May 31, 2023 • 31 mins
For today's episode of Becoming an Icon, we're following Lin-Manuel Miranda's journey from the Great White Way to Hollywood. This time around it's all about his history-changing collaborations with Disney, the In the Heights movie, and Miranda's feature-film directorial debut aka Tick Tick Boom!
Lilliana Vázquez and Joseph Carrillo are the hosts of Becoming an Icon with production support by Juan Carlos Arenado, Josie Meléndez, Daniela Sarquis, and Santiago Sierra of Sonoro Media in partnership with iHeart Radio's My Cultura Podcast network. If you want to support the podcast, please rate and review our show.
Follow Lilliana Vázquez on Instagram and Twitter @lillianavazquez
Follow Joseph Carrillo on Instagram @josephcarrillo
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Should we do just one more with Lynn? Today?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I say yes.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
And in the last two episodes, you guys know, we
talked about how his musicals have completely changed Broadway Forever,
which kind of begs the question, how does he follow
that up?
Speaker 1 (00:18):
HM? Writing a one man show about the inspiring and
handsome host of a wildly popular podcast chronicling the lives
of the biggest Latin stars in the world.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Well, I'm sure that's next on his to do list,
But for today, why don't we follow Lynn from the
Great White Way to Hollywood?
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Hey, he can write my story for the screen too.
You know, I look great both ways? Hold on?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Where am I in all of this?
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Hey? It's called show business? Those not show friends?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Hold up?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Hold up? Hold up?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Did you just weaponize Jerry McGuire against.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
A Sorry, I'm not sorry?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Okay, Well, while you're planning for my demise, let's give
the listeners what they came here for.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
On today's episode, From Moana to Tiptick Boom, Lin Manuel
takes on Tentheltown.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
I'm your host, Lilianavosquez.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
And I'm Joseph Carrio, and this is becoming an icon a.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Weekly podcast where we give you the rundown on how
today's most famous LATINX stars have shaped pop culture.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
And given the world some extras.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Lebt, sit back and get comfortable.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Because we are going in the only way we know how,
with Buena's.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Usbunasrisas, some cheese, and a lot of opinions as we
relive their greatest achievements on our journey to find out
what makes them so iconic. Will Miranda grew up enamored
(02:02):
by musicals. He references Stephen Sodenheim in literally everything.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
But there's another Stephen that captured his creative little heart, and.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
That would be Steven Spielberg, someone he's long admired and
look up to. He basically wanted to be Spielberg.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Hey, there can be only one Spielberg.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Exactly, which meant that Lynn had to craft his own
path by doing what he does best to make a
name for himself.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Which at this point in his career wasn't too daunting
of an ask.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
He is Linn Manoel, Yes, and Lynn's career still had
a long way to go, but his next project would
lead him to one of his biggest dreams, making his
own movie.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Let's set the stage. It's twenty thirteen and Hamilton isn't
on Broadway yet.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Yes, Lynn is out there presenting the Hamilton mixtape, making
the rounds off Broadway.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
People saw this show and thought, wait, this kid's got something.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
He definitely had that X factor, and Disney called him
in for an interview for what would ultimately become Moanna.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Lynn to interview.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Well in twenty thirteen, he did tough crowd.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
In an article from The New York Times, Miranda said this,
I interviewed in the winter of twenty thirteen and got
the job in the spring, seven and a half months
before Hamilton opened at the Public. I'd sent them a
six song demo stuff that emphasized going between languages. I
knew a component would be working with Samoan and being
able to thread that needle gracefully and clearly.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
The rest was history. Literally.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
Disney hired Lynn Manuel in twenty fourteen, just one year
before Hamilton premiered on Broadway.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
How did he even have time? I'm stressed for him.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Well, so was Disney.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
You know.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
You would think that they were so excited about being
able to attach the creator of Hamilton to Mowana, But
Disney saw Hamilton as a distraction for.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Lynn, Wait, have you seen Moana?
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Never? Not even one frame?
Speaker 1 (04:09):
What about Santia?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Nope, we don't really do screens yet. And I just
haven't seen Molana.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I know, I'm like the only person on earth and
just be honest, you guys, I haven't seen it.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Should I uh you have homework? Seriously. But for those
that haven't seen it, Lil Mowana takes place in ancient Polynesia.
A terrible curse unleashed by the demigod Maui voiced by
Dwayne the Rock Johnston reaches Moana's island. There's a lot
of fun music, cute animations, and a quirky little chicken
(04:40):
that probably has a lot of issues.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Thanks Joseph. I mean, I feel like that definitely makes
me want to see it. Feels right up my two
year old's ali. Anyway, Lynn and his writing partners worked
on Mowana for two years. It finally opened in twenty sixteen,
and it was a smash.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Hit m and that Your Welcome Song was everywhere.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Apparently torturing parents everywhere along the way as well. See
this is why I don't let my child watch movies
or Disney movies, because I know that if I let
him watch a show that has music that I don't like.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Guess what We're going to be singing.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
In the car, in the backed up in the kitchen,
like it is going to be Moana in my house,
Like we are going to be living in Moana.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
So don't let him listen to this, because both of
you guys are going to love the music.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
I know, and the standout song from the movie is
something called how Far I'll Go?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
And oh god that okay, okay, okay, Mowana are you Mowana?
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Are you mooa ma wotha right?
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Well, all I know is that.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
How Far I'll Go earned Lynn his very first OSCAR nomination.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Here comes the Egot.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Not quite yet, but soon Buffy Soon Disney had a
taste of Miranda, and they, like us, couldn't get enough.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
So no more interviewing for Lynn.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Nope.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Soon Lynn was in Star Wars The Force Awakens, a
reboot of Ducktails.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
I loved that show and I want to swim through
money like Scrooge McDuck.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
I just want the money. I don't want to swim
in it. I just want it in my bank account.
But then Lynn got the call for Mary Poppins's returns.
That's right, and he played Jack the Lamplighter, and audiences
thought he was perfect for the part.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Okay, well, correction, not all audiences.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Personally me myself and I I don't know. I kind
of found the way he played Jack like a little
too campy and that like really bad Cockney accent was
just such a destruction for me. It was like a
no goo, especially because he's playing opposite Emily Blunt and
she's actually British.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
I don't know, what do you think?
Speaker 1 (06:57):
I feel it was really a miscast. I mean that
I feel he was very distracting for me in it,
you know, being next to Emily Blunt and her real accent.
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I do And guess what, we are honest on this show.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
And we do not love all of the projects, all
of the albums. I love those still, we don't have to.
