Everybody's Talking About Jamie Movie BTS Details Revealed By Writer
Everybody's Talking About Jaime writer Tom MacRae discusses the behind-the-scenes details of the film that helped it take shape and come together the way he envisioned it. MacRae also wrote the stage musical version of the story, which premiered on the West End in 2017 and is currently on hiatus due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The stage show made its American premiere in January 2022 in Los Angeles.
Based on the documentary Jamie: Drag Queen at 16, Everybody's Talking About Jamie follows the titular British schoolboy as he overcomes prejudice and bullying on the journey to become a drag queen. The film was released on Prime Video in September 2021 and received positive reviews from critics, with many citing the uplifting tone and energetic musical numbers. Everybody's Talking About Jamie is one of many musicals to come out in 2021 to fill a void made by the pandemic preventing live performances from taking place.
On the podcast The Art of Kindness, MacRae talks about how they shot the film in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England, where the musical premiered, and how a lot of the extras in the movie were fans of the stage show. He talks about how the support of that audience is what drove the musical to find success on the West End and led to its film adaptation. He also mentions that the number of people who came out to appear as extras in the movie was in the thousands. Read his quote below:
When we shot the film we went back to the community and we had people coming to be extras who had been there at that first show and wanted to come and tell us 'we love Jamie.' We got to make a film with thousands of extras who were just Sheffield people who loved Jamie and wanted to be a part of it. We wouldn't have anything if it wasn't for those people.
Everybody's Talking About Jaime continues the musical trend from 2021 of having musical adaptations provide hope in a world where live performances are largely not a possibility, where the infectious energy of a stage musical is being translated to the big screen. The producers of the movie have previously talked about translating the British working-class sensibility and humor to the show, thus having it be shot where it premiered. Besides MacRae, many of the creative team behind the stage show returned for the film.
Along with sporting events and concerts, live theater was hit very hard by the pandemic, with productions only recently starting up again. After two years of looking at the world through screens, many are craving the personal, intimate experience of seeing a live show, and despite Everybody's Talking About Jaime, and the other musicals trying to replicate that feeling, there's no substitute for the real thing. In the end, Everybody's Talking About Jaime was made by people with a passion for performance, and the project will be enjoyed by audiences on screen and (eventually) on a stage.
Source: The Art of Kindness