News: ‘In the Heights’ Release Postponed Due to Coronavirus Pandemic

[ Written on March 25 2020 by Francesca ]

Warner Bros has indefinitely pulled In the Heights, among other summer releases, due to the coronavirus outbreak. Miranda released a statement on Twitter, saying “We had the best summer of our lives filming ‘In the Heights’ movie last year. We couldn’t wait to share it with you. But we’re going to have to wait a little longer. When we can safely gather again, flags in hand, we will be there, enjoying this movie in theaters.”

Alright, mama, okay… pic.twitter.com/1uxOuUxe53

— Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) 24 marzo 2020

DEADLINE: Warner Bros is pushing its forthcoming summer theatrical releases until the coronavirus crisis calms down and exhibition makes a full-steam comeback.

Despite reports that Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman 1984 was headed to streaming, the movie is in fact still going theatrical, and that was always the plan. Wonder Woman 1984 is now moving from its June 5 release to August 14. […]

With the move, New Line/Atomic Monster/Starlight Culture Entertainment Group’s James Wan horror movie Malignant will now shift off its August 14 release to an undated position. The same goes for Jon M. Chu’s feature adaptation of Broadway musical In the Heights, coming off its June 26 release to a TBD date, as well as animated feature Scoob! which is no longer going May 15 and also awaits a future release.

Meanwhile, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet will stay firm on July 17 in anticipation the global theatrical marketplace will be well by then.

Lin-Manuel Miranda, the star, producer and author of the Tony-winning In the Heights, recently spoke with talk series host Rosie O’Donnell saying: “We were literally recording the score when all of this started happening. There’s a lot that remains to be done on that movie. We were finishing the score and the mixing and just getting the music exactly right.”

Director Jon M. Chu talked to The Insider explaining the whole process, how they had to put the work on the movie on hold because of the coronavirus outbreak in New York and California, and repeats that the studio and producers want to bringing the movie on the big screen.

“We want people to have the movie theater experience,” Chu told Insider. “And with it being a musical, if you look back at history, that kind of movie has always brought people together at the worst times to celebrate life. And now we need that even more so.” […]

Chu said there was never a discussion to put the movie online before a theatrical run.

“I actually called the studio to make sure, because I had read stuff online,” Chu said. “And they said, ‘You have our word. We know what this movie is.'”

Chu said that he and Miranda, who along with doing the music and having a producing credit also stars in the movie, have been in constant contact throughout.

“When I talk to Lin the most important thing to him is releasing it the right way,” Chu said.

News: ‘Hamilton’ Movie With Lin-Manuel Miranda and Original Broadway Cast to Arrive October 2021

[ Written on February 03 2020 by Francesca ]

Lin-Manuel Miranda just announced that the recording of the original cast, filmed in 2016, will be released in theaters on October 15, 2021. Disney acquired the rights for the wide global theatrical release.

Read more below.

The Wrap: Lin-Manuel Miranda on Monday announced a filmed, movie version of his award-winning musical “Hamilton” featuring the original Broadway cast will be released by Disney in October 2021.

“Hamilton” was filmed onstage at the Richard Rodgers Theater back in June 2016 when it won 11 Tony Awards, and it will hit theaters on Oct. 15, 2021.

“Hamilton” features the Tony-winning cast that includes Miranda as Alexander Hamilton, along with Daveed Diggs, Renée Elise Goldsberry, Leslie Odom, Jr., Christopher Jackson, Jonathan Groff, Phillipa Soo, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Okieriete Onaodowan and Anthony Ramos. The cast also includes Carleigh Bettiol, Ariana DeBose, Hope Easterbrook, Sydney James Harcourt, Sasha Hutchings, Thayne Jasperson, Elizabeth Judd, Jon Rua, Austin Smith, Seth Stewart, and Ephraim Sykes.

Miranda is producing with Jeffrey Seller and Thomas Kail. Kail also directed the film that’s described as a leap forward in the art of “live capture,” aiming to give a cinematic experience of the stage show.

“Lin-Manuel Miranda created an unforgettable theater experience and a true cultural phenomenon, and it was for good reason that Hamilton was hailed as an astonishing work of art. All who saw it with the original cast will never forget that singular experience,” Robert A. Iger, chairman and CEO, The Walt Disney Company, said in a statement. “And we’re thrilled to have the opportunity to share this same Broadway experience with millions of people around the world.”

