Cabaret was definitely a risk, not just because of the decline of musicals, but because Fosse's one foray into film directing had been Sweet Charity, which fizzled at the box-office. The budget for Cabaret was very tightly controlled, and the suits attempted to intervene when they saw rough footage. Fosse had the benefit of filming in Germany, so prying eyes couldn't drop in every day. There's a quote from Michael York in Roadshow! expressing his admiration that Fosse did not cave to corporate demands. He stood his ground, and, well, the stunning results are there on the screen.
Lzcutter wrote:Matthew,
Happy Easter!
I was wondering how big a gamble it was, in light of the number of big musicals that had failed up to that point, for Bob Fosse to bring Cabaret to the big screen?
Did he encounter any problems with "the suits" in making the musical or did they leave him alone and let him make the film the way he wanted to?