Lin-Manuel Miranda: How Far I'll Go

Should we do just one more with Lynn? Today?

I say yes.

And in the last two episodes, you guys know, we talked about how his musicals have completely changed Broadway Forever, which kind of begs the question, how does he follow that up?

HM? Writing a one man show about the inspiring and handsome host of a wildly popular podcast chronicling the lives of the biggest Latin stars in the world.

Well, I'm sure that's next on his to do list, But for today, why don't we follow Lynn from the Great White Way to Hollywood?

Hey, he can write my story for the screen too. You know, I look great both ways? Hold on?

Where am I in all of this?

Hey? It's called show business? Those not show friends?

Hold up?

Hold up? Hold up?

Did you just weaponize Jerry McGuire against.

A Sorry, I'm not sorry?

Okay, Well, while you're planning for my demise, let's give the listeners what they came here for.

On today's episode, From Moana to Tiptick Boom, Lin Manuel takes on Tentheltown.

I'm your host, Lilianavosquez.

And I'm Joseph Carrio, and this is becoming an icon a.

Weekly podcast where we give you the rundown on how today's most famous LATINX stars have shaped pop culture.

And given the world some extras.

Lebt, sit back and get comfortable.

Because we are going in the only way we know how, with Buena's.

Usbunasrisas, some cheese, and a lot of opinions as we relive their greatest achievements on our journey to find out what makes them so iconic. Will Miranda grew up enamored by musicals. He references Stephen Sodenheim in literally everything.

But there's another Stephen that captured his creative little heart, and.

That would be Steven Spielberg, someone he's long admired and look up to. He basically wanted to be Spielberg.

Hey, there can be only one Spielberg.

Exactly, which meant that Lynn had to craft his own path by doing what he does best to make a name for himself.

Which at this point in his career wasn't too daunting of an ask.

He is Linn Manoel, Yes, and Lynn's career still had a long way to go, but his next project would lead him to one of his biggest dreams, making his own movie.

Let's set the stage. It's twenty thirteen and Hamilton isn't on Broadway yet.

Yes, Lynn is out there presenting the Hamilton mixtape, making the rounds off Broadway.

People saw this show and thought, wait, this kid's got something.

He definitely had that X factor, and Disney called him in for an interview for what would ultimately become Moanna.

Lynn to interview.

Well in twenty thirteen, he did tough crowd.

In an article from The New York Times, Miranda said this, I interviewed in the winter of twenty thirteen and got the job in the spring, seven and a half months before Hamilton opened at the Public. I'd sent them a six song demo stuff that emphasized going between languages. I knew a component would be working with Samoan and being able to thread that needle gracefully and clearly.

The rest was history. Literally.

Disney hired Lynn Manuel in twenty fourteen, just one year before Hamilton premiered on Broadway.

How did he even have time? I'm stressed for him.

Well, so was Disney.

You know.

You would think that they were so excited about being able to attach the creator of Hamilton to Mowana, But Disney saw Hamilton as a distraction for.

Lynn, Wait, have you seen Moana?

Never? Not even one frame?

What about Santia?

Nope, we don't really do screens yet. And I just haven't seen Molana.

I know, I'm like the only person on earth and just be honest, you guys, I haven't seen it.

Should I uh you have homework? Seriously. But for those that haven't seen it, Lil Mowana takes place in ancient Polynesia. A terrible curse unleashed by the demigod Maui voiced by Dwayne the Rock Johnston reaches Moana's island. There's a lot of fun music, cute animations, and a quirky little chicken that probably has a lot of issues.

Thanks Joseph. I mean, I feel like that definitely makes me want to see it. Feels right up my two year old's ali. Anyway, Lynn and his writing partners worked on Mowana for two years. It finally opened in twenty sixteen, and it was a smash.

Hit m and that Your Welcome Song was everywhere.

Apparently torturing parents everywhere along the way as well. See this is why I don't let my child watch movies or Disney movies, because I know that if I let him watch a show that has music that I don't like.

Guess what We're going to be singing.

In the car, in the backed up in the kitchen, like it is going to be Moana in my house, Like we are going to be living in Moana.

So don't let him listen to this, because both of you guys are going to love the music.

I know, and the standout song from the movie is something called how Far I'll Go?

And oh god that okay, okay, okay, Mowana are you Mowana?

Are you mooa ma wotha right?

Well, all I know is that.

How Far I'll Go earned Lynn his very first OSCAR nomination.

