Mamma Mia sequel

The same information is on ABBA The Site... I wonder what made Björn and Benny change their minds. I'm curious what songs will make it into the movie. I see a chance for Just Like That this time :-) Hopefully the story will be strong enough but Judy Craymer had a lot of time to think about it as the sequel was talked about ever since the first movie became a blockbuster.

I think that money is no big deal for them... they already have more than they could ever spend. It may be one of the factors but not the main one, in my opinion.

I've never been too keen on the musical, I haven't even seen it on theatre, even if it was staged in my country recently (actually I was so afraid of the translations that maybe subconsciously I was deliberately looking for reasons to miss it). However, the movie was a great fun and I remember laughing a lot at the cinema the first time a I saw it. You can have your reservations regarding certain actors' singing abilities but Meryl Streep was fabulous. So I am looking forward to the sequel. And the general public will get to hear more of the lesser known ABBA tracks through it.

So, which ABBA Songs should be included in the 2nd 'Mamma Mia!' Film?

Well, the Film will not only be a Sequel - but a Prequel too.

So, it will show scenes from Years before the 1st Film - not just after it.

This means that they can include School Days, if they like - so we could
have 'When I Kissed The Teacher'.

We can have a scene about waiting for a Telephone call - so 'Ring Ring' could be used.

Then, we can have ABBA's 2nd Best Selling Global Single - 'Fernando', and also their
2nd Best Selling UK Single - 'Knowing Me, Knowing You'. In both cases, they were out
sold by 'Dancing Queen'.

We can have ABBA's least appreciated 'Classic' Single - 'The Day Before You Came'.

Plus a Christmas//New Year scene - 'Happy New Year'.

All it takes is using your imagination, to 'fit' ABBA songs to a Film script.....

From the big hits, there are not many songs left that could be used in a second movie:
- Fernando
- Knowing Me, Knowing You
- One Of Us
- The Name Of The Game (the scene with that song was deleted from the final movie, however it can be found on the DVD)
- Thank You For The Music (it is only featured in the end credits of the first movie, sung by Amanda Seyfried)

I agree that 'Ring Ring', 'When I Kissed The Teacher' and 'Happy New Year' can be easily used for movie scenes.

'Summer Night City', 'Eagle' and 'Angeleyes' are also possible candidates.
'The Day Before You Came' may not be commercial enough for such a film.

Funny this thread should appear now. I had forgotten until just a couple of days ago that there was going to be a sequel to Mamma Mia.

Perhaps "The King Has Lost His Crown" since if it was a 'prequel', would the setting coincide between a character's relationship and Greece's old time?
Maybe "Hasta Manana" when there is a farewell date scene (at the middle part of the movie, not the end near credits, haha) that looks nostalgic 

Has it been mentioned yet!!!

could this lead to another new stage production ?  

Interesting times .... again... this new reality show, which we have now not heard a lot of? And MM2....

another Gold complication... or should I say More Gold, as that will have those other " hits" on, so the album is virtually there..emmm

Dum Dum Diddler On The Roof?

So far, just about every major Actor in the first 'Mamma Mia!' Film has been signed up for the 2nd.

It is now clear that the 2nd Film will both be a Prequel & a Sequel. They will focus on how the 1st
Film Actors are faring 10 Years later. Just as there will be a lot of 'Flashbacks' to show events that
happened long before the 1st Film. Which means that in the Flashbacks, Donna//Meryl Streep etc.
will be played by much younger Actors.

The young Donna//Meryl will be played by Lily James, who was in the Films 'Cinderella' & 'Baby Driver'
& also in the TV Series 'Downton Abbey'.

I don't know how many 'new' ABBA Songs will be used in the 2nd Film, but Benny & Bjorn feel that some
of the Songs from the 2008 Film should be used again. So we are sure to get 'Mamma Mia', as that is
named in the Title of Film 2. No doubt we will also get 'Dancing Queen' again, as it is regarded as such
a 'Classic'.

As long as Benny & Bjorn realise, that the more Songs from Film 1, that they re-use, the less room
there is for ABBA Songs that were not used before. It also means that the Soundtrack Album will
have some Tracks on it that over 5 Million people have already bought on the 2008 Soundtrack.
They really will have to be careful not to put people off wanting to buy the Soundtrack to Film 2.
It is not as if ABBA dont have far more good Songs to use, that were left out of Film 1. (5 Million
Sales is what One Direction Albums sold at their most popular - and they were called 'The New
Beatles'. So, it is impressive that the 'Mamma Mia!' Soundtrack sold over 5 Million).