But that being said, this role was huge for Lynn
and it was the first role after leaving Hamilton, so
it made a massive impact on his career and I
feel like it made him a household name.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
It did. But I'm going to say this, I Lynn,
don't be upset with me, Maimbu. I was kind of
getting tired of seeing him. Why I feel like he
was like everywhere.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Okay, no, No, first of all, you're saying like he
was overexposed. I know what you're saying. And yes, there
are times in an artist career where you feel like
I'm listening to them in my headphones, I'm watching them
on my screen.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
I feel like they all write a book.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
They're doing the morning press tour, and like that is
part of the job of being a celebrity.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
It's part of the job of an icon.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
You have to be in people's faces all the time
for them to know who you are.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
But I think that the Hamil fans.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Just made him bigger than what the whole world was
ready for, and it was like you couldn't escape it,
Like what if you didn't love Hamilton? And I don't
want to know people that don't like Hamilton, because like
we can't be friends. Like there are certain films and
certain musicals that like, if you're not a fan of
we can't be friends. La La Land is one of
them as a film, and Hamilton is one of them
when it comes to musicals.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
But he was everywhere and Disney noticed this.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
I mean, wouldn't you say that Disney was like enamourado
go on Lynn.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Oh my god. They were like Stage five clingers, obsessed
with him.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
How many stages are there? Out of ten guys, we
could be here. Disney was all about Lynn.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Disney actually turned Disney Plus into like the Linn Manuel
Channel between Mowana and Hamilton.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
So Lynn knew he could make the big ask.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
And the ass was for an animated film rooted in
Latino culture. And naturally they said yes, or I should
say Finally, someone said yes because.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
They said the they said f.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
So here's what happened.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
The creators of Sutopia were already at Disney working on
a musical, so naturally they put them in touch with Lynn,
and before anyone could say anything, they had themselves a
musical set in a Colombian town where everyone has magical
powers except.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
One member of the family.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Is that Bruno.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
We do not talk about him.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Well, maybe we do. Keep listening to becoming an Icon
and find out anyway.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
And Ganto follows the Familia Madrigal and oh boy, do
they have issues.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
So it's an accurate representation of Latino culture. Goodness, Jobno
and Ganto.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
And the soundtrack were a huge success. But the standout,
and I think on this one we can all agree
was we don't talk about Brune No no no.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
It became the number one song on the bill Board charts.
Like that is great z.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
This man can deliver when it comes to lyrics and music,
so much so that Miranda earned another Academy Award nomination
for Those Urugitas for Best Original Song. You know what's
crazy about that Caterpillar song.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
That it's going to be the remix song about Bunny
and I while I dance at our wedding.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Okay, you're gonna have to fight Kendall for him, but
I am so here for that, and I fully will
take you in a fight over Kendall any day. But
what I was saying was that Those Urugitas was the
first song Lynn had ever written entirely in Espanol, and
when asked about it, he said it was important to
me that I write it in Spain rather than write
(11:01):
it in English and translate it because you can always
feel the translation.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Lynn. I feel that statement so deep.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Wow, Joseph, how many times have we had to translate
lyrics on this podcast?
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Not it's just not it, it's just you need and
so you know what. That makes me like him even
more because it has to be these words, because you
have to feel it in Spanish, you do.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
And it's like when we translate bad Bunny, especially when
there's like deep meaning behind the lyrics and like a
masterful poetry that's happening there, Like hmmm, we're failing you
guys by translating.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
That's true. It's true.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Whether you heard it in Spanish or translated it to English.
It didn't matter because critics adored the song, saying it
was the best one from the entire En Ganto soundtrack.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Mm hmm. And here comes the Pegot.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Well, no, he didn't win for this one either.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Damn. What I got to do to get a Pegot?
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Well a lot?
Speaker 3 (11:59):
You need a Peabody and me wait, I'm not done.
A Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony And further record,
do you know that there are only three other he
Gots in the world in the history.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
I actually want to know who they are? Yeah, yeah,
because Lynn is going to be one. I'm serious, So
he's going to be number four. But who are they?
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Okay, Barbis streisand Ah Hovey, Mike Nichols, Rita Modano, of.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Course, but listen, I feel like they got those. I
don't know, Mike Nichols, but Barbara and Rita got those
back in the day. So are we just a little
too hard now?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
I think that the landscape has changed a lot.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
And at the end of the day, there are three
on the planet. In the history of mankind. This is
not easy to get. But if anybody is positioned to
get it in our time of our generation. And I'm
going to say our generation because Lyn's my age, he's
forty three, it's Lynn Menuel.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
But let's go back to en Ganto. What do we
think of her?
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Oh? My god? Stop? It is one of my favorite movies.
So my favorite Disney movie growing up was Mulan because
I never really identified to any of the other princesses,
and now having in Kanto, it is literally my favorite
movie Disney has ever made until I mean, I'm sure
they're gonna make new ones, but there I love that
(13:23):
movie so much I cannot There's not one part in
the movie that I don't like.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
I don't just fast forward like you watch it start. Yeah,
you know, like we're pretty strict with screen time. We
don't really do it in our house you know, my
son's he's not even two years old yet, and I
am waiting until his second birthday. And the way I
want to celebrate it, like our mommy and Santi birthday
day is going to be by watching en Ganto together
(13:49):
for that same reason that you just said, Like I
get goosebumps thinking about it, because same like my favorite
Disney movie of all time is The Little Mermaid and
when I was a little girl, I would watch it
on re pete with my cousins and I literally begged
for like a red Wig because I just wanted to
look like one of the princesses. And I loved snow
(14:09):
White and I love Cinderella, but there was something about
Aril that I think I just like identified with, like
her desire for something different, to get out of the
world that she was surrounded by. And again I was
like little watching this and I already felt it, which
is so crazy because it's like we don't think little
kids are capable of like really big emotions.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
But we are.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Because at that age I was in my cousin's house
in Miami watching it. I was like, wait, I want
out of this world, Like I want to see bigger
and better and like, hello, I just wanted something else,
And I feel like movies can do that. They're like
they transport you to something else and and ganho like
what it did for an entire demographic of children, like
(14:52):
seeing curly hair on the screen, different types of curly
hair on the screen, singing different like seeing different skin tones,
like say what you will about lin Manuel. You might
not be a huge fan of him. You maybe didn't
see Hamilton, you haven't heard Hamilton. Like he changed the
world with Anganto for children everywhere, and to me he
is like he is a real life angel and a saint.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
I'm going to say this about Akanto. Finally there's a
movie that I feel like I can relate to our
family issues that we all try to pretend like we're perfect.
Like you go to everyone's house and they're all perfect,
and everything's all clean, everything like this and everything. Everyone's
in a good mood, and you're da and all of that,
and you can just really see all of the real,
raw motions that these people are trying to hide. And
(15:37):
I felt like I was watching my family on the screen.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
It exposes all of the generational trauma that we've been
hiding for generations and generations, and we as parents now
or as adults that are in other relationships, whether they're
romantic relations platonic relationships, we are breaking the generational trauma
curses because we get to watch this and go, holy shit,
can't let this happen anymore? And Gun does like a
(16:01):
really powerful film like I could. Yes, we could do
an entire the whole episode. I'm ready for it. Okay,
that'll be our next podcast. But for now, let's go
back to Lynn, right, because he is the mastermind behind
all of this.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Even though he didn't win.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
The Oscar It's okay, y'all, he is doing just fine
without it and seeing us. He's only forty three years young,
like me, he has got plenty of time.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
And it is bound to come very very soon.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Honestly, probably coming sooner than you think.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Oh, excuse me, do you know something? Do you have
a line to Lynn? Don't hold out.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
On us, dish Well, I know that there's an animated
film about a young girl who lives a hunder the sea,
and that Lynn wrote new songs for the live action adaptation.
