Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted To You - General Discussion

[BW Manilowe]

Quote

Olivia Newton-John: Hopelessly Devoted to You is the remarkable personal and professional journey of international superstar Olivia Newton-John, illustrated through her music. Covering her lasting power across more than five decades in one of the world’s toughest industries, the film delves into both Olivia’s public persona as well as the private woman behind-the-scenes, including her multiple battles with cancer and her intense fight to survive.

Though this movie aired on Lifetime (3 times almost consecutively on Saturday, February 16th... hopefully with at least 1 more showing for those who missed it & didn’t wanna) it was not a Lifetime Original Movie. It was originally produced for, & aired on, at least 1 of the Australian television networks, I think late last year (2018).

Edited February 18, 2019 by BW Manilowe
To correct a date.

[DangerousMinds]

Lifetime can make it so difficult to access their programs if you miss them the first time around.

[Snow Apple]

I thought it was a fine movie although I didn't learn much that's new. I wish they had more about her childhood and rise to fame, but there's just so much you can do with only two hours with commercials.

The costumes for the movie scenes were spot on, especially for Xanadu. Very impressive. I wouldn't be surprised if you told me they dug the originals up from storage. The recreated "Physical" music video was a hoot.

[BW Manilowe]

2 hours ago, DangerousMinds said:

Lifetime can make it so difficult to access their programs if you miss them the first time around.

I apologize since the chances are probably slim you might see this in time, if you missed it on Saturday night, but I just discovered Lifetime is airing the movie again in 2 hours as I write this, at 2:04AM Eastern Time/1:04AM Central Time.

[DangerousMinds]

2 minutes ago, BW Manilowe said:

I apologize since the chances are probably slim you might see this in time, if you missed it on Saturday night, but I just discovered Lifetime is airing the movie again in 2 hours as I write this, at 2:04AM Eastern Time/1:04AM Central Time.

Yes, thanks, I did manage to record it in time. I was mainly just commenting on Lifetime's general pattern of making their programs inaccessible. 

[BW Manilowe]

1 hour ago, Snow Apple said:

I thought it was a fine movie although I didn't learn much that's new. I wish they had more about her childhood and rise to fame, but there's just so much you can do with only two hours with commercials.

The costumes for the movie scenes were spot on, especially for Xanadu. Very impressive. I wouldn't be surprised if you told me they dug the originals up from storage. The recreated "Physical" music video was a hoot.

Yeah. I’ve been a fan of Olivia’s since she really “broke” in the States after “If Not For You”, & I thought they did a good job on the movie too. I thought, from certain angles, Delta Goodrem (who’s actually recorded with Olivia before) kind of even looked a little like Olivia occasionally—I think mainly when she was playing Olivia during her really short hairstyles period; like when she did the Clearly Love album, & the Physical album era, & any other time(s) in between. I also thought the guy who played Matt Lattanzi looked pretty similar to how I remember Matt looked when he & Olivia were together back in the ‘80’s & ‘90’s. So he was pretty well cast, in my opinion.

A slight complaint would be that at least the second little girl who played Olivia & Matt’s daughter Chloe had a slight Australian sound to her voice. I’ve heard the real Chloe speak a few times through the years, once she was closer to & in adulthood (like about her bout with anorexia &/or her own music/acting career), & I’ve never once detected an Australian accent in her voice, even with all the time I’m sure she’s spent, & lived, down under with Olivia, & with Matt at least before the divorce. Chloe always sounds completely American to me.

Another thing that I noticed that slightly bugged, which I nearly forgot about: As Olivia when Delta Goodrem sang “I Honestly Love You”, she sang “Maybe I’ve hung (past tense, or another part of speech involving the past) around here a little more than I should...”. Olivia always sings, always has sung, & probably will always sing the line as “Maybe I hang (present tense) around here a little more than I should...”.

Something I kept wondering about was, what was the deal with all those weird shots where they’d cut between Olivia & the guitar player (the bearded guy who, at least in the movie, gave her “Hopelessly Devoted to You” on the Grease set for the first time, who was either already in her band then or became part of it after Grease) during the music performance scenes? Every time (or almost) there was a music performance scene with Olivia & the guitar player both in it, after the Grease part, it seemed they’d end the scene with them looking at each other like either something was going on between them, or they wanted something to be going on between them. That’s what it felt like to me, anyway. I didn’t get why they did that. At the time when most of those looks came I’m pretty sure she was in relationships, like still with Matt though that might’ve been ending; with Patrick McDermott before he bailed for Mexico; then with John Easterling, whom she eventually married (& this year they will be married for 11 years, according to the marriage year in the movie... so good for them!).

I loved how accurately the movie costumes were recreated. Of course for Xanadu, at least, they might’ve also used the costumes they created for the Broadway version (at least for Olivia’s character in the movie).