Here comes the Egot.

Not quite yet, but soon Buffy Soon Disney had a taste of Miranda, and they, like us, couldn't get enough.

So no more interviewing for Lynn.

Nope.

Soon Lynn was in Star Wars The Force Awakens, a reboot of Ducktails.

I loved that show and I want to swim through money like Scrooge McDuck.

I just want the money. I don't want to swim in it. I just want it in my bank account. But then Lynn got the call for Mary Poppins's returns. That's right, and he played Jack the Lamplighter, and audiences thought he was perfect for the part.

Okay, well, correction, not all audiences.

Personally me myself and I I don't know. I kind of found the way he played Jack like a little too campy and that like really bad Cockney accent was just such a destruction for me. It was like a no goo, especially because he's playing opposite Emily Blunt and she's actually British.

I don't know, what do you think?

I feel it was really a miscast. I mean that I feel he was very distracting for me in it, you know, being next to Emily Blunt and her real accent. You know what I'm saying.

I do And guess what, we are honest on this show.

And we do not love all of the projects, all of the albums. I love those still, we don't have to. But that being said, this role was huge for Lynn and it was the first role after leaving Hamilton, so it made a massive impact on his career and I feel like it made him a household name.

It did. But I'm going to say this, I Lynn, don't be upset with me, Maimbu. I was kind of getting tired of seeing him. Why I feel like he was like everywhere.

Okay, no, No, first of all, you're saying like he was overexposed. I know what you're saying. And yes, there are times in an artist career where you feel like I'm listening to them in my headphones, I'm watching them on my screen.

I feel like they all write a book.

They're doing the morning press tour, and like that is part of the job of being a celebrity.

It's part of the job of an icon.

You have to be in people's faces all the time for them to know who you are.

But I think that the Hamil fans.

Just made him bigger than what the whole world was ready for, and it was like you couldn't escape it, Like what if you didn't love Hamilton? And I don't want to know people that don't like Hamilton, because like we can't be friends. Like there are certain films and certain musicals that like, if you're not a fan of we can't be friends. La La Land is one of them as a film, and Hamilton is one of them when it comes to musicals.

But he was everywhere and Disney noticed this.

I mean, wouldn't you say that Disney was like enamourado go on Lynn.

Oh my god. They were like Stage five clingers, obsessed with him.

How many stages are there? Out of ten guys, we could be here. Disney was all about Lynn.

Disney actually turned Disney Plus into like the Linn Manuel Channel between Mowana and Hamilton.

So Lynn knew he could make the big ask.

And the ass was for an animated film rooted in Latino culture. And naturally they said yes, or I should say Finally, someone said yes because.

They said the they said f.

So here's what happened.

The creators of Sutopia were already at Disney working on a musical, so naturally they put them in touch with Lynn, and before anyone could say anything, they had themselves a musical set in a Colombian town where everyone has magical powers except.

One member of the family.

Is that Bruno.

We do not talk about him.

Well, maybe we do. Keep listening to becoming an Icon and find out anyway.

And Ganto follows the Familia Madrigal and oh boy, do they have issues.

So it's an accurate representation of Latino culture. Goodness, Jobno and Ganto.

And the soundtrack were a huge success. But the standout, and I think on this one we can all agree was we don't talk about Brune No no no.

It became the number one song on the bill Board charts. Like that is great z.

This man can deliver when it comes to lyrics and music, so much so that Miranda earned another Academy Award nomination for Those Urugitas for Best Original Song. You know what's crazy about that Caterpillar song.

That it's going to be the remix song about Bunny and I while I dance at our wedding.

Okay, you're gonna have to fight Kendall for him, but I am so here for that, and I fully will take you in a fight over Kendall any day. But what I was saying was that Those Urugitas was the first song Lynn had ever written entirely in Espanol, and when asked about it, he said it was important to me that I write it in Spain rather than write it in English and translate it because you can always feel the translation.

Lynn. I feel that statement so deep.

Wow, Joseph, how many times have we had to translate lyrics on this podcast?

Not it's just not it, it's just you need and so you know what. That makes me like him even more because it has to be these words, because you have to feel it in Spanish, you do.

And it's like when we translate bad Bunny, especially when there's like deep meaning behind the lyrics and like a masterful poetry that's happening there, Like hmmm, we're failing you guys by translating.

That's true. It's true.

