PureDWTS Season 19, Week 3 – A Brief Rant on “Movie Week” Issues
Since Heidi’s “Who’s Dancing What?” post is getting a tad long, I thought I had better move this over to its own post and open the floor a bit more for discussion 🙂 So as of yesterday, we received intel that Janel & Val had switched songs – they were no longer dancing to “I Feel Pretty”, and had been seen rehearsing to “America” instead. At the time, we didn’t have an explanation as to why; but now, with some additional intel, I feel as though a bit of a rant is in order…
…but first, an explanation of what I like to call West Side Storygate. As of Monday, we had heard that SOMEONE was dancing a Viennese waltz to “I Feel Pretty”; based on hints Derek gave during the show, we assumed it was Bethany & Derek. However, Val actually confirmed in a post-show interview that it was he & Janel, and that he had requested the dance style be changed from Viennese waltz to jazz “in order to do the movie justice”. Apparently he actually choreographed a pretty cool routine that was reminiscent of the big dance at the gym in the movie – the troupe was involved, they were going to have a big dance set, the works. However, apparently later in the week (I guess Tuesday or Wednesday), the studio that owns the rights to the movie allegedly said “Whoa, hey, time out there, chief – you can use ‘I Feel Pretty’, but the dance can’t look anything like the movie!” So basically, kind of the same thing that happened to Derek in season 15, when he & Shawn were tasked with doing a Knightrider-themed bhangra…but were not legally allowed to use any elements from Knightrider. A tough row to hoe for any pro, methinks. So Val basically had to redo the entire thing – they switched songs, changed the set, omitted the troupe, and redid most of the choreography. Janel picks up choreography quickly and should PROBABLY be ok in time for the show, but Val was (understandably) upset. Which brings me to my rant…
…WHY WEREN’T ALL THE RIGHTS TO THE SONGS AND MOVIES BEING USED CLEARED PRIOR TO THIS WEEK???!!! Seems like several couples were still waiting to see what their music and dance styles would be as of Monday evening – that’s gotta be a tad stressful for the pros, who then have to scramble to adapt to themes, music, and dance styles thrown at them at the last minute. Seems like they haven’t had this problem so much in previous season that have done a “movie week” theme – maybe we just didn’t hear about them, but I’m wondering if perhaps Rob & Co. have tried to be a bit too accommodating to the celebs this season, and let them suggest the movies they want to dance to….and that’s resulted in some time crunches & movie/music clearance issues. Remember, the added complication of “movie week” clearances is that you have to clear both the song AND the theme rights to the movie – and the latter category is where we encounter most of the issues. So anywho – what are you guys’ thoughts as viewers? Would you mind seeing a dance using a song from a certain movie that really wasn’t at all reminiscent of that particular movie? Is there any benefit to letting the celebs pick what movies they want? Do we really need movie week at all? Let’s hear it 🙂
And because I’m not a total Crabby McCrabberpants…here’s a pic of Witney holding Alfonso’s adorable son. Because ADORABLE BABIES, dammit. 😉
[…] ETA7: We have a more detailed explanation of what went down with West Side Story-gate – wanna hear it? Looka hurr. […]
I agree. The movies and songs should have been cleared LONG before the season started. The celebs had plenty of time to pick their movie/song before the season started. Now all of a sudden people have to switch songs/dance styles in the middle of rehearsal. WHAT!!!! I hope this doesn’t hurt Val and Janel. As far as having movie night at all, I think it’s kinda fun but you have the disadvantage this season of Lea already having been in her movie and knowing what to do with the song, etc. Maybe they should just scrap it entirely. Anyway hopefully it will be a good evening even with all the switching.
Thats really annoying i agree courtney
The pros seems to have to adjust last minute
For example witney and alfonso were supposed to do a vw then a foxtrot and finally a quickstep
I think its also because of the music getting cleared
Wow, that’s a real bummer for Val to have to go changing things up in such time. Guy’s right to be pissed.