Unfortunately, they would’ve had to recreate most of Olivia’s “Bad Sandy” Grease costume. In the Biography program on Olivia that, if you didn’t see it, ran between the showings of the movie, Olivia said she kept most/all of the costume after filming—but, before she (or presumably anyone else) realized what a cultural phenomenon the movie was gonna become, Olivia actually donated the shoes to a celebrity charity auction somewhere. And I’d swear in recent years I read or heard they were supposedly gonna cut up the pants & do something with the material swatches that were made for charity; that would be kinda sad, if they did that. I don’t know if Olivia still has (or ever had) the black top she wore under the jacket, but she said in the Biography program that she does still have the jacket. Or at least she did when she did the interview for that show.

If you’re interested in it, after the movie I went looking around to see if maybe they might’ve done a soundtrack CD for it. They sorta did.

It doesn’t have the same title as the movie. It’s called I Honestly Love You, & it’s considered a Delta Goodrem CD, but it has at least most of the songs that were used in the movie, PLUS what’s supposed to be 2 new duets with Olivia. If you get the actual CD, it’s kinda pricey, because it’s an Australian import—$32.29, before taxes & shipping, at Barnes & Noble’s website & $26.79 at Amazon.com as I type this (but, at least right now, you get a free “AutoRip” version of the CD, for your iPod/MP3 player/phone, with your purchase if you buy a hard copy CD from Amazon—& you can stream it for free if you have Amazon Prime). But if you get it from iTunes or download it from Amazon, it’s only $9.99 for the full CD. 

For all intents & purposes, it’s the soundtrack CD for the movie. The cover shows, like, 4 photos of scenes from the movie, including 1 of the movie versions of Olivia & her friend Pat together (but not as their singing group) & 1 of Delta dressed as Olivia in the “Physical” music video with the blue jacket/wrap thing over her white workout clothes. And the video recreation for that was amazing, I thought. 

[BW Manilowe]

OK... Having watched the movie again, I think I’m clearer on the guitar player thing. He was actually with Olivia from at least the first time(?) she played Nashville. And he apparently wrote “Hopelessly Devoted to You”, which apparently was supposed to have come from unrequited romantic feelings he apparently had for her, whether she knew it or not (at least he had feelings in the movie... who knows about in real life [maybe her upcoming memoir will touch on that]... but it would be pretty cruddy if he had a thing for his wife’s BFF). But what I’m still not quite clear on is, wasn’t he John Farrar, the guy who married Olivia’s BFF Pat & has been pretty instrumental (no pun necessarily intended) in Olivia’s career for a long time now? I mean, were John Farrar & the guitarist the same guy or different guys? If they were different guys, they sure looked alike.

Edited February 19, 2019 by BW Manilowe
To fix spacing, add comments and change a word.

[GHScorpiosRule]

UGH. I was so excited to see Olivia’s name and just assumed this was a documentary, that for some inane reason was on this FAKAKTA network. 😒😒😒😒I have no desire to see a supposed movie about Olivia-I’m still bitter and have the burn scars over the “movie” they did about Lizzie Borden.

[Snow Apple]

3 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

UGH. I was so excited to see Olivia’s name and just assumed this was a documentary, that for some inane reason was on this FAKAKTA network. 😒😒😒😒I have no desire to see a supposed movie about Olivia-I’m still bitter and have the burn scars over the “movie” they did about Lizzie Borden.

I think it's worth watching. There's not really any frills or made up drama (although there is drama which happened in real life). It's pretty much a "just the facts, ma'am" type of movie. And according to the first post in this thread, it wasn't produced by Lifetime. Thank goodness.

[BW Manilowe]

1 hour ago, Snow Apple said:

I think it's worth watching. There's not really any frills or made up drama (although there is drama which happened in real life). It's pretty much a "just the facts, ma'am" type of movie. And according to the first post in this thread, it wasn't produced by Lifetime. Thank goodness.

No, the movie wasn’t produced by, or for, Lifetime. It’s a TV-movie made for, & by, 1 of the Australian TV networks for airing there. Lifetime apparently got the rights, over the other US cable networks, to air it in the US (our commercial networks don’t really show movies anymore, even movies made specifically for TV)—that’s their only connection to the movie (& I’m glad some network got to air the movie here, even Lifetime, ‘cause I really wanted to see it without having to go to Australia or to find a US-compatible DVD version—neither of which I can do).

Edited February 18, 2019 by BW Manilowe
To add a comma and fix spacing.

[JenMD]

13 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

But what I’m still not quite clear on is, wasn’t he John Farrar, the guy who married Olivia’s BFF Pat & has been pretty instrumental (no pun necessarily intended) in Olivia’s career for a long time now? I mean, were John Farrar & the guitarist the same guy or different guys?

