From shades of blue to spiral staircases, Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jon M Chu and more of the Wicked creative team discuss how they put together two of the film’s most pivotal scenes and why singing live was so important. Watch above.

For the Ozdust Ballroom - in which Grande’s Glinda and Erivo’s Elphaba become friends – cinematographer Alice Brooks says finding the perfect blue made all the difference. 

“With Cynthia, we found that when she was against blue, it was this really powerful colour,” Brooks explains. “It made her pop in a way that no other colour behind her made her pop.”

Elphaba’s power comes into full force in the film’s climax where the two central characters climb their way up the Wizard’s castle. “We have purposely always seen elevation or height as a destination for her,” director Chu explains. “That’s the moment we’re waiting for. It’s her freedom, her release.”

The team also discusses the choice to sing live on set. “We’re all theatre people who wanted to [sing live] so badly,” says Grande. “But also because of the emotional element.” 

Erivo adds: “We would be further connected to the words we were saying, the music we were hearing, the story we were telling, and to each other.”

Wicked was distributed by Universal Pictures and has grossed over $720m worldwide. It received ten Academy Award nominations, including best picture, best actress for Erivo, and best supporting actress for Grande, and seven Bafta film award nominations.

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