To make room for fresh ABBA Songs, I'm hoping that only 2 or 3 Songs from Film 1 are in Film 2.
Benny & Bjorn really do have far more decent ABBA Songs, than they seem to think. When the 1st
Film came out, many people heard 'Our Last Summer' & 'Slipping Through My Fingers' for the 1st
time - and they liked them. The trouble is that only ABBA's biggest Hit Singles are well known, so
a great many people do not know how good a lot of their Album Tracks were. The 1st Film gave
non-ABBA Fans the chance to hear a few Album Tracks & I'm hoping that some of those ABBA Songs
will also be in Film 2 - rather than everything being based on old ABBA Singles.....

Here is the Link to the 'Daily Mail' Article - which has a lot of photos in it:

goo.gl/wHsRZg

Benny now says that there will be about 18 ABBA Songs in 'Mamma Mia 2', that were not in 'Mamma Mia 1'.
That includes 'The Name Of The Game' as that was cut from the 1st Film.

He has been 'critical' - sort of - of the 2nd Film, in the following 'Daily Mail' Article. But, he is fully co-operating
with helping to make the Film, by working on recording the Cast Album, in London.

However, the 'Daily Mail' is trying to make out that he's actually angry that Film 2 is being made - as one can
see by their 'slams' word, in the headline. In fact, it is perfectly clear that he is not angry at all. Just a bit sad
that more imagination has not gone into the plot of Film 2. (Then again - not much imagination went into the
1st Film either! It had a very simple 'romantic' plot).

I 100% agree with his views on 'Modern' Chart Hits. Many of them are very samey & ordinary, with very little melody.....

'They're playing it safe': ABBA's Benny Andersson slams plans for Mamma Mia! sequel
as he accuses producers of 'making a copy' of the first film

By Dalya Alberge and Eve Buckland

Saturday 7th October 2017

As one quarter of Swedish supergroup Abba, he revolutionised pop music in the 1970s, with the band's songs featuring prominently in 2008 smash film Mamma Mia!

But Benny Andersson has slammed plans for the Mamma Mia! sequel, currently filming in Croatia, accusing the producers of 'playing it safe' by 'making a copy' of the original film.

The Waterloo hitmaker, 70, said although he was thrilled by the production, he also would have liked to create something completely different: 'Universal Pictures have a great success with Mamma Mia! The Movie. Then they want to do another one… They want a copy of what they’ve already done. It’s playing it safe…

'They just want another Mamma Mia! I don’t mind that. Don’t misunderstand me. I enjoy working with it. It’s a beautiful cast… It’s going to be fun.

'But the reasons for the big companies to do what they do – film companies or record companies – is that they want to play it safe.'

Long after their breakup in 1982, ABBA-mania remains undimmed. Mamma Mia! The Movie,has made more than $600 million worldwide, following a stage hit.

In August, Universal Pictures announced that principal photography had begun on another movie, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.

It has the original cast (Meryl Streep, Julie Walters, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth), as well as new “additions” (Lily James). Ol Parker directs a story that he has co-written with Catherine Johnson and Richard Curtis, while Andersson and Ulvaeus are executive producers.

Andersson revealed yesterday the sequel will include around 18 ABBA songs that were not in the previous film: 'I’ve been recording them again… I’ve been to London a number of times to record voices and backing vocals. All the actors have to do their bit before they start shooting.'

He founded ABBA with fellow songwriter and guitarist Björn Ulvaeus, and their then respective partners, the singers Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Agnetha Faltskog.

The group became a pop phenomenon after winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest. Their extraordinary string of mega-hits includes Mamma Mia, Fernando, Dancing Queen, Knowing Me Knowing You and Take a Chance on Me.

Although ABBA were a defining force in pop music, selling more than selling more than 380 million albums, but songwriter and keyboard player Andersson doubts that they would find success if they were only starting out today.

He argues that creativity is now being stifled because music is composed 'by committee', resulting in unmemorable songs topping the charts.

Asked whether, in today’s industry, ABBA might not have found success, he said: 'Yes, very possible. We were lucky to be in the 70s.'

While he has always composed at the keyboard, valuing the freedom to 'make mistakes', he questions today’s approach: 'Music is now created by committee in a way. One guy’s doing a nice rhythm track, another one is doing a bass line, a third one is doing some nice synthesiser sounds...

'And the last thing that happens is that someone is trying to write a melody on top of whatever is on there. That means that the music has no sender, you know. Return to sender.'

Asked about today’s pop songs, he added: 'There’s not much to remember. They have other ingredients nowadays. I don’t really get it. I can appreciate a good recording, a good groove, great sounds, good rapping, good lyrics, but I don’t know where the songs themselves are any more.

'All of a sudden, you hear a good Adele number, you hear Lady Gaga… Katy Perry… Wow, that’s a good recording, that’s a great song. But otherwise, I’m not sure.'