Yes, same guy.  That identification of people was something I thought this movie really dropped the ball on.  Either I missed names, or more often, they didn't give them.  I'm not sure if we got an edited version from the original but I found it confusing and choppy at times.

I have to confess, the Xanadu bits in the commercial drew me in; even though it was just a glimpse I was so impressed by how well they seemingly recreated the set I just had to see it.  And I've been a fan of Olivia's since her early radio days, so I was in, even though I didn't think Delta Goodrem resembled Olivia at all (I just kept seeing Jennifer Lopez).  My goodness, the poor woman was saddled with some truly terrible wigs.  Her singing was lovely, but I don't think she particularly sounded like Olivia, it pretty much could have been a movie about anyone.  I actually think the younger actress was a much closer match (especially based on photos shown in the biography that followed).

But back to Xanadu, it took me about halfway through the scene to realize the reason I though Delta was doing such a good job in particular spots was because is wasn't her, it was Olivia - they used actual movie clips for all the wide shots and only had Delta, the actor playing Matt and other dancers in close up.  Explained a lot.

Overall, it was fine.  Finding out it wasn't made by Lifetime, but imported, explains a lot.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Thanks @Snow Apple! And I just ordered the Blu-ray and Original movie sound trak of Xanadu because I loooooove that movie in all its cheesiness because of the music! Both Olivia and ELO.

Though while I also love the song “Twist of Fate” The movie Two of a Kind was GODAWFUL.

I LOATHE everything Lifetime, but it helps to know it’s just being aired on their network.

Edited March 10, 2019 by saoirse
Movie title changed per request if original poster

[BW Manilowe]

If you happen to have Hulu, & your subscription includes live TV (at least I think you have to have live TV on your Hulu subscription) you still have access to the movie, even though it isn’t currently running, or running any time in the near future apparently, on Lifetime.

I ended up watching it Saturday through my own Hulu subscription (though I did have to add live TV access to it, & you can get a week-long free trial if you don’t have live TV access), then I was surprised to find, last night, it was still a viewing choice upon opening the app.

I was even more surprised to see some scenes in the movie yesterday, watching it off-air, that I don’t remember being in it when I watched all (or most all—I may have actually missed 1) of the airings on Lifetime. That was at least 4 times; I should almost have it memorized by now (laughs).

Most of the missing stuff was either full scenes that were also clips in the montage we saw at the end as fictional Olivia sang “I Honestly Love You” during a concert at the Sydney Opera House, like Pat & Olivia singing in the black dresses, Chloe’s birth, the food fight when Olivia & young Chloe were cooking/baking; or they were small parts of other scenes that might’ve explained some things better had Lifetime kept them in, examples of which aren’t coming to my mind right now; or random other things—like Matt & Olivia’s wedding—that, for some reason, Lifetime’s editors decided weren’t important enough to keep in when they were editing the movie to add commercials. 

So if you thought there were some weird scene transitions, or things were missing from the movie, you were right. But they never mentioned the ill-fated Koala Blue boutiques at all. Just FYI.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Oooh! Guess what's arriving today? That's right, my blu-ray of Xanadu! 💃💃😍So that after I watch this speshial, when I will have the need to watch the actual movie, it will be right there! I absolutely was JEALOUS of Olivia's hair in that movie. Though I do wish they should have, could have, gotten a better leading man/love interest than that smarmy Michael Beck.

Ahem.

[BW Manilowe]

7 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Oooh! Guess what's arriving today? That's right, my blu-ray of Xanadu! 💃💃😍So that after I watch this speshial, when I will have the need to watch the actual movie, it will be right there! I absolutely was JEALOUS of Olivia's hair in that movie. Though I do wish they should have, could have, gotten a better leading man/love interest than that smarmy Michael Beck.

Ahem.

Well, Olivia may not have had a good leading man/love interest in the movie, but she sure got a pretty good 1 out of it, for probably around a decade or maybe a little longer (& she indirectly got a daughter out of it too), since that’s where she met Matt. Though I do feel kinda sorry/sad for him (& both of them/the family they had with Chloe), I guess, if they broke up because of his success (or lack of it) relative to hers like in the movie.

I know it happens. But I hate that stuff like that makes the men in that situation (in any profession) feel so emasculated (for lack of a better word), while I don’t think women whose careers in the same profession as their partner (entertainment or anything else) are less successful than their partner’s (specifically male partners) feel any less feminine over it.

If that scene came from real life, I know Chloe didn’t know what she was saying, ‘cause I know she was pretty young at the time; & she was, & presumably still is, proud of Matt, but I really wish she hadn’t implied/stated Olivia was more famous than Matt like that (there are probably more tactful ways to say it). But I guess it was “Out of the mouths of babes....” in that situation.

