‘The Greatest Showman’: How ‘This Is Me’ Morphed from a Low-Key Ukulele Song into an Oscar-Nominated Anthem

If Benj Pasek and Justin Paul had been better at pirouettes, there’s a good chance that they would not be the reigning Best Original Song Oscar winners (“City of Stars,” “La La Land”), now vying for their second statues (“This Is Me,” “The Greatest Showman”).The composers — who have only scripted songs for two completed films — became friends during their first week at the University of Michigan, where they studied musical theater.

“We were the two worst students in our ballet class, which was required for our major,” Pasek told IndieWire by phone.

“We were so bad at it that we would kind of hide behind each other and cover for each other, so that the teacher wouldn’t notice.” Unlike their confident, tights-clad peers, Pasek and Paul were dance novices in baggy sweatpants.The next year, when they got cast as “Man with Camera” (Pasek) and “Coroner/Back-Up

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