Craig Zadan Quotes

Craig Zadan

Profession : Producer

Birth : April 15, 1949

We have a great musical sequence in episode five of 'Smash' called 'Let's Be Bad,' and it probably is the closest to 'Chicago' that I think any of us have ever experienced.

Craig Zadan

If anything's going to go wrong, it'd go wrong during 'Peter Pan,' not 'The Sound of Music.'

Craig Zadan

It was very, very difficult to be a student in the drama department and also review my professors' school shows. I got a lot of pressure from them to quit the paper and concentrate on studying dramatic literature.

Craig Zadan

People think, 'Oh, you're doing 'The Wiz' because 'Empire' is such a big hit.' The truth is, staging this musical has been a dream of ours since the '90s, but the rights were tied up. It's just coincidental that, this year, when we were choosing a new musical, the rights were cleared.

Craig Zadan

The truth of the matter is - when we look at things - every movie we do - no matter what the subject matter is - we go to the universal theme of family. We always go to that because if the movie is about family, then any audience can relate to it.

Craig Zadan

The people with mean things to say, say them. At the end of the day, the mean things and the good things only drive viewership. So what do you want? You want the ratings.

Craig Zadan

He's perfect for anything. I would hire Hugh Jackman to come to my house and have dinner.

Craig Zadan

We couldn't even contemplate doing 'Hairspray' without a live audience.

Craig Zadan

It is very, very important that people understand that you can tell different kinds of stories, and they do, related to gay and lesbian issues - especially when you know the people behind them.

Craig Zadan

We'd never do 'The Sound of Music' because the movie was perfect.

Craig Zadan

I don't understand how other producers who have no experience making a musical jump in and produce one.

Craig Zadan

We called the head of CBS and said, 'We know how network television feels about musicals. Would you even consider doing 'Gypsy?'' He said, 'If I did say yes, you'd have to have a big movie star who does not do TV.' I told him that, in our fantasy world, we'd like Bette Midler. He said, 'Get Bette Midler, and you have an on-the-air commitment.'

Craig Zadan

Neil and I are most thrilled that we were able to bring musical theatre to the enormous audience that 'The Sound of Music' reached.

Craig Zadan

It's expensive to produce musicals on television.

Craig Zadan

We zero in on family as a theme because it makes the movies emotionally available to a universal audience.

Craig Zadan

I think we sublimated our Broadway desires by doing theater in Hollywood - not on stage but by doing the movies of 'Chicago' and 'Hairspray' and also musicals on TV. We did Rodgers and Hammerstein's 'Cinderella' and 'Gypsy' and 'Annie.' Even 'Smash' was like doing theater.

Craig Zadan

I think maybe the most important thing that we have to say is that people don't often talk about network executives being brave. You don't talk about them as having integrity and a higher purpose, because it's a job... except for Bob Greenblatt. He is a theatre person. He loves and understands it.

Craig Zadan

Carrie Underwood clearly drove 'The Sound of Music.' For 'Peter Pan,' we had terrific actors but not stars, and we did not do nearly as well.

Craig Zadan

A lot of people feel that 'Music Man' is a good movie musical.

Craig Zadan

Live TV is the future. It's the only way you can beat the DVRing of America. Everything is DVRed, and no one watches stuff when it's on. Awards shows and sports are watched when they're broadcast.

Craig Zadan