By the way, I looked on IMDb & it looks as if Matt hasn’t acted since 1993. He’s supposedly been a construction worker since, was married again (which apparently ended in 2007), & is apparently last known to be living off the grid somewhere. At least he hasn’t disappeared like Patrick did (I know that sounds cold, but I was thinking it)—although I thought they eventually found Patrick in Mexico, maybe living under a pseudonym?

Edited February 20, 2019 by BW Manilowe
To change a word and add another.

[GHScorpiosRule]

I don’t know what Olivia’s character in a movie has anything to do with her real life. My comment was more about how they should have cast someone better to play her love interest as I’m not a fan of the actor who they ended up casting.

And their break-up has more to do with what she wanted to do after her first breast cancer diagnosis than Matt’s career or lack of one.

This is something Olivia said in an article shortly after their break-up, and although not together, he was their for her during her treatment. And they remained good friends. At least I don’t recall hearing or reading anything acrimonious going on between them.

Edited February 20, 2019 by GHScorpiosRule

[Snow Apple]

I remember seeing something on tv once where Chloe visits her father who was living in some sort of tent or teepee. He seemed happy living off the grid.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Eh. It was okay. And I agree with @JenMD-the actress playing adult Olivia looks like Jennifer Lopez, and it was such a distraction, I couldn’t concentrate.

The guy that played John Travolta sorta looked like him but he was too short-I’m certain that John is at least a head and a half taller than Olivia, not the same height.

But the casting of Matt was spot on.

I also would have preferred it if they’d had Olivia singing instead of whoever was singing, and to have montaged into the real Olivia singing at the end, a la What’s Love Got to Do With It? Where Angela Bassett turned into the real Tina Turner. Unless Olivia/Music company refused to let them have the rights to do that.

Clearly no one knows the truth than the people involved, but I guess they needed Drrrraaaaama, so they had Matt voice he basically felt emasculated*; and was Patrick the same dude who faked his disappearance and was found years later in Mexico living under a different name? And of course he also couldn’t handle Olivia’s fame, as if he wasn’t aware how famous she was or what Hollywood was like? I thought they were still dating yet this movie is saying they broke up? I remember when he disappeared-The media all kept referring to him as Olivia’s “boyfriend.” Unless he was someone else? Because I only ever remember the one guy who did this.

And who was that green screened reporter announcing Olivia’s cancer supposed to be? Mary Hart? And that HAIR! 

I’ve also been a huge fan of Olivia’s since Grease. Got one of those Barbie microphones where you could hear yourself on the radio(I can’t recall which am station you had to tune), and I would sing Magic again and again!😄😄😄 Saw Xanadu TWICE in the theatre.

*Nothing I’ve ever read or seen alluded to Matt not being able to handle Olivia’s success as the breakdown of their marriage.

Edited February 20, 2019 by GHScorpiosRule

[Snow Apple]

Patrick is found? I thought he was still missing. I haven't kept up.

[GHScorpiosRule]

4 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

Patrick is found? I thought he was still missing. I haven't kept up.

Yeah. He was found in 2015 or something, living under the name of Rick something or other. Something about debt.

ooh! Here’s the article from  Independent

Edited February 21, 2019 by GHScorpiosRule

[BW Manilowe]

20 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Eh. It was okay. And I agree with @JenMD-the actress playing adult Olivia looks like Jennifer Lopez, and it was such a distraction, I couldn’t concentrate.

The guy that played John Travolta sorta looked like him but he was too short-I’m certain that John is at least a head and a half taller than Olivia, not the same height.

But the casting of Matt was spot on.

I also would have preferred it if they’d had Olivia singing instead of whoever was singing, and to have montaged into the real Olivia singing at the end, a la What’s Love Got to Do With It? Where Angela Bassett turned into the real Tina Turner. Unless Olivia/Music company refused to let them have the rights to do that.

Clearly no one knows the truth than the people involved, but I guess they needed Drrrraaaaama, so they had Matt voice he basically felt emasculated*; and was Patrick the same dude who faked his disappearance and was found years later in Mexico living under a different name? And of course he also couldn’t handle Olivia’s fame, as if he wasn’t aware how famous she was or what Hollywood was like? I thought they were still dating yet this movie is saying they broke up? I remember when he disappeared-The media all kept referring to him as Olivia’s “boyfriend.” Unless he was someone else? Because I only ever remember the one guy who did this.

And who was that green screened reporter announcing Olivia’s cancer supposed to be? Mary Hart? And that HAIR!

I’ve also been a huge fan of Olivia’s since Grease. Got one of those Barbie microphones where you could hear yourself on the radio(I can’t recall which am station you had to tune), and I would sing Magic again and again!😄😄😄 Saw Xanadu TWICE in the theatre.

*Nothing I’ve ever read or seen alluded to Matt not being able to handle Olivia’s success as the breakdown of their marriage.

