Erik (The Phantom of the Opera) In the 2004 film adaptation of the musical, Erik's makeup was made to look much less gruesome than previous adaptations of the story. Instead of a skull-like face, his disfigurement resembles that of a mildly malformed face, which he covers with the mask. Film critic Roger Ebert noted that Butler was more "conventionally handsome" than his predecessors "in a GQ kind of way". Onscreen, Erik has often been cast as a tragic hero but also a tragic villain, depending on the film's point of view. "See main list: The Phantom of the Opera" Erik (The Phantom of the Opera) Erik
The Phantom of the Opera (2004 film) held discussions with Antonio Banderas, who undertook vocal preparation and sang the role of the Phantom in the TV special "Andrew Lloyd Webber: The Royal Albert Hall Celebration". Schumacher and Lloyd Webber restarted development for "The Phantom of the Opera" in December 2002. It was then announced in January 2003 that Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group had purchased the film rights from Warner Bros. in an attempt to produce "The Phantom of the Opera" independently. As a result, Lloyd Webber invested $6 million of his own money. "The Phantom of the Opera" was produced on a $55 million budget. A