Grease | |
---|---|
Created by | Jim Jacobs & Warren Casey |
Original work | Grease |
Owners | Paramount Pictures (Paramount Global) |
Years | 1971–present |
Films and television | |
Film(s) | Grease (1978) |
The Grease franchise consists of American films and television productions, based on the 1971 musical. The stage production was first adapted for film with Grease (1978), followed by Grease 2 (1982). A prequel titled Summer Lovin' entered development beginning in 2019.
The franchise centers around the students of Rydell High, with each individual entry depicting the love story of a couple at opposite ends of the popularity spectrum: one, a popular and unruly student while the other is a shy immigrant and new student who is well behaved. The pair ultimately help each other step out of their comfort zone, balance each other out, and realize their ideal selves. The musical explores the themes of classic rock and roll overcoming differences (including opposing gangs), as the students experience high school and make memories together.
Revered as a cult classic, [1] the original film was met with critical and financial success, and quickly became highest-grossing musical film ever (circa 1978), [2] while its soundtrack album ended 1978 as the second-best-selling album of the year in the United States. [3] The film earned an Oscar nomination at the 51st Academy Awards. In 2020, the film was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". [4] The sequel however, did not fare well at the box office nor with critics and was nominated for a Stinkers Bad Movie Awards for Worst Picture. [5] Later on, it was awarded #13 in the 100 worst films of the 20th century, in Stinkers' "100 Years, 100 Stinkers" list. [6] [7]
The film series expanded into a franchise with the release of a Broadway musical adaptation, various reality television programs centered around the Broadway production, as well as releases in various other mediums. It will continue with the release of a streaming television series titled Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies , an exclusive on Paramount+. Additionally, a prequel film titled Summer Lovin', which will depict the summer prior to the events of Grease, is in early development.
Grease is a 1971 stage musical, originally written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, that originated from the Chicago theater scene. It moved to Off-Broadway and then to Broadway in 1972, where it ran until 1980. The original musical was set in urban Chicago and was based on Jacobs's own teenage years, with several of the characters having identifiably Polish-American and Italian-American ethnicities. The Chicago production was more profane and had less musical elements, while the writers partially sanitized the production for Broadway audiences. [8] The musical functioned as an ensemble comedy, while the subplots involving supporting characters were given greater development. The stage production ends with a definitive decision in Danny's favor, as he reverts to his old ways while Sandy transforms into the wild Pink Lady to fit in. [9]
Film | U.S. release date | Director | Screenwriter | Story by | Producer(s) | Status |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Grease | June 16, 1978 | Randal Kleiser | Bronté Woodard | Allan Carr | Allan Carr & Robert Stigwood | Released |
Grease 2 | June 11, 1982 | Patricia Birch | Ken Finkleman | |||
Summer Lovin' | TBA | Brett Haley | John August & Leah McKendrick | John August | Erik Feig | In development |
In fall 1958 following their summer romance, wholesome Australian immigrant Sandra "Sandy" Olsson and popular greaser Daniel "Danny" Zuko find themselves classmates, when Sandy enrolls at Rydell High School (in a generic setting based on suburban Philadelphia) [10] instead of moving back home. At Rydell, Danny has long been the de facto leader of the T-Birds, a crew of fellow greasers; the T-Birds' female counterparts are the Pink Ladies, a tight-knit clique helmed by queen bee Betty Rizzo. As Danny attempts to maintain his reputation in the T-Birds as the coolest guy at the school amongst his peers, he struggles with keeping his relationship with Sandy alive. Sandy stands by her morals and education, being torn between the upright preppies of Rydell High (typified by cheerleader Patty Simcox) and the cruder Pink Ladies, to whose influences she eventually succumbs in order to keep Danny. Along the way the couple and their friends, experience adolescence amongst 1950s rock and roll culture: sex, substance abuse, and music. [11]
Grease was re-released in May 1979 in 1,248 theatres in the United States and Canada, Paramount's biggest ever saturation release at the time, and grossed $4.5 million in its opening weekend. [12] [13] During the reissue, it overtook The Godfather and became Paramount Pictures' highest-grossing film of all-time. [14] It was re-released in March 1998 for its 20th anniversary where it grossed a further $28 million in North America. [15] An additional re-release in 2018, for its 40th anniversary grossed $1 million. [15]