I didn’t think Delta Goodrem (adult Olivia—she’s also a friend of hers in real life & they’ve recorded together before) looked like Jennifer Lopez at all. Mileage varies, I guess.

The Faux Travolta sorta had his face, but the hair wasn’t right at all, I thought; not in their “real life” scenes or in their Grease scenes. I knew a lot about Allan Carr (the fat guy with the glasses, who produced Grease; he also produced the Academy Awards the year Rob Lowe & Snow White did that horrible opening number, but he still apparently got great ratings for the show), but I thought he maybe was kinda creepy in the movie. At least I don’t think they had the movie version wear the caftans the real person loved to wear. They didn’t do too badly casting here either, I think.

Agreed. The actor who played Matt Lattanzi was probably the 1 who looked the most like the person they played. At least as I remember how he looked when they were seen together during his & Olivia’s relationship & marriage. But their “meet cute” scene in the movie was weird when Faux Olivia just said “him” in picking Matt as her “Michael Beck stand in” for the moment (even though people who are fans/know a lot about Olivia but still might not be fans who watched the movie knew she’d pick the guy who looked like Matt, because they met filming Xanadu), it seemed like without pointing at him or describing him/his clothes. I think just the “him” might’ve confused people/viewers who knew little to nothing about Olivia & just watched this because it was about a celebrity (& maybe might’ve been trashy, as such).

I was sorta worried Matt & Olivia broke up because they weren’t at the same level of fame, professionally, but I don’t think I ever read anything that explained why they split either—not that they owe the public an explanation. Olivia has a memoir, cleverly titled Don’t Stop Believin’, coming out on March 12th in the US (I’ve already pre-ordered it from either Amazon or Barnes and Noble—I forget which). Maybe she’ll discuss it there.

Patrick & Olivia broke up shortly before he bailed to Mexico, like in the movie; but she apparently still loved him afterwards. I heard the movie refer to Olivia, I think, as his “longtime (or “former longtime”) partner” after he disappeared. I’m still amazed he worked on the film/audio crew for an interview of hers & didn’t seem to know how famous she is. But I loved how Delta seemed to get how enthusiastically Olivia always starts her interviews/personal videos, like that cheery “Hi Australia!” & her voice in the video where she & young Chloe are talking about the release of her Back to Basics compilation CD.

I have a feeling the entertainment news reporters in the movie were supposed to have been composites of all the famous ones from the syndicated/cable networks entertainment news shows back when the events they were covering happened. I wanna know who that blond guy reporter was who was supposed to be reporting on the Grease premiere. If it was supposed to have been John Tesh, who was with Entertainment Tonight, like forever, before he left to pursue his music as his career, the hair was SO TOTALLY WRONG!

Edited February 21, 2019 by BW Manilowe
To move a misplaced comma.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Matt never played Beck’s double. According to the movie’s credits, he played a young Danny Maguire-and that role was played by Gene Kelly. And he was credited as one of the Xanadu dancers. I looked for him and there were a couple of moments near the end where I think I saw him. The scene with Young Danny must have been cut out because there was no Young Danny.

Mileage does vary-because if you put a brown wig on Delta, she could pass for Lopez-she’s got the shape and look around the mouth.

Most of the casting was just off.

Overall, this wasn’t offensive, but it was mediocre.

[BW Manilowe]

45 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Matt never played Beck’s double. According to the movie’s credits, he played a young Danny Maguire-and that role was played by Gene Kelly. And he was credited as one of the Xanadu dancers. I looked for him and there were a couple of moments near the end where I think I saw him. The scene with Young Danny must have been cut out because there was no Young Danny.

Mileage does vary-because if you put a brown wig on Delta, she could pass for Lopez-she’s got the shape and look around the mouth.

Most of the casting was just off.

Overall, this wasn’t offensive, but it was mediocre.

I thought the guy who introduced Olivia to all those people (the dancers?) on the first day of rehearsals, which I guess it was supposed to be, said something to Olivia about picking out “a Michael Beck stand-in” to rehearse with & play whatever age Danny was to her Kira, apparently because Michael Beck wasn’t there that day (at least for the movie’s purposes in showing Matt & Olivia meeting for the first time)? I’ve seen the movie 4 times already & I know the guy in the beginning of the Xanadu-related section says something about Olivia needing “a Michael Beck stand-in” (to rehearse with) so she should pick 1 & she picked Matt (at least in the movie; I have no idea if that’s how they really met on the set).

[GHScorpiosRule]

10 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

I thought the guy who introduced Olivia to all those people (the dancers?) on the first day of rehearsals, which I guess it was supposed to be, said something to Olivia about picking out “a Michael Beck stand-in” to rehearse with & play whatever age Danny was to her Kira, apparently because Michael Beck wasn’t there that day (at least for the movie’s purposes in showing Matt & Olivia meeting for the first time)? I’ve seen the movie 4 times already & I know the guy in the beginning of the Xanadu-related section says something about Olivia needing “a Michael Beck stand-in” (to rehearse with) so she should pick 1 & she picked Matt (at least in the movie; I have no idea if that’s how they really met on the set).

