‘Wicked’ was briefly pulled from theaters in Kuwait, allegedly due to its LGBTQ cast, but could the hit musical be banned outright in the US? Director Adam McKay “wouldn’t be surprised” if the film is pulled in the next few years due to the political direction America is headed.
The “Don’t Look Up” director shared his thoughts on “Wicked” on It swings a little to the middle, but “Part One” is about extremism versus careerism, fascism, and propaganda.
He continued, “What’s really amazing about Wicked Part 1 is that it’s coming out now at a time when America has never been more right-wing and propagandistic. And yes, I know the theatrical production and book are much older, so part of the timing is pure coincidence, but still…”
While replying to another user
MacKay is no stranger to political films. His most recent film, 2021’s Don’t Look Up, was a timely and apocalyptic thriller about how the world responded (poorly) to a catastrophic meteor. Before that, he directed Vice, a political satire about former US Vice President Dick Cheney, and The Big Short, about the 2007 US housing market collapse. He likened Wicked to “radical big studio” films like The Bridge on the River Kwai,” “The Sound of Music,” “The Searchers,” “Citizen Kane,” and “The Hunger Games.” “This is a big movie,” he wrote of the 2012 Jennifer Lawrence film. “It’s an incredibly left-winger.”
He continued that the “villain” is “very extreme.” “My daughter told me the book was wild and worth reading,” MacKay added of the 1995 novel “Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West,” which inspired the Broadway musical.
“Wicked” is expected to be a Best Picture contender at the Academy Awards, and recently received Golden Globe nominations for Best Musical/Comedy and Acting nominations for Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande.
MacKay praised Grande’s performance as Glinda, writing, “Ariana Grande is also amazing. It’s as good a performance as you’ll find in any genre.”