In 1961, Stephanie Zinone has succeeded to the leadership of the Pink Ladies following Rizzo's graduation in the first film. Tired of the recurring drama, Stephanie breaks up with her boyfriend Johnny Nogerelli. She receives the admiration of Michael Carrington, a mild-mannered bookish new exchange student and Sandy's cousin. Michael seeks to overcome his nerdy ways while earning her affections by learning to ride a motorcycle, and taking on a secret identity that his peers call the "Cool Rider". Johnny grows jealous of Michelle's romantic pursuits, and as the leader of the T-Birds attempts to use his popularity to win her back. [16]
In April 2019, Paramount Pictures announced a prequel movie titled Summer Lovin' was in development, with John August serving as screenwriter. The project will be a joint-venture production from Paramount Pictures, Paramount Players, Temple Hill Productions, and Picturestart. Receiving its title from the song, the plot will center around the summer in which Danny and Sandy met and fell in love. [17] By July 2020, Brett Haley was hired to serve as director with the most recent draft of the script being written by Leah McKendrick. [18]
A reality television series of a talent competition of singing and dancing. From the producers of Dancing With the Stars , the series was patterned after a format designed and created by Andrew Lloyd Webber for the BBC series How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria? . Hosted by Billy Bush and Denise van Outen, the series featured celebrity judges Kathleen Marshall and David Ian alongside co-creator Jim Jacobs, who helped narrow the search for the Broadway leads amongst the contestants. [19]
The program generated so much interest in the upcoming Broadway revival that, ticket sales had topped $9 million. Despite this the series was declared a "ratings loser". [20]
The United Kingdom version of NBC's Grease: You're the One That I Want!, which aired in 2007. The series was a production of Syco TV for ITV, with Simon Cowell serving as producer. The winning couple, Susan McFadden & Danny Bayne, became the stars of the West End revival production of the stage musical at the Piccadilly Theatre.
The judges were David Ian, David Gest, Sinitta, and Brian Friedman. The series was hosted by Zoe Ball. The after-show titled Greased Lightnin' shared unseen auditions, behind-the-scenes videos, and interviews; was hosted by Holly Willoughby and aired on ITV2. [21]
Grease Live! is a television special that was originally broadcast by Fox on January 31, 2016. It was a live, televised remake of the 1978 film Grease, executive produced by Marc Platt, directed by Thomas Kail, and starring Julianne Hough, Aaron Tveit, Vanessa Hudgens and Carlos PenaVega. Patterned on similar live television musicals that had recently been produced by NBC, the production incorporated elements and songs from both the original stage musical and the 1978 film version of Grease, as well as additional songs and a few elements (such as changing Sandy's last name to Young to reflect Hough's own background) that were not present in either. In an effort to emulate the "energy" of a theatrical setting, live audiences were incorporated into the production's stagings. Grease Live! was broadcast from Warner Bros. Studios, utilizing two soundstages and the studio's outdoor backlot—the usage of the latter was notably affected by rain in the Los Angeles area on the day of the broadcast. [22] [23]
In September 2019, a musical television series was announced to be in development titled, Grease: Rydell High. The show was ordered straight-to-series, and was to release exclusively on HBO Max. The project was a joint-production between Paramount Television, Picturestart, and Temple Hill Entertainment. Erik Feig served as producer for the show. The series was a prequel to the original film with returning and new characters, as well as new and old songs. [24] By April 2020, Annabel Oakes was hired as writer and executive producer for the series. [25] In May of the same year, the project was retitled as Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies. [26] In October 2020, it was announced that the series would be moving to Paramount+. [27] Paramount+ released the ten episodes of the series over the course of spring 2023 before abruptly removing the series from public view that June. [28]
Character | Films | Television | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Grease | Grease 2 | Summer Lovin' | Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies | |
1978 | 1982 | TBA | 2023 | |
Principal McGee | Eve Arden | Jackie Hoffman | ||
Fran "Frenchy" Facciano | Didi Conn | Madison Elizabeth Lagares | ||
Betty Rizzo | Stockard Channing | Emma Shannon | ||
Danny Zuko | John Travolta | TBA | ||
Sandra "Sandy" Olsson | Olivia Newton-John | |||
Coach Vince Calhoun | Sid Caesar | |||
Secretary Blanche Hodel | Dody Goodman | |||
Eugene Felsnick | Eddie Deezen | |||
Leo Balmudo (Craterface) | Dennis C. Stewart | |||
Mr. Rudie Spears | Dick Patterson | |||
Kenickie Murdoch | Jeff Conaway | |||
Doody | Barry Pearl | |||
Sonny Lantieri | Michael Tucci | |||
Putzie | Kelly Ward | |||