If that doesn't sound like Oscar wait to you, well, then.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
The Little Mermaid.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Hashtag My Little Mermaid, Ali, you are Forever.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Ariel Lynn started working on the film in twenty sixteen,
and in addition to classics like Part of Your World
and Kiss the Girl, Lynn wrote for brand new songs
for the film, and he's also co producing.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
I Mean boy named his son Sebastian after the crab
in og Little Mermaid, So you know these songs are
going to be lit. But to be honest, I desperately
feel like he needs a little work intervention. I'm over
here at trying to be bare minimum Monday while Miranda.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Is singing the lead role. In twenty twenty one's Vivo Yup,
he played the titular character and provided eleven songs for the.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Film, Lynn like can you chill? You're making us all
look bad.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
He is truly NonStop and Vivo was the highest viewed
film on Netflix during its release.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Lynn Manuel add some songs, sprinkle a little singing and
give yourself a huge hit?
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Wait was that Julie the Child? I'm persulamation, I am trying.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
I am traumatized, our listeners are traumatized. During our first
LINN episode, we talked all things in the heights.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
And thanks for listening, And now listen to it again
and share and rate five stars. Thank you and.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Please, Yes, thank you and please.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
But we didn't discuss In the Heights the movie, So
here's the tea coming up after the break.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
In two thousand and eight, Universal bought the rights to
the show and they said they planned to adapt it
into a film for release in twenty eleven, but they
ended up shelving it because they only wanted to do
the film with a quote bankable Latino star.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
So in their words, like Jalo or.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Shaki, they could have called me, I would have done it.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Okay, Well, since they couldn't find her number, they canceled
the project.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Rude.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
Fast forward to twenty sixteen, when Lynn's little founding father's project.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Is Everywhere and In the Heights is back on.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
Miranda would co produce the film with Harvey Weinstein and
John m chu was on board to direct Yi exactly,
and as we all know, Harvey Weinstein turned out to
be a disgusting and.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
A rapist.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
A man to that.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Which means Harvey was removed from the film and the
rights to the movie were auctioned off to Warner Brothers
for a cool fifteen million dollars just one problem. Miranda
had gotten a little too old to star in the film.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
He had originated the role of Usnavi, but he had
a couple more gray hairs now, and he decided that
he shouldn't play the league.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
This is where I get the call.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Actually wrong, Anthony Ramos got the call. Who is so hot?
Speaker 1 (20:07):
By the way, really, but we're always up for the
same roles anyways.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Well you're not here're not fine?
Speaker 1 (20:15):
It's my birth year.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Okay, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Well, Miranda decided that he would be a better fit for.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
A much smaller role, you know them, aka the Biagua guy.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
He said, I was very content to let Anthony and
this incredible cast have their own.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Experience, my humble short king. I loved, loved the movie.
There was a lot of hate, but I loved it.
Did you see it?
Speaker 2 (20:45):
I did see it.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
I saw it like when it opened, and I was
super excited for it, and I was ready to like
dance in the streets along with the cast, but I
was dancing by myself because nobody liked it.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Honestly, I'm glad we're here talking about that because I
know that it was going to be huge. And then
there was the backlash, and what did you think about
the backlash.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
I think that for some reason, Latinos love to hate
on other Latinos.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
It is so prevalent, it is so toxic.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
It is what holds us down, and we will always
find something wrong.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
It is like how we were raised.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Like you know what I mean, It's like you know
the thing, like you know, when you walk into your
house and you're the seas for the first time in
three months, he's like, I get like, Eita, I.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Was about to Okay, it's not a compliment.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
It's negative.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Or you walk in and like maybe you gained a
few pounds and they're like, I meet, that's going to Vita.
So like, no one's ever happy like Latinos. We cannot
just be satisfied. And here you have this movie that
celebrates so many beautiful things about our culture, and you know,
people wanted to talk about how.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
It was miscast, it was whitewashed.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
They don't like, yeah, tell us about the backlash. So
people so people know the backlash.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Well, I think they didn't appreciate how it looked.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
They thought, if you've ever spent any time in Washington Heights,
like that's not what the community looks like like Lynn
is reflecting a more Hollywood version of Washington Heights in
this film, and people were pissed.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
And I don't disagree.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
That there could always be more diversity on screen and
a more realistic representation.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
And using the excuse that, oh.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
There's not enough actors that fit those roles, that's garbage.
That's absolutely not true. So we should always be aspiring
to create and see more diversity on screen. But I
think that the net net of the film could have
been so incredible for us as a community, and it
wasn't because it got murder in all the backlash. I mean, listen,
(22:43):
it was also released during the pandemic, which is never good.
It wasn't good for the movie business. It wasn't good
for the industry. They'd already held it for so.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Long that really was a tough time.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
But I thought the movie was beautiful, and as somebody
that loves this show on Broadway has seen it on Broadway,
and the fact that like Anthony rammelse got like this
amazing role, I mean, he's a breakout star. Like I
just I supported this film because I support US, I
support latinos, and everyone needed to get on board with that,
and sadly we all didn't.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Yeah, well listen, I did. I'm for it. I just
loved the movie so much more for even being able
to paint that picture.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
I agree again.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
I think it is a celebration of one of our
many Latino cultures, and as Latinos, we need to celebrate
all of it because we as Latinos, rarely get these
moments in film where there is such a huge stage
to stand on. Just y'all show up, like buy the tickets,
be a hype man for the Gouda.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
It is our job.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
That is the only way we're going to get like
the Latino equivalent of like crazy rich Asians, which I
think a lot of people thought this could be it
Like if we don't do this, we don't support our
own We're never going to get there. Okay, I'm getting
off my soapbox. I'm going back to lind Men. While
random By now loved it, loved it so in the
heights is in the can it airs. It's not the
(24:03):
hit that we all wanted it to be. But one
thing we've learned throughout this entire process, whether it's his
time on stage, his time behind the camera, or his
time on screen.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Lynn does not enjoy his time off. He doesn't take
it clearly.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Before long, he was working on a new HBO show
called His Dark Materials, based off of the classic fantasy
trilogy written by Philip Pullman.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
You always find so many ways to surprise me, Joseph Oh,
and you forgot to add. Lynn was also producing one
of my favorite shows that's ever aired, Fossey Verdon for FX.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
Hands Hips has God Asss.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
I love that, I love Fossy Okay, So Lynn should
have definitely called you in for this one. The show
followed the life of Broadway dancer, choreographer and director Bob
Fosse and his wife, dancer Gwen.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Verdon, starring Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams. It was so good.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
If you guys have not please please find it and
go and watch it.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Lynn loves being invested and involved in all his projects.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
So when In the Heights came back around, it was
a bit of a surprise to everyone that not only
did he not want the starring role, but he also
didn't want to direct the film.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Instead, he asked John M.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Chew to step behind the camera and Lynn would shadow him.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
He knew that he still had a lot.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
To learn humble short pay and I happened.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
To know somebody who could take a little lesson in
humbleness from Lynn.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
I'm talking da yeaw.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
Lynn took time to learn from Chew and observe how
a director runs a major movie set, and then he
took those lessons and applied them.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
To Tick Boom, which is written by the writer of Rent.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
Yes, Jonathan Larson, And y'all, this is a beautiful moment because.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Now we've come full circle.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Do you see all the parallels between Larsen and Lynn
go on. They're both composers, both chasing their dreams, fack,
both under pressure from life's clock.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
Well, girl, I hear that clock. We're all loud, don't
we all?
