Ariana Grande Reacts to Golden Globes Nomination, Says She’s Seen ‘Wicked’ At Least 10 Times
Ariana Grande might still be the biggest Wicked fan there is, even though she actually stars in the Jon M. Chu directed film. In fact, she thinks she’s seen the film 10 times.
“I lost count,” Grande said on the morning of her Golden Globes nomination about how many times she’s seen the film. She recalled a funny moment that happened when viewing the film in a private screening alongside some of her family. “I think I’m at 10. When I saw it with my nonna in Florida, I did check my phone a few times and my mom was like, ‘Ariana, get off your phone!’ And I was like, ‘Mommy, not only have I seen it, but I’m in it!’ I was like, ‘I know what happens here. I think I can quickly check what was just sent to me!’ She’s like, ‘Ariana, you’re talking!'”
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Grande was nominated in the best performance by a female actor in a supporting role in any motion picture category alongside Selena Gomez (Emilia Pérez), Felicity Jones (The Brutalist), Margaret Qualley (The Substance), Isabella Rossellini (Conclave) and Zoe Salda?a (Emilia Pérez).
Wicked also received nominations for star Cynthia Erivo, cinematic and box office achievement, and best motion picture, musical or comedy.
Golden Globes producer Dick Clark Productions is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a joint venture between Penske Media Corporation and Eldridge that also owns The Hollywood Reporter.
After the Golden Globes nominations were announced, Grande spoke with THR about the film’s nominations, the emotional press tour and growing up with her fans.
You worked on this film for three years, but Wicked itself has been with you for much longer. How does it feel to be recognized for it now alongside Cynthia Erivo?
It just feels incredibly surreal. It’s certainly not something that you expect. It’s just so surreal and I just feel so deeply grateful. We were just very immersed in the work and I was so grateful to have the chance to do the work and I was so excited to do the work every single day. From the lead-up to my first audition to the last day on set on both of the films, I was leading with deep gratitude every day. And we were doing our best, Cynthia and I both, just to stay present in the work with each other. And I just feel so proud and grateful as a friend, as a partner in this, with Cynthia and as a literal citizen of Oz, everyone poured their entire hearts into this and every single detail, every layer of it is felt. And I don’t know, I’m just so grateful. It’s hard to articulate.
What has been something that surprised you during filming?
We loved to surprise each other every day. Jon Chu is such a brilliantly meticulous and thoughtful director and he comes in with shot by shot land and the perfect storyboard and it’s set to music. And he has this meticulous vision that he has in his head. But my favorite thing is that he gets that version of it and then he just wants to play and he’ll just completely end up with something that is full of surprises and he calls it “catching butterflies.” And that’s what all of us were able to feel and do every day thanks to that environment, that inspired freedom, truth and honesty in play and improv. He caught all of the butterflies from all of us and it takes a great leader to bring those butterflies out.
The film was also nominated in the best comedy/musical category, and it delves into issues of acceptance, discrimination, representation, but also is so deeply funny. I was curious how you personally found the balance between the comedy and the heavier-leaning themes of the film.
It’s all about honesty, truthfully. And with comedy, people tend to forget that that’s often one of the leading rules of comedy, is that we’re not playing the joke, we’re playing the truth, and that’s what will make it land. And so with Glinda, there’s a lot of dimension and there are a lot of fears and insecurities underneath the surface that you try your very best to make sure are present within the comedy. And of course the layers to the grief that she’s experiencing during “No One Mourns the Wicked.” There’s a lot to that. There’s a guilt for the ways in which she feels complicit for what’s become of Elphaba for all of this. There’s disappointment because what would’ve happened if she stayed? A lot of people ask what would’ve happened if Glinda went with her on the broom. But also there’s a reverse of that and there’s a lot going on. So I think it allows for the comedy to play even more. Honestly, when you don’t look too hard for the laugh, you just have to kind of honor what Glinda is feeling and hope that the rest will make sense. But like I said, Jon too was just so inspiring of play. We would get a take of the scene as written, of course, and then he was just saying, “OK, what would Glinda do next? Just do whatever. Just play.” And I think that’s how we found a lot of those butterflies.
The press tour for this film has been huge. Are you exhausted?
It’s funny because a lot of people are asking us, “Are you just exhausted? Are you dead?” And it’s funny because I think our bodies feel it more than our actual conscious selves do. We just feel so excited. I feel so grateful and excited and ready and grateful for this next phase of it. It’s funny because the first phase of the press tour, the movie wasn’t really out yet, so we didn’t know how people were going to react. No one understood why we were sobbing every two seconds and some people still don’t, and that’s very OK. But now that it’s out there with the world, there’s a whole new conversation to be had. There are so many new granular levels that we can dig into and fun things like watching the fans respond and their TikToks pretending to be Glinda’s granny seeing the hat on the news being like, “Wait, that’s my hat!” And learning the choreography. It belongs to the world now. So I’m grateful for this next phase and I’m excited to continue to talk about the work that’s gone into it and share more stories about the brilliance on every level. [Cinematographer] Alice Brooks and [costume designer] Paul Tazewell and [production designer] Nathan Crowley are so amazing, and the fact that the lighting cues for the Oz Dust Ballroom [scene], there were 500 different lighting cues that had to be programmed for that scene because it’s a 10-minute scene that we didn’t cut out of in the room. It’s a privilege to be able to tell these stories and to have more questions coming so that we can continue to celebrate the work of every single person that was involved and poured their hearts and souls into it.
How have you seen your fandom change since your performance in Wicked, and your relationship with your fans?
[Tears up.] Sorry, I’m emotional. It’s interesting because my fans have grown with me through so many different phases and eras of music and phases of my life, and in the way that they have embraced Glinda and Wicked and been here for me to support me … I wasn’t really on social media at all during the filming process of this. I wasn’t really engaged the way that I normally am able to be with them because I just wanted to give myself fully over to this experience and not be on my phone that much. They called it “The Dark Ages.” I’m not kidding. And that’s just because they missed me. But it’s a beautiful thing. It’s a beautiful thing to be on this other side of it and for them to recognize the work that I was doing and to grow with them. I really have grown up with them my entire career and my entire adult life, and we’ve been growing alongside each other and they’ve embraced this new chapter in a way that I’m really deeply grateful for. I just want to make them proud really. It’s beautiful. I’m very grateful.
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