No one has had a better press run than singers Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo of “Wicked.” And despite the internet clowning the duo for their close — sometimes too much for comfort — friendship, the pair said it was all organic.
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In an interview with Variety, the acting stars got real about what it meant for them to care about each other. Matter of fact, it was Grande who insisted on going through their film contracts together to ensure they’ve been paid the same for their leading roles.
“We went through our contracts together,” Grande said. “And called each other up. ‘Did you see that? What do you think about that? Let’s get it together!’”
Erivo shared a similar notion, saying “We both went through it — ‘What number are we doing? How do you feel about that?’ We were really f****ng honest...and that’s really rare. People don’t do that.”
Director Jon Chu’s “Wicked” had a $150 million budget, and even with the movie coming out towards the end of November, it has already amassed $643.8M at the global box office, according to the Daily Mail.
So what was the key to the film’s success? Erivo and Grande said they “took care of each other,” which made the whole process easy. “It is really a privilege to work and feel this way, not just as an actress in a movie but as a human being with other human beings who care — yes, about the work, but about each other,” the “7 Rings” singer continued.
“Maybe people underestimate how long we spent finding and disappearing into these women,” Grande said. “So when certain inflections or mannerisms take time to melt away, sometimes people poke fun. But we had a job to do, and we had things to get lost in — because that’s what the piece required.”
And with the highly anticipated Oscar nominations announced in just two weeks, Erivo told Variety she’s riding behind Grande’s name to be called. “I will raise hell if this lady does not get her nomination,” she said of Grande. “It’s a really f*****g hard job to jump into the middle of something like this and have it be your first time.”
During the Variety interview, the pair became emotional, which has been a trend for them throughout the press run. But even with the internet calling the duo’s repeated waterworks “weird,” both singers said it reflects their love and respect for the other.
“I feel so grateful and proud of how present we’ve been able to be. A lot of people have come up to us and been like, ‘How you holding up?’ with a long face,” Grande said. “And we’ve just peeked at each other and been like, we’re grateful and floating.”
“We had a good time,” Erivo responded.
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