Speaker 3 (26:34):
And trust me, if you love Rent, you are going
to love tick tick Boom. Andrew Garfield is magical in
this and it never got the airtime or the buzz
that I hoped it would get.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
But for somebody that.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Loves Broadway and loves musicals, you guys, this is like
a love letter to those artists who create them.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
You've got to see this, Joseph, have you seen this?
Speaker 1 (27:02):
I actually was going to tell you I haven't. I
am fascinated to want to see it because I'm coming
to realize that maybe I love lin Manuel. I didn't
realize there was so many things that I like about him,
and now I'm like, oh my god, all the stuff
that I really like is like has a lot to
do with Lin Manuel. So now I want to see
Tik tick Boom.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Well, I think that's what makes listening to a podcast
so fun, is that, Like you go into it being like, yeah,
I'm kind of a fan of, for example, Linn Manuel,
and then.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
You see all of.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
These connective tissues between projects that you love, like in Gunho,
with projects that maybe you don't know a lot about,
like tick tick Boom, and you're like, well, if he
created in Gunhal, then his DNA is in Gnho, which
means his DNA is in tick tick Boom. And just
so I can give you guys, like a little summary
about Tik tick Boom, because again, I don't feel like
it got the press that it deserved. So it's basically
based on this autobiographical one man show by Jonathan Larson,
(27:55):
who is the incredibly talented composer and writer of Rent
the Musical, and he actually died right before the opening
night of the show on Broadway. It's incredibly tragic. I know,
it's like literally made for a movie. And so I
think what people saw in Lynn and Larsen was just
a lot of parallels, a lot of similarities. They're both
(28:17):
young musical prodigies, obsessed with their work, passionate about their artistry,
and wait, here's this.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Did you know that?
Speaker 3 (28:26):
On Miranda's seventeenth birthday he actually saw Rent and he
says it was the first time that he saw that
musicals didn't have to be about like cowboys in Oklahoma,
like Austrian's Escaping the Nazis or nineteen twenty Chicago. He
realized that musicals could actually be the stories of the
(28:48):
kind of people that Miranda saw every day. And just
a few years later, when he was in college, he
began writing and creating his Tony Award winning show in
the Heights.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Wait, look, I'm going to tell you this. You know
how I think Selina's spirit went into j Lo did
Larsen go into Lynn? I'm done for any of the
podcast about podcast is over. Thank you so much. You're
staying on our next.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
Episode of becoming an Icon.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
Through this journey, we've seen Lynn Manuel Miranda go from
young and scrappy in this like hungry Puerto Rican teen
raised in Inwood to this global cultural phenomenon and beyond
the projects that he created or helped in producing and writing,
He's become a voice for those desiring a shift, like
a seismic shift in the industry.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Well, you know, I'm going to tell you this. He
still hasn't called me back, and I think I might
cut him out of becoming an icon.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
The musical Oh wait, are we saying now?
Speaker 1 (29:49):
It's what the people want these days, lil.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
I don't know that they want a musical version of
this podcast, but you know what, we will put it
out there. And if we are looking for a producer
and a writer and a composer, Lynn, you're number one
on the call.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
She.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
All we know is that Lynn's work is going to
live forever.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
Yes, Hamilton will go on and on and on, but
also Awana and then cut the Wild too.
Speaker 3 (30:20):
An entire generation of people will grow up listening to
his music and be inspired by that.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
What could possibly be more iconic than.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
That becoming an icon?
Speaker 3 (30:32):
The musical starring Jlo Shakira, Lynn, Ritchy Bad Bunny, Oh
my God, Are we taking it on tour?
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Are we going to a stage near you?
Speaker 1 (30:44):
Billion Airs Billionaires?
Speaker 3 (30:51):
Next on Becoming an Icon another triple threat singer, actor, dancer.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
And a downright inspiration to all.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
He blew open the doors for every Latino artist out
there now. Enrique Martin Morales aka Ricky Martin. Becoming an
Icon is presented by Sonoo and Iheart's Michael dudda podcast network.
Listen to Becoming an Icon on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast,
(31:27):
or wherever you get your podcast
Should we do just one more with Lynn? Today?
Speaker 2 (00:04):
I say yes.
Speaker 3 (00:07):
And in the last two episodes, you guys know, we
talked about how his musicals have completely changed Broadway Forever,
which kind of begs the question, how does he follow
that up?
Speaker 1 (00:18):
HM? Writing a one man show about the inspiring and
handsome host of a wildly popular podcast chronicling the lives
of the biggest Latin stars in the world.
Speaker 3 (00:30):
Well, I'm sure that's next on his to do list,
But for today, why don't we follow Lynn from the
Great White Way to Hollywood?
Speaker 1 (00:39):
Hey, he can write my story for the screen too.
You know, I look great both ways? Hold on?
Speaker 2 (00:45):
Where am I in all of this?
Speaker 1 (00:48):
Hey? It's called show business? Those not show friends?
Speaker 2 (00:52):
Hold up?
Speaker 1 (00:52):
Hold up? Hold up?
Speaker 3 (00:53):
Did you just weaponize Jerry McGuire against.
Speaker 1 (00:56):
A Sorry, I'm not sorry?
Speaker 3 (00:59):
Okay, Well, while you're planning for my demise, let's give
the listeners what they came here for.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
On today's episode, From Moana to Tiptick Boom, Lin Manuel
takes on Tentheltown.
Speaker 2 (01:14):
I'm your host, Lilianavosquez.
Speaker 1 (01:16):
And I'm Joseph Carrio, and this is becoming an icon a.
Speaker 3 (01:21):
Weekly podcast where we give you the rundown on how
today's most famous LATINX stars have shaped pop culture.
Speaker 1 (01:28):
And given the world some extras.
Speaker 2 (01:30):
Lebt, sit back and get comfortable.
Speaker 1 (01:33):
Because we are going in the only way we know how,
with Buena's.
Speaker 3 (01:38):
Usbunasrisas, some cheese, and a lot of opinions as we
relive their greatest achievements on our journey to find out
what makes them so iconic. Will Miranda grew up enamored
(02:02):
by musicals. He references Stephen Sodenheim in literally everything.
Speaker 1 (02:07):
But there's another Stephen that captured his creative little heart, and.
Speaker 3 (02:11):
That would be Steven Spielberg, someone he's long admired and
look up to. He basically wanted to be Spielberg.
Speaker 1 (02:20):
Hey, there can be only one Spielberg.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
Exactly, which meant that Lynn had to craft his own
path by doing what he does best to make a
name for himself.
Speaker 1 (02:31):
Which at this point in his career wasn't too daunting
of an ask.
Speaker 3 (02:34):
He is Linn Manoel, Yes, and Lynn's career still had
a long way to go, but his next project would
lead him to one of his biggest dreams, making his
own movie.