Marty Maraschino | Dinah Manoff | |||
Jan | Jamie Donnelly | |||
Michael Carrington | Maxwell Caulfield | |||
Stephanie Zinone | Michelle Pfeiffer | |||
Johnny Nogerelli | Adrian Zmed | |||
Goose McKenzie | Christopher McDonald | |||
Louis DiMucci | Peter Frechette | |||
Davey Jaworski | Leif Green | |||
Johnny Nogerelli | Adrian Zmed | |||
Sharon Cooper | Maureen Teefy | |||
Paulette Rebchuck | Lorna Luft | |||
Rhonda Ritter | Alison Price | |||
Dolores Rebchuck | Pamela Segall | |||
Jane Facciano | Marisa Davila | |||
Olivia Valdovinos | Cheyenne Isabel Wells | |||
Cynthia Zdunowski | Ari Notartomaso | |||
Nancy Nakagawa | Tricia Fukuhara | |||
Hazel Robertson | Shanel Bailey | |||
Susan St. Clair | Madison Thompson | |||
Richie Valdovinos | Johnathan Nieves | |||
Buddy Aldridge | Jason Schmidt | |||
Gil Rizzo | Nicholas McDonough |
Title | Crew/Detail | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Composer | Cinematographer | Editor(s) | Production companies | Distributing company | Running time | ||
Grease | Michael Gibson | Bill Butler | John F. Burnett & Robert Pergament | Polydor Records, Paramount Pictures, Allan Car Production, Robert Stigwood Organization | Paramount Pictures | 1 hr 50 mins | |
Grease 2 | Louis St. Louis | Frank Stanley | John F. Burnett | Polydor Records, Paramount Pictures | 1 hr 54 mins | ||
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies | TBA | TBA | TBA | Paramount Television Studios, Disappearing Ink, Temple Hill Productions, Picturestart Productions | Paramount+ | TBA | |
Summer Lovin' | TBA | TBA | TBA | Paramount Pictures, Temple Hill Productions, Picturestart Productions | Paramount Players | TBA |
Film | Box office gross | Box office ranking | Home video sales gross | Worldwide Total income | Budget | Ref. | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North America | Other territories | Worldwide | All time North America | All time worldwide | North America | ||||
Grease | $159,978,870 | $206,200,000 | $366,178,870 | 223 | 290 | $26,247,660 | $392,426,530 | $6,000,000 | [29] |
Grease 2 | $14,297,083 | $874,393 | $15,171,476 | 4,283 | 5,735 | — | $15,171,476 | $11,200,000 | [30] [31] [32] |
Total | $174,275,953 | $207,074,939 | $381,350,346 | x̄ #2,253 | x̄ #3,012.5 | $26,247,660 | $407,598,006 | $11,206,000 |
Title | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic |
---|---|---|
Grease | 75% (73 reviews) [33] | 70/100 (15 reviews) [34] |
Grease 2 | 36% (36 reviews) [35] | 52/100 (11 reviews) [36] |
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies | TBD | TBD |
Summer Lovin' | TBD | TBD |
Award | Grease | Grease 2 | Summer Lovin' |
---|---|---|---|
Best Original Song | Nominated |
Following the film's success, stage adaptations were revived. Despite this, the new productions were adjusted to align closer with the film release.
Grease is a musical with music, lyrics, and a book by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Named after the 1950s United States working-class youth subculture known as greasers and set in 1959 at the fictional Rydell High School in Northwest Chicago, the musical follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of peer pressure, politics, personal core values, and love.
Grease 2 is a 1982 American musical romantic comedy film, and a standalone sequel to the 1978 film Grease, adapted from the 1971 musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. Originally titled More Grease, the film was produced by Allan Carr and Robert Stigwood, and directed and choreographed by Patricia Birch, who choreographed the original stage production and prior film. The plot returns to Rydell High School two years after the original film's graduation, with a largely new cast, led by Maxwell Caulfield and Michelle Pfeiffer in her first starring role.
Grease is a 1978 American musical romantic comedy film directed by Randal Kleiser from a screenplay by Bronté Woodard and an adaptation by co-producer Allan Carr, based on the stage musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The film depicts the lives of greaser Danny Zuko and Australian transfer student Sandy Olsson, who develop an attraction for each other during a summer romance.
Eileen Patricia Augusta Fraser Morison was an American stage, television and film actress of the Golden Age of Hollywood and mezzo-soprano singer. She made her feature film debut in 1939 after several years on the stage, and amongst her most renowned were The Fallen Sparrow, Dressed to Kill opposite Basil Rathbone and the screen adaptation of The Song of Bernadette. She was lauded as a beauty with large blue eyes and extremely long, dark hair. During this period of her career, she was often cast as the femme fatale or "other woman". It was only when she returned to the Broadway stage that she achieved her greatest success as the lead in the original production of Cole Porter's Kiss Me, Kate and subsequently in The King and I.
Jamie Donnelly is an American actress and singer known for her portrayal of Jan in the musical, and later film, Grease, along with Magenta in The Rocky Horror Show during its run in the Roxy Theatre in Los Angeles.