It is hard to ignore the criticisms of a musician with an extraordinary gift for melody.

When Andersson occasionally goes on to Spotify to listen to the British Top Ten, he finds himself struggling to understand their popularity: 'I listen to that and I say, what’s going on here?

'I don’t understand the ingredients. What is it that so many people like that it ends up in the top ten charts?... If I don’t understand it, I can’t really analyse it.'

He exudes modesty, blaming himself instead: 'It’s probably me that’s not really up to it. I think it has to do with age. It’s always been like that. Our parents didn’t like Elvis Presley. They didn’t even like The Beatles to start with. They didn’t get that. We did. So I suppose it’s the same now.'

He spoke to the Daily Mail ahead of releasing a 21-track solo piano album of music that spans his career.

He likens it to 'playing an autobiography without words'.

Titled ‘Piano’, and released this month by prestigious classical music label Deutsche Grammophon, it includes songs from ABBA and his hit musical Chess, among other solo compositions.

He has reworked ABBA tracks like Thank You For The Music. He said: 'When the music is stripped of all clothes, all the arrangements, all the lyrics, all the voices, and all that’s left is me playing the piano, what comes through is a much greater strain of melancholia than it really has in the recordings…

' I don’t know if it’s the way I play or if it’s the way the music actually was from the beginning.”

He does not generally listen to his old recordings: 'While you’re working on a project, it’s full-time listening to it every minute of the day until it’s finished.

'Once it’s released, it sort of becomes your property not ours…. They don’t belong to me any more.'

Some ABBA Fans say that the 2018 Film will 'Flop', because people will not know a lot of the Songs
in it. But, that is nonsense. You soon pick up the lyrics of ABBA Songs, & a great many people will go
to see it more than once, anyhow. There will also be 'Sing-A-Long' showings of the Film - with the lyrics
on the screen. (As  there were for the 1st Film, in 2008).

I recall reading the YouTube comments of a great many people, in 2008, who said they'd been to
see the 1st Film 2 or even 3 times. Many of them with groups of their Friends. There is bound to
be a similar situation for 'Mamma Mia! 2', in 2018. The more times that people see Film 2, the more
familiar with the Songs they will get. The result will be plenty of people singing along to them in
the Cinema.

After all, hardly anyone knew most of the Songs in 'Grease', in 1978, & that was the 2nd biggest
Film of the Year - after 'Saturday Night Fever'. 'Grease 2' only flopped, because most of the Songs
in it were far weaker than those in the 1st 'Grease'. There will be plenty of very strong ABBA Songs
in 'Mamma Mia! 2'. 'Grease' had several Hit Singles in the UK - 'You're The One That I Want' and
 'Summer Nights' were No.1 Hits. 'Sandy' & 'Hopelessly Devoted To You' were No.2 Hits. The Title
Track was a No.3 Hit, & 'Grease Lightnin' was a No.11 Hit. A 'Grease Magamix' reached No.3 in 1990
& a re-issue of 'You're The One That I Want' was a No.4 Hit in 1998.

Not one Song from 'Grease 2' was a UK Hit Single - or anywhere else, for that matter. That shows what
the 'General Public' thought of the Soundtrack.

Remember - unlike 'Grease 2' - 'Mamma Mia! 2' has a lot of ABBA Hits in it. The Songs have already
proved their popularity. Saying it will 'flop', because 'Grease 2' flopped makes no logical sense. The
2nd 'Grease' Film had Zero Hits in it.....

Mike, there was a Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again trailer that was leaked from bootleg but apparently NBCUniversal decided to block them.

Here's a trailer that appears to be working elsewhere until Universal stands up and get trailer channels like "MovieClips" to bring in the real deal.
hornetapp.com/stories/mamma-mia-2-trailer/

I don't blame them but I do not condone them, it's just that some things are just way too soon...   

Fortunately fan reviews were preserved for the sake of Donna. The trailer for Mamma Mia 2 doesn't feel too well for the fans, because apparently, Donna Sheridan was about to be killed off in the film and that Donna's mother (Cher) "came back from the dead". Looks like a misunderstanding.

I don't care if the directors want to bring in a pessimistic intro of Here We Go Again (where Donna dies but she remembers her early life), because they're doing a fictional-based prequel-sequel-omniquel, but if it doesn't sit well for them, too bad. Rather insensitive for me that I should say that, but if the director decides so, they should not worry too much about it.

The only thing that's what's really about is in the whole movie itself. Trailers are usually a hit or a miss in my opinion. The movie could be misinterpreted as less or more anticipating based on the trailer, whether overhyped or underpowered, thus the directors can't win them all, afraid to say.

www.newnownext.com/mamma-mia-2-trailer-cher/12/2017/