Speaker 1 (02:48):
Let's set the stage. It's twenty thirteen and Hamilton isn't
on Broadway yet.
Speaker 3 (02:53):
Yes, Lynn is out there presenting the Hamilton mixtape, making
the rounds off Broadway.
Speaker 1 (02:59):
People saw this show and thought, wait, this kid's got something.
Speaker 3 (03:03):
He definitely had that X factor, and Disney called him
in for an interview for what would ultimately become Moanna.
Speaker 1 (03:12):
Lynn to interview.
Speaker 2 (03:14):
Well in twenty thirteen, he did tough crowd.
Speaker 3 (03:18):
In an article from The New York Times, Miranda said this,
I interviewed in the winter of twenty thirteen and got
the job in the spring, seven and a half months
before Hamilton opened at the Public. I'd sent them a
six song demo stuff that emphasized going between languages. I
knew a component would be working with Samoan and being
able to thread that needle gracefully and clearly.
Speaker 1 (03:39):
The rest was history. Literally.
Speaker 3 (03:43):
Disney hired Lynn Manuel in twenty fourteen, just one year
before Hamilton premiered on Broadway.
Speaker 1 (03:49):
How did he even have time? I'm stressed for him.
Speaker 2 (03:53):
Well, so was Disney.
Speaker 1 (03:55):
You know.
Speaker 3 (03:55):
You would think that they were so excited about being
able to attach the creator of Hamilton to Mowana, But
Disney saw Hamilton as a distraction for.
Speaker 1 (04:05):
Lynn, Wait, have you seen Moana?
Speaker 2 (04:07):
Never? Not even one frame?
Speaker 1 (04:09):
What about Santia?
Speaker 2 (04:10):
Nope, we don't really do screens yet. And I just
haven't seen Molana.
Speaker 3 (04:14):
I know, I'm like the only person on earth and
just be honest, you guys, I haven't seen it.
Speaker 1 (04:18):
Should I uh you have homework? Seriously. But for those
that haven't seen it, Lil Mowana takes place in ancient Polynesia.
A terrible curse unleashed by the demigod Maui voiced by
Dwayne the Rock Johnston reaches Moana's island. There's a lot
of fun music, cute animations, and a quirky little chicken
(04:40):
that probably has a lot of issues.
Speaker 3 (04:43):
Thanks Joseph. I mean, I feel like that definitely makes
me want to see it. Feels right up my two
year old's ali. Anyway, Lynn and his writing partners worked
on Mowana for two years. It finally opened in twenty sixteen,
and it was a smash.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Hit m and that Your Welcome Song was everywhere.
Speaker 3 (05:05):
Apparently torturing parents everywhere along the way as well. See
this is why I don't let my child watch movies
or Disney movies, because I know that if I let
him watch a show that has music that I don't like.
Speaker 2 (05:20):
Guess what We're going to be singing.
Speaker 3 (05:22):
In the car, in the backed up in the kitchen,
like it is going to be Moana in my house,
Like we are going to be living in Moana.
Speaker 1 (05:30):
So don't let him listen to this, because both of
you guys are going to love the music.
Speaker 3 (05:33):
I know, and the standout song from the movie is
something called how Far I'll Go?
Speaker 2 (05:38):
And oh god that okay, okay, okay, Mowana are you Mowana?
Speaker 1 (05:42):
Are you mooa ma wotha right?
Speaker 2 (05:46):
Well, all I know is that.
Speaker 3 (05:48):
How Far I'll Go earned Lynn his very first OSCAR nomination.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Here comes the Egot.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
Not quite yet, but soon Buffy Soon Disney had a
taste of Miranda, and they, like us, couldn't get enough.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
So no more interviewing for Lynn.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Nope.
Speaker 3 (06:06):
Soon Lynn was in Star Wars The Force Awakens, a
reboot of Ducktails.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
I loved that show and I want to swim through
money like Scrooge McDuck.
Speaker 3 (06:16):
I just want the money. I don't want to swim
in it. I just want it in my bank account.
But then Lynn got the call for Mary Poppins's returns.
That's right, and he played Jack the Lamplighter, and audiences
thought he was perfect for the part.
Speaker 2 (06:31):
Okay, well, correction, not all audiences.
Speaker 3 (06:35):
Personally me myself and I I don't know. I kind
of found the way he played Jack like a little
too campy and that like really bad Cockney accent was
just such a destruction for me. It was like a
no goo, especially because he's playing opposite Emily Blunt and
she's actually British.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
I don't know, what do you think?
Speaker 1 (06:57):
I feel it was really a miscast. I mean that
I feel he was very distracting for me in it,
you know, being next to Emily Blunt and her real accent.
You know what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
I do And guess what, we are honest on this show.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
And we do not love all of the projects, all
of the albums. I love those still, we don't have to.
But that being said, this role was huge for Lynn
and it was the first role after leaving Hamilton, so
it made a massive impact on his career and I
feel like it made him a household name.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
It did. But I'm going to say this, I Lynn,
don't be upset with me, Maimbu. I was kind of
getting tired of seeing him. Why I feel like he
was like everywhere.
Speaker 3 (07:42):
Okay, no, No, first of all, you're saying like he
was overexposed. I know what you're saying. And yes, there
are times in an artist career where you feel like
I'm listening to them in my headphones, I'm watching them
on my screen.
Speaker 2 (07:52):
I feel like they all write a book.
Speaker 3 (07:54):
They're doing the morning press tour, and like that is
part of the job of being a celebrity.
Speaker 2 (07:58):
It's part of the job of an icon.
Speaker 3 (08:00):
You have to be in people's faces all the time
for them to know who you are.
Speaker 2 (08:04):
But I think that the Hamil fans.
Speaker 3 (08:07):
Just made him bigger than what the whole world was
ready for, and it was like you couldn't escape it,
Like what if you didn't love Hamilton? And I don't
want to know people that don't like Hamilton, because like
we can't be friends. Like there are certain films and
certain musicals that like, if you're not a fan of
we can't be friends. La La Land is one of
them as a film, and Hamilton is one of them
when it comes to musicals.
Speaker 2 (08:29):
But he was everywhere and Disney noticed this.
Speaker 3 (08:33):
I mean, wouldn't you say that Disney was like enamourado
go on Lynn.
Speaker 1 (08:37):
Oh my god. They were like Stage five clingers, obsessed
with him.
Speaker 2 (08:41):
How many stages are there? Out of ten guys, we
could be here. Disney was all about Lynn.
Speaker 3 (08:49):
Disney actually turned Disney Plus into like the Linn Manuel
Channel between Mowana and Hamilton.
Speaker 1 (08:55):
So Lynn knew he could make the big ask.
Speaker 3 (08:59):
And the ass was for an animated film rooted in
Latino culture. And naturally they said yes, or I should
say Finally, someone said yes because.
Speaker 1 (09:09):
They said the they said f.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
So here's what happened.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
The creators of Sutopia were already at Disney working on
a musical, so naturally they put them in touch with Lynn,
and before anyone could say anything, they had themselves a
musical set in a Colombian town where everyone has magical
powers except.
Speaker 2 (09:39):
One member of the family.