Whether you heard it in Spanish or translated it to English. It didn't matter because critics adored the song, saying it was the best one from the entire En Ganto soundtrack.

Mm hmm. And here comes the Pegot.

Well, no, he didn't win for this one either.

Damn. What I got to do to get a Pegot?

Well a lot?

You need a Peabody and me wait, I'm not done. A Grammy, an Oscar and a Tony And further record, do you know that there are only three other he Gots in the world in the history.

I actually want to know who they are? Yeah, yeah, because Lynn is going to be one. I'm serious, So he's going to be number four. But who are they?

Okay, Barbis streisand Ah Hovey, Mike Nichols, Rita Modano, of.

Course, but listen, I feel like they got those. I don't know, Mike Nichols, but Barbara and Rita got those back in the day. So are we just a little too hard now?

I think that the landscape has changed a lot.

And at the end of the day, there are three on the planet. In the history of mankind. This is not easy to get. But if anybody is positioned to get it in our time of our generation. And I'm going to say our generation because Lyn's my age, he's forty three, it's Lynn Menuel.

But let's go back to en Ganto. What do we think of her?

Oh? My god? Stop? It is one of my favorite movies. So my favorite Disney movie growing up was Mulan because I never really identified to any of the other princesses, and now having in Kanto, it is literally my favorite movie Disney has ever made until I mean, I'm sure they're gonna make new ones, but there I love that movie so much I cannot There's not one part in the movie that I don't like.

I don't just fast forward like you watch it start. Yeah, you know, like we're pretty strict with screen time. We don't really do it in our house you know, my son's he's not even two years old yet, and I

But we are.

Because at that age I was in my cousin's house in Miami watching it. I was like, wait, I want out of this world, Like I want to see bigger and better and like, hello, I just wanted something else, And I feel like movies can do that. They're like they transport you to something else and and ganho like what it did for an entire demographic of children, like seeing curly hair on the screen, different types of curly hair on the screen, singing different like seeing different skin tones,

I'm going to say this about Akanto. Finally there's a movie that I feel like I can relate to our family issues that we all try to pretend like we're perfect. Like you go to everyone's house and they're all perfect, and everything's all clean, everything like this and everything. Everyone's in a good mood, and you're da and all of that, and you can just really see all of the real, raw motions that these people are trying to hide. And I felt like I was watching my family on the screen.

It exposes all of the generational trauma that we've been hiding for generations and generations, and we as parents now or as adults that are in other relationships, whether they're romantic relations platonic relationships, we are breaking the generational trauma curses because we get to watch this and go, holy shit, can't let this happen anymore? And Gun does like a really powerful film like I could. Yes, we could do an entire the whole episode. I'm ready for it. Okay,

Even though he didn't win.

The Oscar It's okay, y'all, he is doing just fine without it and seeing us. He's only forty three years young, like me, he has got plenty of time.

And it is bound to come very very soon.

Honestly, probably coming sooner than you think.

Oh, excuse me, do you know something? Do you have a line to Lynn? Don't hold out.

On us, dish Well, I know that there's an animated film about a young girl who lives a hunder the sea, and that Lynn wrote new songs for the live action adaptation. If that doesn't sound like Oscar wait to you, well, then.

The Little Mermaid.

Hashtag My Little Mermaid, Ali, you are Forever.

Ariel Lynn started working on the film in twenty sixteen, and in addition to classics like Part of Your World and Kiss the Girl, Lynn wrote for brand new songs for the film, and he's also co producing.

I Mean boy named his son Sebastian after the crab in og Little Mermaid, So you know these songs are going to be lit. But to be honest, I desperately feel like he needs a little work intervention. I'm over here at trying to be bare minimum Monday while Miranda.

Is singing the lead role. In twenty twenty one's Vivo Yup, he played the titular character and provided eleven songs for the.

Film, Lynn like can you chill? You're making us all look bad.

He is truly NonStop and Vivo was the highest viewed film on Netflix during its release.

Lynn Manuel add some songs, sprinkle a little singing and give yourself a huge hit?

Wait was that Julie the Child? I'm persulamation, I am trying.

I am traumatized, our listeners are traumatized. During our first LINN episode, we talked all things in the heights.

And thanks for listening, And now listen to it again and share and rate five stars. Thank you and.

Please, Yes, thank you and please.

But we didn't discuss In the Heights the movie, So here's the tea coming up after the break.

