Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

I kind of feel like with a musical, there's so few original musicals that people just don't know what to expect.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

So many Hollywood adaptations of really popular manga series just don't get it right, and for me what was really important was that if I was gonna do 'Naruto,' I wanted to actually work with Kishimoto and get a script to a stage where he would look at it and be excited about realizing it.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

There is something about musical narrative and Australians. If you want to do something, you kind of have to do it at a level - because we're so far away from everywhere else - that exceeds what is just normal if you want to convince people that some guy from Australia is worth backing for an original musical.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

I'm a big believer in bringing in other creative minds; I do it in my commercial work.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

Usually on a film set it's making sure that everyone is there for their scene, and the moment their scene is over they disappear.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

To get 'The Greatest Showman' greenlit, we had to get everyone into New York City to hear a read through, where we'd read through the script and sing it.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

People forget that even the biggest hit shows, like 'Hamilton,' started off-Broadway.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

I was introduced to Zendaya by one of the executives at Fox, and like every single person who's met her, you completely fall in love with her talent and her maturity.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

In 'The Greatest Showman,' I'm back doing VFX myself, allowing me to craft exactly how something looks, one frame at a time.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

There's something really special when you take an audience and instead of just being passive and watching, you invite them to participate.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

If you look at the things I'm drawn to, it's always stuff that's got a lot of imagination and heart.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

The rehearsal process is the biggest gift you can give to the director and to yourself as an actor because it allows you to shape the character and the scenes.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

I'd be very surprised if 'The Greatest Showman' didn't end up on Broadway at some point.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

To me I grew up watching 'All That Jazz' and 'Cabaret,' and when I was younger 'Mary Poppins',' The Sound Of Music,' and 'Singin' In The Rain.'

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

The Greatest Showman' would be an amazing Broadway hit.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

Like 'Lost in Translation,' I worked on an advertisement where a Hollywood star was doing a commercial just for Japan. The star was Hugh Jackman. Since I'm Australian, they just assumed I knew him, and I didn't correct them.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

Classically, it's the child who looks up at their parents who says, 'This is how the future is going to be,' and it's the parents who don't understand because they're set in their ways. For me, it was the exact opposite.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

It's really strange, this thing where people are like, 'I'm not into musicals' but so many people who have said that to me, I've taken to shows and watched their faces radiate.

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

I'm as thrilled watching Mark Rylance do Shakespeare as I am watching 'The Book of Mormon.'

Michael Gracey
Michael Gracey

Everyone knows and loves Elton John's music, but the true story of his life is so incredible that it can only be described as a fantasy.