Speaker 1 (09:40):
Is that Bruno.
Speaker 2 (09:42):
We do not talk about him.
Speaker 1 (09:44):
Well, maybe we do. Keep listening to becoming an Icon
and find out anyway.
Speaker 3 (09:49):
And Ganto follows the Familia Madrigal and oh boy, do
they have issues.
Speaker 1 (09:56):
So it's an accurate representation of Latino culture. Goodness, Jobno
and Ganto.
Speaker 3 (10:02):
And the soundtrack were a huge success. But the standout,
and I think on this one we can all agree
was we don't talk about Brune No no no.
Speaker 1 (10:14):
It became the number one song on the bill Board charts.
Like that is great z.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
This man can deliver when it comes to lyrics and music,
so much so that Miranda earned another Academy Award nomination
for Those Urugitas for Best Original Song. You know what's
crazy about that Caterpillar song.
Speaker 1 (10:36):
That it's going to be the remix song about Bunny
and I while I dance at our wedding.
Speaker 3 (10:41):
Okay, you're gonna have to fight Kendall for him, but
I am so here for that, and I fully will
take you in a fight over Kendall any day. But
what I was saying was that Those Urugitas was the
first song Lynn had ever written entirely in Espanol, and
when asked about it, he said it was important to
me that I write it in Spain rather than write
(11:01):
it in English and translate it because you can always
feel the translation.
Speaker 2 (11:06):
Lynn. I feel that statement so deep.
Speaker 3 (11:09):
Wow, Joseph, how many times have we had to translate
lyrics on this podcast?
Speaker 1 (11:13):
Not it's just not it, it's just you need and
so you know what. That makes me like him even
more because it has to be these words, because you
have to feel it in Spanish, you do.
Speaker 3 (11:22):
And it's like when we translate bad Bunny, especially when
there's like deep meaning behind the lyrics and like a
masterful poetry that's happening there, Like hmmm, we're failing you
guys by translating.
Speaker 1 (11:35):
That's true. It's true.
Speaker 3 (11:37):
Whether you heard it in Spanish or translated it to English.
It didn't matter because critics adored the song, saying it
was the best one from the entire En Ganto soundtrack.
Speaker 1 (11:48):
Mm hmm. And here comes the Pegot.
Speaker 2 (11:51):
Well, no, he didn't win for this one either.
Speaker 1 (11:55):
Damn. What I got to do to get a Pegot?
Speaker 2 (11:58):
Well a lot?
Speaker 3 (11:59):
You need a Peabody and me wait, I'm not done.
A Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony And further record,
do you know that there are only three other he
Gots in the world in the history.
Speaker 1 (12:17):
I actually want to know who they are? Yeah, yeah,
because Lynn is going to be one. I'm serious, So
he's going to be number four. But who are they?
Speaker 3 (12:23):
Okay, Barbis streisand Ah Hovey, Mike Nichols, Rita Modano, of.
Speaker 1 (12:30):
Course, but listen, I feel like they got those. I
don't know, Mike Nichols, but Barbara and Rita got those
back in the day. So are we just a little
too hard now?
Speaker 2 (12:38):
I think that the landscape has changed a lot.
Speaker 3 (12:41):
And at the end of the day, there are three
on the planet. In the history of mankind. This is
not easy to get. But if anybody is positioned to
get it in our time of our generation. And I'm
going to say our generation because Lyn's my age, he's
forty three, it's Lynn Menuel.
Speaker 2 (13:00):
But let's go back to en Ganto. What do we
think of her?
Speaker 1 (13:02):
Oh? My god? Stop? It is one of my favorite movies.
So my favorite Disney movie growing up was Mulan because
I never really identified to any of the other princesses,
and now having in Kanto, it is literally my favorite
movie Disney has ever made until I mean, I'm sure
they're gonna make new ones, but there I love that
(13:23):
movie so much I cannot There's not one part in
the movie that I don't like.
Speaker 3 (13:27):
I don't just fast forward like you watch it start. Yeah,
you know, like we're pretty strict with screen time. We
don't really do it in our house you know, my
son's he's not even two years old yet, and I
am waiting until his second birthday. And the way I
want to celebrate it, like our mommy and Santi birthday
day is going to be by watching en Ganto together
(13:49):
for that same reason that you just said, Like I
get goosebumps thinking about it, because same like my favorite
Disney movie of all time is The Little Mermaid and
when I was a little girl, I would watch it
on re pete with my cousins and I literally begged
for like a red Wig because I just wanted to
look like one of the princesses. And I loved snow
(14:09):
White and I love Cinderella, but there was something about
Aril that I think I just like identified with, like
her desire for something different, to get out of the
world that she was surrounded by. And again I was
like little watching this and I already felt it, which
is so crazy because it's like we don't think little
kids are capable of like really big emotions.
Speaker 2 (14:27):
But we are.
Speaker 3 (14:28):
Because at that age I was in my cousin's house
in Miami watching it. I was like, wait, I want
out of this world, Like I want to see bigger
and better and like, hello, I just wanted something else,
And I feel like movies can do that. They're like
they transport you to something else and and ganho like
what it did for an entire demographic of children, like
(14:52):
seeing curly hair on the screen, different types of curly
hair on the screen, singing different like seeing different skin tones,
like say what you will about lin Manuel. You might
not be a huge fan of him. You maybe didn't
see Hamilton, you haven't heard Hamilton. Like he changed the
world with Anganto for children everywhere, and to me he
is like he is a real life angel and a saint.
Speaker 1 (15:16):
I'm going to say this about Akanto. Finally there's a
movie that I feel like I can relate to our
family issues that we all try to pretend like we're perfect.
Like you go to everyone's house and they're all perfect,
and everything's all clean, everything like this and everything. Everyone's
in a good mood, and you're da and all of that,
and you can just really see all of the real,
raw motions that these people are trying to hide. And
(15:37):
I felt like I was watching my family on the screen.
Speaker 3 (15:40):
It exposes all of the generational trauma that we've been
hiding for generations and generations, and we as parents now
or as adults that are in other relationships, whether they're
romantic relations platonic relationships, we are breaking the generational trauma
curses because we get to watch this and go, holy shit,
can't let this happen anymore? And Gun does like a
(16:01):
really powerful film like I could. Yes, we could do
an entire the whole episode. I'm ready for it. Okay,
that'll be our next podcast. But for now, let's go
back to Lynn, right, because he is the mastermind behind
all of this.
Speaker 2 (16:17):
Even though he didn't win.
Speaker 3 (16:19):
The Oscar It's okay, y'all, he is doing just fine
without it and seeing us. He's only forty three years young,
like me, he has got plenty of time.
Speaker 2 (16:29):
And it is bound to come very very soon.
Speaker 1 (16:32):
Honestly, probably coming sooner than you think.
Speaker 2 (16:36):
Oh, excuse me, do you know something? Do you have
a line to Lynn? Don't hold out.
Speaker 1 (16:41):
On us, dish Well, I know that there's an animated
film about a young girl who lives a hunder the sea,
and that Lynn wrote new songs for the live action adaptation.
If that doesn't sound like Oscar wait to you, well, then.