Grease: You're the One That I Want! is an NBC reality television series designed to cast the lead roles of Sandy Dumbrowski and Danny Zuko in a $10 million Broadway revival of the 1971 musical Grease directed and choreographed by two-time Tony Award-winner Kathleen Marshall. The Broadway production began previews at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre on July 24, 2007, and officially opened on August 19.
Jennifer Diane Powers is an American actress, singer, and beauty pageant contestant. She won the title of Miss Illinois in 2000, and has had major roles in Broadway productions such as Little Women and Grease.
"Summer Nights" is a popular song from the musical Grease. Written by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey, its best-known version was recorded by American actor and singer John Travolta and British-Australian singer, songwriter and actress Olivia Newton-John for the 1978 big-screen adaptation of the musical, and released as a single that same year. It was released in August 1978 as the fourth single from the movie's soundtrack album and became a massive hit worldwide during the summer of 1978. Parts of the song were introduced to a new audience when it was re-released in the 1990s as part of a megamix of several songs from the movie version.
Austin Miller is an American actor, singer and dancer frequently seen on screen and on stage.
Laura Ann Osnes is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has played starring roles in Grease as Sandy, South Pacific as Nellie Forbush, Anything Goes as Hope Harcourt, and Bonnie and Clyde as Bonnie Parker, for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She also starred in the title role of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway, for which she received a Drama Desk Award and her second Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.
Aaron Maximillian "Max" Crumm is an American actor and singer known for their work on the New York City stage. They have originated starring roles on Broadway in both the revival of Grease as Danny Zuko, after winning NBC's talent search competition, Grease: You're the One That I Want!, and in Seth Rudetsky's Disaster! as Scott, after playing the role Off-Broadway. Crumm also played starring roles in The Fantasticks as Matt, The Evolution Of Mann as Henry Mann, Hot Mess as Max, Brooklyn Crush as Christian Mohammed Schwartzelberg, and in Jersey Shoresical as The Situation.
Danny Burstein is an American actor and singer. Known for his work on the Broadway stage, he's received numerous accolades including a Tony Award, two Drama Desk Awards and nominations for three Grammy Awards.
Amanda-Jane Manning is an English actress, singer and recording artist. She is best known for her appearances in various musical theatre shows in the West End, Germany, across Europe and the United States. She also appears as a solo artist on Petula Clark's Album In Her Own Write singing "My Love Will Never Die" for Sepia Records in 2007.
Grease Live! is an American television special that was originally broadcast by Fox on January 31, 2016. It was a live, televised remake of the 1978 film Grease, executive produced by Marc Platt, directed by Thomas Kail, and starring Aaron Tveit, Julianne Hough, Carlos PenaVega, Vanessa Hudgens and Jordan Fisher.
Dune: Prophecy is an upcoming American science fiction television series developed by Diane Ademu-John and Alison Schapker for HBO. A prequel to the film Dune (2021), which was based on the 1965 novel of the same name by Frank Herbert, the series focuses on the origins of the Bene Gesserit, an exclusive and powerful sisterhood who undergo intense physical training and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman abilities; the action in the series taking place some 10,000 years before the events of the film. The series is produced by Legendary Television, with Schapker serving as showrunner, writer, and executive producer.
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies is an American musical romantic comedy drama television series that was created by Annabel Oakes for Paramount+. The series is a prequel to the film Grease (1978), based on the stage musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. It aired from April 6, 2023 to June 1, 2023 on Paramount+. The series was canceled later that month and removed from Paramount+.
Madison Thompson is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Erin Pierce on the Netflix series Ozark. She has also held guest and recurring roles on other television shows, including American Housewife, NCIS: New Orleans, and Kevin (Probably) Saves the World.
Marisa Davila is an American actress, notable for her main roles in Super Giant Robot Brothers (2022) and Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies in 2023.
Johnathan Nieves is an American actor. He is best known for playing Mateo Vega in Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (2020), and Richie Valdovinos in the musical TV series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies in 2023.
Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies is the soundtrack to the musical romantic comedy television series Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies created for Paramount+; the prequel to the film Grease (1978), based on the stage musical of the same name by Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey. The series featured 30 original songs written by Grammy-nominated songwriter Justin Tranter, who collaborated with Brandon Colbein and Brittany Campbell to co-write the songs, while Eren Cannata and Daniel Crean produced the music and soundtrack. Trainer looked back to the original 1978 film and its soundtrack as an inspiration to produce the album and described it as a contemporary take but still capturing the nostalgia and harmonies from the 1950s.
Despite the fact that Grease was well on its way to becoming the highest-grossing movie musical in the world, and eventually grossed over $341 million...