Again, I don't know if Olivia signed off on this movie or had any say, or whether she was against it. But as to why they did that scene where Olivia "chose" Matt? I'm calling the good ole "creative license" here. There were a lot of scenes that I'm wondering, how did they know that was the conversation? Like the one I mentioned above about Matt feeling emasculated, or the others that aren't public record or shown before?

Also, Beck didn't do any roller skating that would require a stand-in. The only time he was skating was during "I'll Take the Fall" when he was looking for Kira after she disappeared and left. And that was just regular roller skating.

And why didn't they include how Olivia agreed to do Two of a Kind, which reunited her with John Travolta? Granted, the movie was godawful, but the chemistry was still there with those two, and the media made a big deal about how her character in the movie was eons away from Goody Two Shoes Sandy from Grease. Or the making of the music video, because it's soo kewl and John was featured in it.

It's also very interesting that None of the main cast--Olivia or Michael, were interviewed about the movie in the blu-ray. Only Gene Kelly's widow and some of the muses.

[BW Manilowe]

4 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Again, I don't know if Olivia signed off on this movie or had any say, or whether she was against it. But as to why they did that scene where Olivia "chose" Matt? I'm calling the good ole "creative license" here. There were a lot of scenes that I'm wondering, how did they know that was the conversation? Like the one I mentioned above about Matt feeling emasculated, or the others that aren't public record or shown before?

Also, Beck didn't do any roller skating that would require a stand-in. The only time he was skating was during "I'll Take the Fall" when he was looking for Kira after she disappeared and left. And that was just regular roller skating.

And why didn't they include how Olivia agreed to do Two of a Kind, which reunited her with John Travolta? Granted, the movie was godawful, but the chemistry was still there with those two, and the media made a big deal about how her character in the movie was eons away from Goody Two Shoes Sandy from Grease. Or the making of the music video, because it's soo kewl and John was featured in it.

It's also very interesting that None of the main cast--Olivia or Michael, were interviewed about the movie in the blu-ray. Only Gene Kelly's widow and some of the muses.

They did have a disclaimer at the start of the movie about how certain things in it were fictionalized. I’m trying to remember if the stalker was & haven’t gotten that looked up yet.

I never said anything about Michael Beck needing a stand in/stunt double for roller skating or anything else actually in the movie. I was just talking about how Matt was allegedly picked for Olivia to rehearse with, at least the first day, & the guy who introduced her on set referred to whomever she was gonna choose as Michael’s stand in for rehearsing with Olivia that day, or at least until he could get to the set.

[GHScorpiosRule]

9 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

hey did have a disclaimer at the start of the movie about how certain things in it were fictionalized.

Well, there you go.

And on a purely SHALLOW, SHALLOW note, can I just say that the real life Patrick is waay hotter than the actor they got to play him?

What?😜

Edited February 22, 2019 by GHScorpiosRule

[Snow Apple]

8 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Also, Beck didn't do any roller skating that would require a stand-in. The only time he was skating was during "I'll Take the Fall" when he was looking for Kira after she disappeared and left. And that was just regular roller skating.

And why didn't they include how Olivia agreed to do Two of a Kind, which reunited her with John Travolta? Granted, the movie was godawful, but the chemistry was still there with those two, and the media made a big deal about how her character in the movie was eons away from Goody Two Shoes Sandy from Grease. Or the making of the music video, because it's soo kewl and John was featured in it.

Michael Beck's character also skated for the "Suddenly" number. The routine wasn't that difficult but still........

I was waiting for a mention of Two of a Kind too.

[BW Manilowe]

7 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

Michael Beck's character also skated for the "Suddenly" number. The routine wasn't that difficult but still........

I was waiting for a mention of Two of a Kind too.

They also didn’t mention the Koala Blue stores Pat & Olivia started in the ‘80’s(?) or their failure. I guess the only failures they were interested in were Olivia’s relationship failures.

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

And on a purely SHALLOW, SHALLOW note, can I just say that the real life Peter is waay hotter than the actor they got to play him?

What?😜

Who’s Peter? Am I forgetting someone?

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, BW Manilowe said:

Who’s Peter? Am I forgetting someone?

He’s the Korean cameraman who couldn’t handle Olivia’s fame and faked his death due to debt. And he was discovered living in Mexico under a different identity 12 years later. I posted about him upthread in detail.

 

1 hour ago, Snow Apple said:

Michael Beck's character also skated for the "Suddenly" number. The routine wasn't that difficult but still........

