by Nathaniel R
at the world premiere of "tick, tick, BOOM!"
I had the pleasure of interviewing Lin-Manuel Miranda in November while he was doing press for Encanto, now streaming on Disney+ with its soundtrack doing great business, too. He was energetic and smiling and gave great quote. Just a few days later, in a significantly less arranged moment, we came face-to-face the night of tick, tick... BOOM!'s premiere in Los Angeles. The response to the movie that night couldn't have been dreamier. He looked elated if significantly more tired than he had over Zoom. He admitted at the party that the entire week was a total blur. Just the week? The entire past year has been one Lin-Manuel Miranda highlight after another. So much so that we named him one of our top three entertainers of the year. In addition to questions about Encanto, tick, tick...BOOM!, and Hamilton, I made sure to ask him how he finds time for sleep.
[This interview has been edited for clarity.]
NATHANIEL: The movie musical came roaring back to life in the early Aughts. I had to make do with old movies on TV because I love musicals so much. What would have happened had they not resurged before you entered the scene?
LIN-MANUEL MIRANDA: I don't know -- I'm grateful for them, too! I grew up watching The Bandwagon and Singin' in the Rain and any time there was a musical-themed anything, I was in the theaters. I was one of the dozens who saw Newsies opening weekend. We wore out the Dirty Dancing soundtrack. It wasn't even a musical but it was close enough and it was what we had.
talking to us about the movie musical
There were so many musicals this year, even before Encanto and tick tick BOOM! opened...
I'm thrilled by the reinaissance. I think the key to hanging on to them so that we can keep making them is to embrace the diversity of them, Dear Evan Hansen is very different than In the Heights. Annette is very different than tick, tick... BOOM! Musicals are not one type of movie.
Exactly.
If we can hold on to that we'll be in the boom business for a little while longer.
You had four movies this year: In the Heights, Vivo, Encanto, tick tick BOOM!. So... when do you sleep?
I have a six year old and a three year old so I wasn't sleeping anyway!
But it's interesting that you ask that because I was editing tick, tick... BOOM! at the same time I was writing Encanto. I'm sure this is not always the case when you're multi-tasking but I found these two things very complimentary. I'm making a movie about a musical theater writer who is just dying to get his music out of his head and into the world. He didn't live to see the way his music connected to the world. You can't work on a movie about Jonathan larson's life and not go back to your piano in gratitude that you get to spend the day this way.
Your stage musicals came directly from you. But given that Disney is a big studio was Encanto more like being a songwriter for hire?
Introducing the "Family Madrigal"
No! On Moana I was the last guy hired. I had this wonderful shotgun wedding with Opetaia Foa'i and Mark Mancina but the story had been several years in development. We had a good experience but I said 'with the next one I just want to be in on the ground floor.' So [for Encanto] I got to be there while the characters were being created and helped develop them from the jump. I remember the call where we were like 'I think we're setting it in Colombia. That is a musical crossroads where we can have a lot of fun, sonically and visually.'
Really early in the process, before we had an act two and an act three I wrote that opening number because I just knew. We have a lot of characters, they all have powers and gifts; We're going to need to lay it out for ourselves and for the audience, how everyone is related and who does what. And then the delicious turn of 'Mirabel what's your gift? Oh nothing to see here, never mind! Let's keep it moving.'
[Laughter] It reminded me very much of a stage musical in how it introduces...
I was thinking very much of "Belle" from Beauty and the Beast. 'Here is Belle. Here is the town.' I said let me just take a crack at it even if we don't know how the movie ends yet. And that in turn helped inform the storytelling. It was really exciting to be a part of the story process in that way. And then I would be inspired in turn by the writing. Or, I remember when I saw the design for Luisa. She's the coolest looking Disney character. She's so strong. I knew what her song sounded like the moment I saw her.
"Surface Pressure"
That number is surprising because you think it's a comic relief song but then it has this emotional whammy to it.
Thank you for saying that about "Surface Pressure". I was really inspired by my own older sister who had a lot of responsibility. I'm keenly aware that I got away with murder as the baby brother of the family. She's tough. And has the softest underbelly of any of us.
At least half of the numbers in this movie are like "Pink Elephants on Parade" from Dumbo in that they go fully out of reality and into these crazy visuals.
That's the most exciting part, right? It's different writing for stage versus what they're going to do to with your lyric to amplify and enhance it in animation. They have a visual for everything. I'm just thinking of cool rhymes for "nervous" and they've got the titanic and a three headed beast because I wrote "cerberus" in there. The way in which animation can kind of go anywhere is exciting.
What surprised you most, seeing the film?
Two songs. I was so impressed with the choreography element in "We Don't Talk About Bruno". They hired these incredible choreographers so you're not just seeing them telling the story but you're seeing Dolores cool moves while she's singing it. One thing I hadn't anticipated was the way every character dances differently and beautifully. And then "Dos Oruguitas" I always knew that song was going to cover this very painful moment. It's the only song where it's not a character singing to us. I wanted it to feel like a folk song that had always existed. That is the only way to get through this very powerful moment. It's the first time I'd written a song beginning to end in Spanish.The visual storytelling on that sequence is pretty surprising and beautiful.
We have to talk about your future. You've just directed tick, tick... BOOM! Was that a way to rev up to take on Hamilton?
No! Everyone seems to --- I already have a good Hamilton movie!!! I have the dream which is that Tommy Kail somehow managed to make the thing I spent six years writing for the stage into a really satisfying movie experience. So, I'm in no rush on that because I'm happy with what I got. I will say, though, that I did love directing. If I can direct more musical films, I would jump at the chance. Anytime we were working on a musical number in tick, tick... BOOM! I would be like 'Why do people make other movies? Musicals are so much more fun.' [Laughter]
Encanto is now streaming on Disney+ and tick, tick... BOOM is on Netflix. They're both surely headed for Oscar nominations so check them out.