Speaker 2 (16:56):
The Little Mermaid.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Hashtag My Little Mermaid, Ali, you are Forever.
Speaker 3 (17:02):
Ariel Lynn started working on the film in twenty sixteen,
and in addition to classics like Part of Your World
and Kiss the Girl, Lynn wrote for brand new songs
for the film, and he's also co producing.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
I Mean boy named his son Sebastian after the crab
in og Little Mermaid, So you know these songs are
going to be lit. But to be honest, I desperately
feel like he needs a little work intervention. I'm over
here at trying to be bare minimum Monday while Miranda.
Speaker 3 (17:32):
Is singing the lead role. In twenty twenty one's Vivo Yup,
he played the titular character and provided eleven songs for the.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Film, Lynn like can you chill? You're making us all
look bad.
Speaker 3 (17:46):
He is truly NonStop and Vivo was the highest viewed
film on Netflix during its release.
Speaker 1 (17:54):
Lynn Manuel add some songs, sprinkle a little singing and
give yourself a huge hit?
Speaker 2 (18:00):
Wait was that Julie the Child? I'm persulamation, I am trying.
Speaker 3 (18:06):
I am traumatized, our listeners are traumatized. During our first
LINN episode, we talked all things in the heights.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
And thanks for listening, And now listen to it again
and share and rate five stars. Thank you and.
Speaker 2 (18:23):
Please, Yes, thank you and please.
Speaker 1 (18:25):
But we didn't discuss In the Heights the movie, So
here's the tea coming up after the break.
Speaker 3 (18:43):
In two thousand and eight, Universal bought the rights to
the show and they said they planned to adapt it
into a film for release in twenty eleven, but they
ended up shelving it because they only wanted to do
the film with a quote bankable Latino star.
Speaker 2 (18:57):
So in their words, like Jalo or.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
Shaki, they could have called me, I would have done it.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Okay, Well, since they couldn't find her number, they canceled
the project.
Speaker 1 (19:07):
Rude.
Speaker 3 (19:08):
Fast forward to twenty sixteen, when Lynn's little founding father's project.
Speaker 2 (19:12):
Is Everywhere and In the Heights is back on.
Speaker 3 (19:16):
Miranda would co produce the film with Harvey Weinstein and
John m chu was on board to direct Yi exactly,
and as we all know, Harvey Weinstein turned out to
be a disgusting and.
Speaker 2 (19:32):
A rapist.
Speaker 1 (19:35):
A man to that.
Speaker 3 (19:37):
Which means Harvey was removed from the film and the
rights to the movie were auctioned off to Warner Brothers
for a cool fifteen million dollars just one problem. Miranda
had gotten a little too old to star in the film.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
He had originated the role of Usnavi, but he had
a couple more gray hairs now, and he decided that
he shouldn't play the league.
Speaker 1 (20:00):
This is where I get the call.
Speaker 3 (20:02):
Actually wrong, Anthony Ramos got the call. Who is so hot?
Speaker 1 (20:07):
By the way, really, but we're always up for the
same roles anyways.
Speaker 2 (20:11):
Well you're not here're not fine?
Speaker 1 (20:15):
It's my birth year.
Speaker 2 (20:17):
Okay, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine.
Speaker 3 (20:19):
Well, Miranda decided that he would be a better fit for.
Speaker 2 (20:22):
A much smaller role, you know them, aka the Biagua guy.
Speaker 3 (20:26):
He said, I was very content to let Anthony and
this incredible cast have their own.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
Experience, my humble short king. I loved, loved the movie.
There was a lot of hate, but I loved it.
Did you see it?
Speaker 2 (20:45):
I did see it.
Speaker 3 (20:46):
I saw it like when it opened, and I was
super excited for it, and I was ready to like
dance in the streets along with the cast, but I
was dancing by myself because nobody liked it.
Speaker 1 (20:58):
Honestly, I'm glad we're here talking about that because I
know that it was going to be huge. And then
there was the backlash, and what did you think about
the backlash.
Speaker 3 (21:06):
I think that for some reason, Latinos love to hate
on other Latinos.
Speaker 2 (21:12):
It is so prevalent, it is so toxic.
Speaker 3 (21:14):
It is what holds us down, and we will always
find something wrong.
Speaker 2 (21:19):
It is like how we were raised.
Speaker 3 (21:21):
Like you know what I mean, It's like you know
the thing, like you know, when you walk into your
house and you're the seas for the first time in
three months, he's like, I get like, Eita, I.
Speaker 1 (21:27):
Was about to Okay, it's not a compliment.
Speaker 2 (21:30):
It's negative.
Speaker 3 (21:31):
Or you walk in and like maybe you gained a
few pounds and they're like, I meet, that's going to Vita.
So like, no one's ever happy like Latinos. We cannot
just be satisfied. And here you have this movie that
celebrates so many beautiful things about our culture, and you know,
people wanted to talk about how.
Speaker 2 (21:50):
It was miscast, it was whitewashed.
Speaker 1 (21:53):
They don't like, yeah, tell us about the backlash. So
people so people know the backlash.
Speaker 2 (21:57):
Well, I think they didn't appreciate how it looked.
Speaker 3 (22:00):
They thought, if you've ever spent any time in Washington Heights,
like that's not what the community looks like like Lynn
is reflecting a more Hollywood version of Washington Heights in
this film, and people were pissed.
Speaker 2 (22:11):
And I don't disagree.
Speaker 3 (22:14):
That there could always be more diversity on screen and
a more realistic representation.
Speaker 2 (22:20):
And using the excuse that, oh.
Speaker 3 (22:22):
There's not enough actors that fit those roles, that's garbage.
That's absolutely not true. So we should always be aspiring
to create and see more diversity on screen. But I
think that the net net of the film could have
been so incredible for us as a community, and it
wasn't because it got murder in all the backlash. I mean, listen,
(22:43):
it was also released during the pandemic, which is never good.
It wasn't good for the movie business. It wasn't good
for the industry. They'd already held it for so.
Speaker 1 (22:50):
Long that really was a tough time.
Speaker 3 (22:52):
But I thought the movie was beautiful, and as somebody
that loves this show on Broadway has seen it on Broadway,
and the fact that like Anthony rammelse got like this
amazing role, I mean, he's a breakout star. Like I
just I supported this film because I support US, I
support latinos, and everyone needed to get on board with that,
and sadly we all didn't.
Speaker 1 (23:12):
Yeah, well listen, I did. I'm for it. I just
loved the movie so much more for even being able
to paint that picture.
Speaker 2 (23:19):
I agree again.
Speaker 3 (23:21):
I think it is a celebration of one of our
many Latino cultures, and as Latinos, we need to celebrate
all of it because we as Latinos, rarely get these
moments in film where there is such a huge stage
to stand on. Just y'all show up, like buy the tickets,
be a hype man for the Gouda.
Speaker 2 (23:40):
It is our job.
Speaker 3 (23:41):
That is the only way we're going to get like
the Latino equivalent of like crazy rich Asians, which I
think a lot of people thought this could be it
Like if we don't do this, we don't support our
own We're never going to get there. Okay, I'm getting
off my soapbox. I'm going back to lind Men. While
random By now loved it, loved it so in the
heights is in the can it airs. It's not the
(24:03):
hit that we all wanted it to be. But one
thing we've learned throughout this entire process, whether it's his
time on stage, his time behind the camera, or his
time on screen.