In two thousand and eight, Universal bought the rights to the show and they said they planned to adapt it into a film for release in twenty eleven, but they ended up shelving it because they only wanted to do the film with a quote bankable Latino star.

So in their words, like Jalo or.

Shaki, they could have called me, I would have done it.

Okay, Well, since they couldn't find her number, they canceled the project.

Rude.

Fast forward to twenty sixteen, when Lynn's little founding father's project.

Is Everywhere and In the Heights is back on.

Miranda would co produce the film with Harvey Weinstein and John m chu was on board to direct Yi exactly, and as we all know, Harvey Weinstein turned out to be a disgusting and.

A rapist.

A man to that.

Which means Harvey was removed from the film and the rights to the movie were auctioned off to Warner Brothers for a cool fifteen million dollars just one problem. Miranda had gotten a little too old to star in the film.

He had originated the role of Usnavi, but he had a couple more gray hairs now, and he decided that he shouldn't play the league.

This is where I get the call.

Actually wrong, Anthony Ramos got the call. Who is so hot?

By the way, really, but we're always up for the same roles anyways.

Well you're not here're not fine?

It's my birth year.

Okay, fine, fine, fine, fine, fine.

Well, Miranda decided that he would be a better fit for.

A much smaller role, you know them, aka the Biagua guy.

He said, I was very content to let Anthony and this incredible cast have their own.

Experience, my humble short king. I loved, loved the movie. There was a lot of hate, but I loved it. Did you see it?

I did see it.

I saw it like when it opened, and I was super excited for it, and I was ready to like dance in the streets along with the cast, but I was dancing by myself because nobody liked it.

Honestly, I'm glad we're here talking about that because I know that it was going to be huge. And then there was the backlash, and what did you think about the backlash.

I think that for some reason, Latinos love to hate on other Latinos.

It is so prevalent, it is so toxic.

It is what holds us down, and we will always find something wrong.

It is like how we were raised.

Like you know what I mean, It's like you know the thing, like you know, when you walk into your house and you're the seas for the first time in three months, he's like, I get like, Eita, I.

Was about to Okay, it's not a compliment.

It's negative.

Or you walk in and like maybe you gained a few pounds and they're like, I meet, that's going to Vita. So like, no one's ever happy like Latinos. We cannot just be satisfied. And here you have this movie that celebrates so many beautiful things about our culture, and you know, people wanted to talk about how.

It was miscast, it was whitewashed.

They don't like, yeah, tell us about the backlash. So people so people know the backlash.

Well, I think they didn't appreciate how it looked.

They thought, if you've ever spent any time in Washington Heights, like that's not what the community looks like like Lynn is reflecting a more Hollywood version of Washington Heights in this film, and people were pissed.

And I don't disagree.

That there could always be more diversity on screen and a more realistic representation.

And using the excuse that, oh.

There's not enough actors that fit those roles, that's garbage. That's absolutely not true. So we should always be aspiring to create and see more diversity on screen. But I think that the net net of the film could have been so incredible for us as a community, and it wasn't because it got murder in all the backlash. I mean, listen, it was also released during the pandemic, which is never good. It wasn't good for the movie business. It wasn't good for the industry. They'd already held it for so.

Long that really was a tough time.

But I thought the movie was beautiful, and as somebody that loves this show on Broadway has seen it on Broadway, and the fact that like Anthony rammelse got like this amazing role, I mean, he's a breakout star. Like I just I supported this film because I support US, I support latinos, and everyone needed to get on board with that, and sadly we all didn't.

Yeah, well listen, I did. I'm for it. I just loved the movie so much more for even being able to paint that picture.

I agree again.

I think it is a celebration of one of our many Latino cultures, and as Latinos, we need to celebrate all of it because we as Latinos, rarely get these moments in film where there is such a huge stage to stand on. Just y'all show up, like buy the tickets, be a hype man for the Gouda.

It is our job.

That is the only way we're going to get like the Latino equivalent of like crazy rich Asians, which I think a lot of people thought this could be it Like if we don't do this, we don't support our own We're never going to get there. Okay, I'm getting off my soapbox. I'm going back to lind Men. While random By now loved it, loved it so in the heights is in the can it airs. It's not the

Lynn does not enjoy his time off. He doesn't take it clearly.

Before long, he was working on a new HBO show called His Dark Materials, based off of the classic fantasy trilogy written by Philip Pullman.

You always find so many ways to surprise me, Joseph Oh, and you forgot to add. Lynn was also producing one of my favorite shows that's ever aired, Fossey Verdon for FX.