I was waiting for a mention of Two of a Kind too.

Oh yeah. See how much of an impact he had?😆

Since they made such a point about Travolta being smitten with Olivia and how they became good friends, they should have mentioned their reunion!

Ans like a sap and fanguurrrrl that I am of Olivia, instead of sleeping last night, I pulled up the video of Twist of Fate!😄😄😍😍

Whaaaat?

[Snow Apple]

I binged on my favorite Xanadu videos and also the Twist of Fate video this week too 😎

l remember Koala Blue. As a teenager, I could only afford one tshirt. I wish I kept it. I remember Olivia wearing the shop's outfits in a TV movie where she played a mannequin brought to life and bonding with a little girl and her dad.

Edited February 21, 2019 by Snow Apple

[GHScorpiosRule]

Here’s a confession: When I first saw the music video of “Suddenly” with Olivia and Cliff, I thought it was real and that they were actually dating and in love!😂😂😂 Hey, I was a tween! Only Olivia could get away with that shade of purple eyeshadow! And I never realized that Cliff was the SAME Cliff Richard who sang “Devil Woman” that I absolutely LOVED!

Tell me that a tween wouldn’t think what I did!

[BW Manilowe]

5 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

He’s the Korean cameraman who couldn’t handle Olivia’s fame and faked his death due to debt. And he was discovered living in Mexico under a different identity 12 years later. I posted about him upthread in detail.

Oh yeah. See how much of an impact he had?😆

Since they made such a point about Travolta being smitten with Olivia and how they became good friends, they should have mentioned their reunion!

Ans like a sap and fanguurrrrl that I am of Olivia, instead of sleeping last night, I pulled up the video of Twist of Fate!😄😄😍😍

Whaaaat?

Peter is actually named Patrick, regarding the bolded.

 

5 hours ago, Snow Apple said:

I binged on my favorite Xanadu videos and also the Twist of Fate video this week too 😎

l remember Koala Blue. As a teenager, I could only afford one tshirt. I wish I kept it. I remember Olivia wearing the shop's outfits in a TV movie where she played a mannequin brought to life and bonding with a little girl and her dad.

I have a store logo sweatshirt, at least 1 t-shirt, & at least 1 shopping bag from Koala Blue somewhere (I’m not sure they fit me anymore but, unless my mom got rid of them behind my back, I still have them). Yes, I even kept store packaging from places my favorite celebs opened like Koala Blue, if I was lucky enough to go there or someone else in my family went for me (like if they were going where a favorite celebrity’s store or restaurant, etc., was opened & I wasn’t—I got lots of Hard Rock Cafe & Planet Hollywood shirts that way). My parents went to LA for a Rose Bowl game & mom got me the sweatshirt, I think shortly after the original store opened on Melrose in LA. Then I went to LA for New Year’s Eve 1987 going into 1988 & got at least 1 store logo t-shirt from a store that had subsequently opened in an LA-area mall (maybe the Glendale Galleria).

I know the movie you mean. But I can’t remember the name of it.

 

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Here’s a confession: When I first saw the music video of “Suddenly” with Olivia and Cliff, I thought it was real and that they were actually dating and in love!😂😂😂 Hey, I was a tween! Only Olivia could get away with that shade of purple eyeshadow! And I never realized that Cliff was the SAME Cliff Richard who sang “Devil Woman” that I absolutely LOVED!

Tell me that a tween wouldn’t think what I did!

“Suddenly” is 1 of my favorite songs by Olivia. She & Sir Cliff definitely have chemistry, but I’ve heard rumors (& some really controversial ones, but I don’t remember those) practically forever that he doesn’t “play for the same team” as Olivia (but they’ve also said the same thing practically forever about Travolta, with whom she also has excellent chemistry & a great friendship). Regardless, I think I’ve played practically every version of “Suddenly” that I can find on YouTube at least once—even the concert/live appearance ones with Olivia’s background vocalists replacing Sir Cliff on them.

Yeah, Two of a Kind was a dud as a movie. But, musically, it gave us “rocker” Olivia, with “Twist of Fate” & “Livin’ in Desperate Times”; “Take a Chance”—which I think is probably actually my favorite duet she’s done with John Travolta, & “Shakin’ You”, which is another beautiful song off the soundtrack but I’m not sure it was ever a single; at least not here in the US (I think it should’ve been 1).

[Josette]

20 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

They did have a disclaimer at the start of the movie about how certain things in it were fictionalized. I’m trying to remember if the stalker was & haven’t gotten that looked up yet.

He's real.  His name is Michael Owen Perry.  She actually had two stalkers.

[BW Manilowe]

18 minutes ago, Josette said:

He's real.  His name is Michael Owen Perry.  She actually had two stalkers.