Speaker 2 (24:12):
Lynn does not enjoy his time off. He doesn't take
it clearly.
Speaker 1 (24:17):
Before long, he was working on a new HBO show
called His Dark Materials, based off of the classic fantasy
trilogy written by Philip Pullman.
Speaker 3 (24:27):
You always find so many ways to surprise me, Joseph Oh,
and you forgot to add. Lynn was also producing one
of my favorite shows that's ever aired, Fossey Verdon for FX.
Speaker 1 (24:39):
Hands Hips has God Asss.
Speaker 3 (24:44):
I love that, I love Fossy Okay, So Lynn should
have definitely called you in for this one. The show
followed the life of Broadway dancer, choreographer and director Bob
Fosse and his wife, dancer Gwen.
Speaker 1 (24:59):
Verdon, starring Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams. It was so good.
Speaker 3 (25:04):
If you guys have not please please find it and
go and watch it.
Speaker 1 (25:13):
Lynn loves being invested and involved in all his projects.
Speaker 3 (25:18):
So when In the Heights came back around, it was
a bit of a surprise to everyone that not only
did he not want the starring role, but he also
didn't want to direct the film.
Speaker 2 (25:28):
Instead, he asked John M.
Speaker 3 (25:30):
Chew to step behind the camera and Lynn would shadow him.
Speaker 2 (25:34):
He knew that he still had a lot.
Speaker 1 (25:37):
To learn humble short pay and I happened.
Speaker 3 (25:43):
To know somebody who could take a little lesson in
humbleness from Lynn.
Speaker 2 (25:51):
I'm talking da yeaw.
Speaker 3 (25:54):
Lynn took time to learn from Chew and observe how
a director runs a major movie set, and then he
took those lessons and applied them.
Speaker 1 (26:03):
To Tick Boom, which is written by the writer of Rent.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
Yes, Jonathan Larson, And y'all, this is a beautiful moment because.
Speaker 2 (26:14):
Now we've come full circle.
Speaker 3 (26:17):
Do you see all the parallels between Larsen and Lynn
go on. They're both composers, both chasing their dreams, fack,
both under pressure from life's clock.
Speaker 1 (26:31):
Well, girl, I hear that clock. We're all loud, don't
we all?
Speaker 3 (26:34):
And trust me, if you love Rent, you are going
to love tick tick Boom. Andrew Garfield is magical in
this and it never got the airtime or the buzz
that I hoped it would get.
Speaker 2 (26:50):
But for somebody that.
Speaker 3 (26:51):
Loves Broadway and loves musicals, you guys, this is like
a love letter to those artists who create them.
Speaker 2 (27:00):
You've got to see this, Joseph, have you seen this?
Speaker 1 (27:02):
I actually was going to tell you I haven't. I
am fascinated to want to see it because I'm coming
to realize that maybe I love lin Manuel. I didn't
realize there was so many things that I like about him,
and now I'm like, oh my god, all the stuff
that I really like is like has a lot to
do with Lin Manuel. So now I want to see
Tik tick Boom.
Speaker 2 (27:21):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (27:21):
Well, I think that's what makes listening to a podcast
so fun, is that, Like you go into it being like, yeah,
I'm kind of a fan of, for example, Linn Manuel,
and then.
Speaker 2 (27:29):
You see all of.
Speaker 3 (27:31):
These connective tissues between projects that you love, like in Gunho,
with projects that maybe you don't know a lot about,
like tick tick Boom, and you're like, well, if he
created in Gunhal, then his DNA is in Gnho, which
means his DNA is in tick tick Boom. And just
so I can give you guys, like a little summary
about Tik tick Boom, because again, I don't feel like
it got the press that it deserved. So it's basically
based on this autobiographical one man show by Jonathan Larson,
(27:55):
who is the incredibly talented composer and writer of Rent
the Musical, and he actually died right before the opening
night of the show on Broadway. It's incredibly tragic. I know,
it's like literally made for a movie. And so I
think what people saw in Lynn and Larsen was just
a lot of parallels, a lot of similarities. They're both
(28:17):
young musical prodigies, obsessed with their work, passionate about their artistry,
and wait, here's this.
Speaker 2 (28:24):
Did you know that?
Speaker 3 (28:26):
On Miranda's seventeenth birthday he actually saw Rent and he
says it was the first time that he saw that
musicals didn't have to be about like cowboys in Oklahoma,
like Austrian's Escaping the Nazis or nineteen twenty Chicago. He
realized that musicals could actually be the stories of the
(28:48):
kind of people that Miranda saw every day. And just
a few years later, when he was in college, he
began writing and creating his Tony Award winning show in
the Heights.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
Wait, look, I'm going to tell you this. You know
how I think Selina's spirit went into j Lo did
Larsen go into Lynn? I'm done for any of the
podcast about podcast is over. Thank you so much. You're
staying on our next.
Speaker 2 (29:14):
Episode of becoming an Icon.
Speaker 3 (29:18):
Through this journey, we've seen Lynn Manuel Miranda go from
young and scrappy in this like hungry Puerto Rican teen
raised in Inwood to this global cultural phenomenon and beyond
the projects that he created or helped in producing and writing,
He's become a voice for those desiring a shift, like
a seismic shift in the industry.
Speaker 1 (29:40):
Well, you know, I'm going to tell you this. He
still hasn't called me back, and I think I might
cut him out of becoming an icon.
Speaker 2 (29:46):
The musical Oh wait, are we saying now?
Speaker 1 (29:49):
It's what the people want these days, lil.
Speaker 3 (29:53):
I don't know that they want a musical version of
this podcast, but you know what, we will put it
out there. And if we are looking for a producer
and a writer and a composer, Lynn, you're number one
on the call.
Speaker 1 (30:05):
She.
Speaker 3 (30:08):
All we know is that Lynn's work is going to
live forever.
Speaker 1 (30:13):
Yes, Hamilton will go on and on and on, but
also Awana and then cut the Wild too.
Speaker 3 (30:20):
An entire generation of people will grow up listening to
his music and be inspired by that.
Speaker 1 (30:26):
What could possibly be more iconic than.
Speaker 2 (30:29):
That becoming an icon?
Speaker 3 (30:32):
The musical starring Jlo Shakira, Lynn, Ritchy Bad Bunny, Oh
my God, Are we taking it on tour?
Speaker 2 (30:41):
Are we going to a stage near you?
Speaker 1 (30:44):
Billion Airs Billionaires?
Speaker 3 (30:51):
Next on Becoming an Icon another triple threat singer, actor, dancer.
Speaker 1 (30:59):
And a downright inspiration to all.
Speaker 3 (31:03):
He blew open the doors for every Latino artist out
there now. Enrique Martin Morales aka Ricky Martin. Becoming an
Icon is presented by Sonoo and Iheart's Michael dudda podcast network.
Listen to Becoming an Icon on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast,
(31:27):
or wherever you get your podcast
Hosts And Creators
Lilliana Vazquez
Joseph Carrillo
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