said that although Jackson wanted to play the film version of The Phantom, Lloyd Webber felt that it was too early for "Phantom" to become a film because the stage musical had just opened at that time.

[jeffrey]

Although The Phantom wears his mask on the right side of his face throughout the film, he wears it on the left side on the film's poster.

[tammy]

A former top-ranking soprano in New York, Anne Hathaway was reportedly the front-runner for the role of "Christine". However, due to scheduling conflicts with The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement (2004), she couldn't take the role, which later went to newcomer Emmy Rossum.

[eli]

Even though in the Andrew Lloyd Webber version the Phantom doesn't have a name, in the original book he's called Erik.