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Amy Adams Enchanted Press Conference
How was working with Alan Menken on the songs and was there an additional song that got cut?
“No, all of the songs that I worked on are in the film. I was terrified. I was so scared. I don't know, not scared, I think I just was so anxious, I really wanted to do a good job. I grew up listening to Alan Menken's music like A Part of Your World. I tormented the high school with that song for years, so I really wanted to live up to that standard. I did do a lot of training on my voice. I'd done musical theater prior, but I'd been more of a dancer so I wasn't considered a solo singer. I did work very hard and they ended up, I was afraid they were going to be such toughies, but they ended up being so gracious with Jimmy [Marsden] and I. I think they were just so thrilled that we actually sang that they were really supportive and really allowed us to feel as though we could succeed in doing this. I mean, I knew Jimmy could. He's flawless.”
What was it like singing a duet with him?
“It was great.”
Did you know he sang when you first met?
“I didn't, no. And then I heard his voice and I was like, ‘Ohhh…’ I was a puddle. Any girl would be. He's just dreamy.”
Do you have any musical aspirations outside of movies?
“No, I won't be doing an album. I would love to do musicals. I'm realistic about where my voice sits and it doesn't sit in the pop world. I could try but it would not do well.”
How did you get the musical tone of the character right?
“I did listen to a lot of Disney princesses because they wanted the first number to be reminiscent of a more Snow White feel, Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, softer, more lilting. And as she becomes more real, into the real world, we bring it up to a more current style with That's How You Know, which is much more of a Broadway showstopper style of song. If you'll notice, the songs continue to progress throughout the film. It goes into So Close which is a lot more poppy, and then we end up with Carrie Underwood's Ever Ever After, which is a country rock ballad. So the music continues to evolve and I did pay a lot of attention to that. That was part of what I trained to do was try to sing in that sort of operetta style, then also doing a more Broadway style.”
Working with all the animals, how many were there and how many were CGI?
“We had a whole room full of live rats and pigeons. Not all of them. You can't train them to scrub a toilet. I've tried. I would love if you could train animals to do the dirty work, but we did have live rats and pigeons and no cockroaches. I don't work with cockroaches.”
What other films do you have coming up?
“I did Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day with Frances McDormand where I play a 1930s cabaret singer, very ambitious girl who Frances McDormand's character sort of… We meet each other and have this fantastic day together. And then I did Charlie Wilson's War which is being released. I play a congressional administrative assistant to Tom Hanks's character, so she's sort of his Gal Friday.”
How fun was that?
“It was so much fun. Just to be on that set and learn from these people and get to watch Philip Seymour Hoffman and Tom Hanks do these amazing scenes together, directed by Mike Nichols, it was for me like going to school.”
Did you work much with Julia Roberts?
“We had a scene together. One very fun scene.”