I totally agree that they should get stuff cleared way in advance. Am I right in saying they couldn’t clear ‘Hakuna Matata’ for Disney week last season too? Or is that my imagination running off?
That kid is so adorable. Looks like one happy baby.
This is one of the problems with theme weeks. It’s like they become so enamored with the spectacle of them that they start to lose sight of the rather important stuff like song clearances and fitting the proper songs with the dance.
And really, Rob Wade may be new to the top dog position but he’s not new to the show. He should know how this stuff works.
I agree they should’ve been cleared in advance. Maybe they should give the pros and celebs a list of movies/songs first day that are clear to pick from (first in gets it?) and then a wish list to see if they can clear it? Just a thought. Val has a right to be upset but then again, he’s a pro and he should be able to change direction and choreo for a new dance on short notice. I would say that about any of the pros. If you’re a professional in any profession, doctor, lawyer, teacher, etc., you’re paid to think on your feet. It’s part of the deal. I’m sure they will do fine after all Janel #Imnotadancer has plenty of training, they have big fan bases, judges “love” them and let’s not forget the showmance.
That’s terrible. The show is stressful enough for the pros without doing this. The more seasons I watch, the more ‘last-minute’ a good majority of this show seems. I remember reading that Mark and Aly in season 16 had to switch their Afro-Jazz music extremely last minute because the producers didn’t feel it was “strong enough” for the routine, or something to that effect. It doesn’t seem fair. Hopefully everything works out.
Given that it’s “movie week” I personally want to see at least SOME nod or element that is reminiscent of the film – it doesn’t need to be a replica or anything, but the beauty of soundtracks is their inextricable link to our ears and eyes. It doesn’t have to be a lot, but to have to completely ignore it – that’s not what would get me excited about the theme.
In the case of West Side Story – there’s too much tied to the music/visual/dance to ignore it. For Knight Rider banghra the red light and the black suit was plenty to give the viewer a sense of cohesiveness with the source – and in fact it was probably MORE effective for its simple nod to the show rather than trying to incorporate too much of something that wouldn’t have added to the routine. But what Val initially had going sounds like something great, and I’m really sorry that we won’t see it.
I understand his frustration but Val can still do the movie justice with “America”, right?
This is part of the reason I don’t like theme weeks. I wouldn’t be thrilled if I were Val either. What they had going sounded super cool. And Alfonso’s baby is adorable. Anyone else think his smile looks like Alfonso’s in that Pepsi commercial with Michael Jackson? @Joanna- You’re right. Cody was originally supposed to have “Hakuna Matata” for his samba but ended up with “I Just Can’t Wait To Be King.”
Yeah it stinks. I would imagine it inconveniences everyone involved in the production of the show. One would think after all these seasons that things would be more organized.
Jerome Robbins did the choreography for West Side Story. His Trust is very pro-active about protecting his choreographic legacy. Which they should be honestly. It’s a very fine line between homage and copying.
This I imagine would make it very hard for Val to “do justice” to the movie while dealing with all the brouhaha this week. As much as I love WSS I almost think they should have just asked for another movie’s music.
I tend to think that Val complicated an already complicated issue by changing style (from V. Waltz to Jazz) and song (from I Feel Pretty to America). Come on dude, it suck, but suck it up. Yes, the producers should have had it all cleared WAY in advance – but why do you go and change styles and songs, futher complicating it all?
Lucky you got a ringer dude.
The thing is, I think if Val hadn’t asked for a style change, and had stuck to V waltz, instead of trying to (in a sense) recreate the movie (do the movie justice?), he probably could have gotten away with some of the things he was planning – because the choreography would have been nothing like the movie. Maybe not – I don’t know how picky they would be.
either way, its gotta suck to have a whole routine planned, choreographed , & rehearsed just to be told in the middle of the week you cant do it and have to start over. Hopefully they can pull it together by monday
I’d still like to see a VW to “I Feel Pretty” – so I say give it to Derek and Bethany in a few weeks – the music is cleared, it’s a great song and it doesn’t have to be a “theme” night.