Hands Hips has God Asss.

I love that, I love Fossy Okay, So Lynn should have definitely called you in for this one. The show followed the life of Broadway dancer, choreographer and director Bob Fosse and his wife, dancer Gwen.

Verdon, starring Sam Rockwell and Michelle Williams. It was so good.

If you guys have not please please find it and go and watch it.

Lynn loves being invested and involved in all his projects.

So when In the Heights came back around, it was a bit of a surprise to everyone that not only did he not want the starring role, but he also didn't want to direct the film.

Instead, he asked John M.

Chew to step behind the camera and Lynn would shadow him.

He knew that he still had a lot.

To learn humble short pay and I happened.

To know somebody who could take a little lesson in humbleness from Lynn.

I'm talking da yeaw.

Lynn took time to learn from Chew and observe how a director runs a major movie set, and then he took those lessons and applied them.

To Tick Boom, which is written by the writer of Rent.

Yes, Jonathan Larson, And y'all, this is a beautiful moment because.

Now we've come full circle.

Do you see all the parallels between Larsen and Lynn go on. They're both composers, both chasing their dreams, fack, both under pressure from life's clock.

Well, girl, I hear that clock. We're all loud, don't we all?

And trust me, if you love Rent, you are going to love tick tick Boom. Andrew Garfield is magical in this and it never got the airtime or the buzz that I hoped it would get.

But for somebody that.

Loves Broadway and loves musicals, you guys, this is like a love letter to those artists who create them.

You've got to see this, Joseph, have you seen this?

I actually was going to tell you I haven't. I am fascinated to want to see it because I'm coming to realize that maybe I love lin Manuel. I didn't realize there was so many things that I like about him, and now I'm like, oh my god, all the stuff that I really like is like has a lot to do with Lin Manuel. So now I want to see Tik tick Boom.

Yeah.

Well, I think that's what makes listening to a podcast so fun, is that, Like you go into it being like, yeah, I'm kind of a fan of, for example, Linn Manuel, and then.

You see all of.

These connective tissues between projects that you love, like in Gunho, with projects that maybe you don't know a lot about, like tick tick Boom, and you're like, well, if he created in Gunhal, then his DNA is in Gnho, which means his DNA is in tick tick Boom. And just so I can give you guys, like a little summary about Tik tick Boom, because again, I don't feel like

Did you know that?

On Miranda's seventeenth birthday he actually saw Rent and he says it was the first time that he saw that musicals didn't have to be about like cowboys in Oklahoma, like Austrian's Escaping the Nazis or nineteen twenty Chicago. He realized that musicals could actually be the stories of the kind of people that Miranda saw every day. And just a few years later, when he was in college, he began writing and creating his Tony Award winning show in the Heights.

Wait, look, I'm going to tell you this. You know how I think Selina's spirit went into j Lo did Larsen go into Lynn? I'm done for any of the podcast about podcast is over. Thank you so much. You're staying on our next.

Episode of becoming an Icon.

Through this journey, we've seen Lynn Manuel Miranda go from young and scrappy in this like hungry Puerto Rican teen raised in Inwood to this global cultural phenomenon and beyond the projects that he created or helped in producing and writing, He's become a voice for those desiring a shift, like a seismic shift in the industry.

Well, you know, I'm going to tell you this. He still hasn't called me back, and I think I might cut him out of becoming an icon.

The musical Oh wait, are we saying now?

It's what the people want these days, lil.

I don't know that they want a musical version of this podcast, but you know what, we will put it out there. And if we are looking for a producer and a writer and a composer, Lynn, you're number one on the call.

She.

All we know is that Lynn's work is going to live forever.

Yes, Hamilton will go on and on and on, but also Awana and then cut the Wild too.

An entire generation of people will grow up listening to his music and be inspired by that.

What could possibly be more iconic than.

That becoming an icon?

The musical starring Jlo Shakira, Lynn, Ritchy Bad Bunny, Oh my God, Are we taking it on tour?

Are we going to a stage near you?

Billion Airs Billionaires?

Next on Becoming an Icon another triple threat singer, actor, dancer.

And a downright inspiration to all.

He blew open the doors for every Latino artist out there now. Enrique Martin Morales aka Ricky Martin. Becoming an Icon is presented by Sonoo and Iheart's Michael dudda podcast network. Listen to Becoming an Icon on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you get your podcast