When I saw his (creepy) picture I remembered Ralph Nau. I probably knew about Michael Owen Perry too, but I didn’t remember him. I’m really glad he’s in prison. I hope Ralph Nau’s locked up somewhere too. It looks like he is, but it’s also a little confusing if he still is in that second link you posted.

[GHScorpiosRule]

15 hours ago, BW Manilowe said:

She & Sir Cliff definitely have chemistry, but I’ve heard rumors (& some really controversial ones, but I don’t remember those) practically forever that he doesn’t “play for the same team” as Olivia (but they’ve also said the same thing practically forever about Travolta, with whom she also has excellent chemistry & a great friendship).

I don't pay attention to rumors--that's how misinformation gets spread around. Unless I hear it from the person themselves, I don't give them any credence.

[BW Manilowe]

OK... My copy of the Delta Goodrem CD with most/all of the songs from the movie (the de facto soundtrack for it, I suppose you could say), plus 2 duets with Olivia & a song with Georgia Flood, who’s in the Australian nighttime soap opera Wentworth (a reboot of the old Australian “women in prison” nighttime soap Prisoner, aka Prisoner: Cell Block H), arrived today.

From the cover (linked at the word “soundtrack”), it appears they did intend to mention Olivia & Pat’s Koala Blue stores in the movie. In the top right pic, next to the “Physical” video 1, Faux Olivia & Faux Pat are wearing tees with the Koala Blue logo on them (& I swear I have at least 1 of those shirts); presumably the bottom half of their outfits were supposed to have been from Koala Blue too. But there was no scene with them & those clothes in either the version that aired on Lifetime or that I watched, with a little more stuff in it, on demand on Hulu a couple days later. By the way, Hulu still has it available—but you might need a subscription with Live TV added to watch it.

Edited February 24, 2019 by BW Manilowe
To fix spacing.

[SunnyBeBe]

I wasn't all that impressed with the movie, but, it wasn't too terribly bad. It did open up a lot of things about Olivia that I never knew. I liked that. I really loved Olivia when her early songs hit the hit the airwaves and I was just a child.  I loved If Not For You!  This movie really showed how Olivia has had great success, but, also a lot of heartbreak.  

[GHScorpiosRule]

And another thing. They didn't age Olivia at ALL for this movie. The actress remained and looked like 30-something from the time she married Matt to when the movie ended.

And I know that Dolly Parton sang the original, but I was hoping to see Olivia's cover of "Jolene." Then again, maybe it's a good thing we didn't, because it wasn't OLIVIA singing. But there should have been more about how she started in Country and transitioned to Pop/Top 40.

[giovannif7]

On 2/21/2019 at 7:39 PM, BW Manilowe said:

(snip)

Yeah, Two of a Kind was a dud as a movie. But, musically, it gave us “rocker” Olivia, with “Twist of Fate” & “Livin’ in Desperate Times”; “Take a Chance”—which I think is probably actually my favorite duet she’s done with John Travolta, & “Shakin’ You”, which is another beautiful song off the soundtrack but I’m not sure it was ever a single; at least not here in the US (I think it should’ve been 1).

I loved "Shaking You" too - I don't remember it ever being put out as a single, but I have a feeling it was scheduled to be released until the third single "Livin' in Desperate Times" barely cracked the Top 40. There was a video compilation sold that included the videos for "Twist of Fate," "Take A Chance" and "Livin' In Desperate Times," along with a gorgeous clip for "Shaking You," shot in Venice, Italy with a "failed romance with a married man" theme:

[BW Manilowe]

On 2/18/2019 at 10:04 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Thanks @Snow Apple! And I just ordered the Blu-ray and Original movie sound trak of Xanadu because I loooooove that movie in all its cheesiness because of the music! Both Olivia and ELO.

Though while I also love the song “Twist of Fate” The movie Twist of Fate, was GODAWFUL.

I LOATHE everything Lifetime, but it helps to know it’s just being aired on their network.

Sorry for the late comment here. I missed the comment I’m responding to earlier & only found it when I decided to read the thread again for some reason.

I know it’s too late to edit the post, but the movie where the song “Twist of Fate” came from was actually called Two of a Kind; it didn’t have the same title as the song.

[Morlock]

Australia made a few of these films in the past couple of years about Aussie celebs. What I don't understand is the emphasis on re creating the films and tv shows they were in. We saw the shows/movies that is why we want to watch the life story, we want to see something we haven't already seen! 

They did the same with the one on Paul Hogan and the actor they got to play him looked nothing like him. 

[SomeTameGazelle]

On 2/20/2019 at 5:35 PM, GHScorpiosRule said:

Yeah. He was found in 2015 or something, living under the name of Rick something or other. Something about debt.

ooh! Here’s the article from  Independent

According to the CBC, that wasn't him.

Edited March 10, 2019 by SomeTameGazelle
fixing link