Absolutely Val made a bad situation worse. I Feel Pretty would have made a lovely Waltz. Honestly I don’t think Jazz when I hear it.
The whole situation makes me sick because I have such an emotional connection to The Sound Of Music.
Good lord, I mean West Side Story. I’ll be hiding under under a rock.
Well, I guess we have Rob Wade’s first screw-up. Dude forgot the KISS principle. If his intention was to give the celebs an opportunity for input as often as possible, that’s laudable; but you have to know when it is and isn’t possible. In this case, as a Hollywood veteran, he should have known better.
Val has a right to be PO’d but he bears some responsibility. Sounds like he didn’t understand the limits within which he needed to operate, but when they were explained to him, he should have said “ok, I’ll think outside the box while staying within the lines.” Of course, I’m not sure his creativity works like that.
As for what viewers expect from “Movie Night”, I agree with Fig. So if the show can’t clear the rights to both the song and the movie, it’s better not to go there.
I agree with those saying Val shouldn’t have changed dance styles. I feel bad this ended up such a mess and that he’s probably frustrated with all of the changes he’s gonna have to make/made but changing dance styles further complicated things. Luckily if this ends up a huge mess, it’s so early there’s no way Janel is going home.
Val pretty blatantly copied Dirty Dancing for his freestyle with Kelly. Maybe producers were afraid he’d go that far with WSS
When I read this, my first thought was: “When given lemons, make lemonade.”
I understand Val’s frustration. Maybe we’ll see some of that in the package come Monday. I’ll feel the same way, too. But I guess when things go awry, being proactive is the best approach in order to get things done. Agree, Princess Heidi. No need to further complicate an already complicated matter.
I love movie week but it’s totally unacceptable from a production standpoint to not have songs and movie theme rights cleared ahead of time. This is season 19, they’re not new at this and there’s no excuse for it.
I don’t have a problem with Val or any pro changing the style of dance if allowed to. If the theme rights to the movie had been cleared like they were supposed to, it shouldn’t matter if they changed the style of dance. That just sucks for the pro and celeb, too much unneeded stress. Luckily, I think Janel can handle it. Still not cool though. I hope the final product works out for them.
So what are the chances that we will see royally PO’d Val in their rehearsal package, followed by the “magical” touch from Janel and her unbelievable ability to calm him down?
I would be worried if they had to switch from one ballroom dance to another. Jazz is in her wheelhouse, I’m sure they will be more than fine.
Well why was he planning a big production number with the troupe? Just like last season, when he & Maks used the troupe and u kinda lost sight of their partners. I would have rather seen a VW with just Janel/Val to IFP.
What an adorable little boy! He looks so happy.
It does stink that there was a problem with the dance rights, and Val has a right to be upset, but he also needs to suck it up and move on. It’s happened to Derek, it’s happened to other pros as well and they moved on. You have to so you can get your celebrity prepared for the show with the time you have left. Not doing that wouldn’t be fair.
One thing we now know, Janel will probably be getting votes because of this late change. Not that she would be going anywhere this week anyway.
Which is probably why he switched, Veronika. Bad move though – you’re going to want Jazz (a dance she’s done before) when they’re down to fewer dancers.
Maybe I’m missing something here re: Disney night last season, but how could a show airing on a Disney-owned network run into clearance problems for a song to which Disney presumably owns the rights, or can at least lean on the rights-holders?
In one sense I feel bad becuas ethey put all that effort into the previous song but at the same time I want to laugh becuase people already are annoyed by their showmance and this certainaly doesn’t help. I seriously wonder if he switched the dance becuase he is worried about Janel not getting the chance to do a jazz routine later on. She is legitamaetely the only contestant I could see being a surprise elimination down the road right now.