Lin-Manuel Miranda Refused CG Removal Of Hamilton’s King George Lip Spit

Lin-Manuel Miranda rejected the opportunity to remove King George’s (Jonathan Groff) lip spit in the film version of Hamilton. Miranda created Hamilton, the hit hip-hop musical about Founding Father Alexander Hamilton, after reading Ron Chernow’s biography on the man in question. When the musical first premiered on Broadway in 2015, it became an instant success. In addition to becoming a sold-out  sensation, Hamilton won eleven Tony Awards, including Best Musical. Even now, five years after its debut, Hamilton is still proving to be quite the phenomenon, especially with its arrival on Disney+.

The initial plan was to have Hamilton roll out in theaters in fall 2021, but things changed when the COVID-19 pandemic led to more people staying at home and relying on streaming services. Hamilton officially debuted on Disney+ earlier this month and drew in a plethora of new subscribers for the service. This version (essentially a filmed performance) stars the original Broadway cast, including Miranda in the lead role of Hamilton. It gave fans the opportunity to get an up close look at the show, including all the finer (and in some cases, grosser) details.

One of those details that many were quick to note was the rather aggressive spit takes provided by Groff’s King George. Surprisingly, this was one of the biggest talking points that emerged following Hamilton‘s debut, though Miranda and the others had the opportunity to remove it entirely. While talking to IndieWire, producer Jon Kamen recalled watching the film with Miranda and spotting King George’s spit. “We said don’t worry we can clean that up — they were like ‘No, leave it!” Kamen said.

This might come as a surprise, but one can see where Miranda was coming from. One of the appeals of watching Hamilton on Disney+ is that fans who so far have been unable to see it live can now at least view some form of the show. By including all the genuine parts of the actors’ performances (such as, of course, the spit), there’s an extra layer of authenticity to the film. Viewers might not be sitting in the Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway, but they’re about as close as they can be.

It’s especially hilarious that Groff’s saliva has received so much attention when he actually only has three songs in the entire show. Much of Hamilton is focused on the man himself, as well as his simmering friendship-turned-rivalry with Aaron Burr (Leslie Odom Jr.). There are so many excellent details to pick up on in Hamilton, yet so many people are entranced by a very human and accidental spit take. Perhaps it really is a good thing that Miranda opted to keep it in.

Source: IndieWire

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Rachel Labonte
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Rachel LaBonte is a news, feature, and movie review writer for Screen Rant with a deep passion for film and television. A graduate of Emerson College, she majored in Media Arts Production while specializing in screenwriting. She’s been a writer ever since high school when she realized she was rather good at it and joined as many entertainment news clubs as she could while in school. Most notably, she wrote for Emerson’s website Emertainment Monthly, and one of her film reviews won an Evvy (Emerson’s student awards) for Best Review. Her deep love of movies led to her working at a movie theater for five years, which she loved despite the angry customers. An avid reader who constantly buys books before reading the ones she already owns, Rachel is a huge fan of superheroes (especially of the Marvel variety) and wizards and will likely never be able to catch up on all the movies/TV shows she longs to watch.

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