“I fell in love with musical storytelling growing up with the legendary Howard Ashman-Alan Menken Disney collaborations – ‘The Little Mermaid,’ ‘Beauty and The Beast,’ ‘Aladdin,’” Miranda said in a statement. “I’m so proud of what Tommy Kail has been able to capture in this filmed version of ‘Hamilton’ – a live theatrical experience that feels just as immediate in your local movie theater. We’re excited to partner with Disney to bring the original Broadway company of ‘Hamilton’ to the largest audience possible.”

“We are thrilled for fans of the show, and new audiences across the world, to experience what it was like on stage – and in the audience – when we shot this at The Richard Rodgers Theatre on Broadway in June of 2016. We wanted to give everyone the same seat, which is what this film can provide,” Kail said in a statement.

A movie version of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s musical “In the Heights” will hit theaters this summer on June 26.

DEADLINE: When Lin-Manuel Miranda tweeted the news today that the movie adaptation of his groundbreaking Broadway show Hamilton was set for release by Disney in fall of 2021, he omitted one of the most breathtaking parts of the deal.

According to sources, Disney beat out other suitors and paid $75 million for worldwide rights to the show that won 11 Tony Awards in 2016, as well as the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Disney won the deal with a commitment for a wide global theatrical release for the two hour and 40 minute movie, which was shot two weeks before the original cast left.

I can’t think of an acquisition of a finished film that has gone for more money than this one. It is, however, a seminal cultural zeitgeist event and as Miranda himself has said, the movie allows people to avoid having to pay $500 a seat, which they were before the original cast and he moved on. You could hardly call this profligate spending, given that it when Hamilton finishes its traditional theatrical run, it will then become a major title on its streaming service Disney +.

Director Tommy Kail directed both the stage version and the movie, which consisted of shooting three live performances, and also some set up shots without an audience. All of the footage was used to create multiple angles, to ensure the cinematic nature of the event, without a bad seat in the house.

Endeavor Content brokered the massive WW Hamilton deal along with Miranda’s attorney Nancy Rose of Schreck Rose. WME reps Miranda and Kail.

News: Lin-Manuel Miranda at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival with “Siempre, Luis” and “We Are Freestyle Love Supreme”

[ Written on December 10 2019 by Francesca ]

The Sundance Institute announced its 2020 lineups for the Indie Episodic, Special Events and Shorts programs and among the Special Events there are two entries starring Lin-Manuel Miranda, “Siempre, Luis” and “We Are Freestyle Love Supreme.”

The 2020 Sundance Film Festival will take place from January 23 to February 2.

Siempre, Luis / U.S.A. (Director: John James, Executive Producer: Michael Stolper) — Follow one single-minded immigrant’s improbable journey from Puerto Rico to the halls of power. Witness Luis Miranda’s unflappable idealism as he battles his health, mobilizes the mainland Latinx community, matches wits with his youngest child applying to college and brings Hamilton to his island home, all in twelve months. Cast: Luis Miranda, Lin-Manuel Miranda. World Premiere

We Are Freestyle Love Supreme / U.S.A. (Director: Andrew Fried, Producers: Sarina Roma, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, Jill Furman, Jon Steingart, Jenny Steingart) — Follow the 15-year journey of the founding members of the improv hip-hop group Freestyle Love Supreme, as they reflect upon why this show remains such an important piece of their personal, creative, and professional history–from the basement of the Drama Bookshop in NYC to the Broadway stage. Cast: Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, Anthony Veneziale, Christopher Jackson, Utkarsh Ambudkar, Chris Sullivan. World Premiere

In the U.S. Documentary Competiton program, is listed the movie “Mucho Mucho Amor”, dedicated to world-famous astrologer Walter Mercado, in which Miranda is set to also appear as a guest, according to EFE.

Mucho Mucho Amor / U.S.A. (Directors: Cristina Costantini, Kareem Tabsch, Producer: Alex Fumero) — Once the world’s most famous astrologer, Walter Mercado seeks to resurrect a forgotten legacy. Raised in the sugar cane fields of Puerto Rico, Walter grew up to become a gender non-conforming, cape-wearing psychic whose televised horoscopes reached 120 million viewers a day for decades before he mysteriously disappeared. World Premiere

News: Lin-Manuel Miranda Finds a New Location for the Drama Book Shop

[ Written on November 12 2019 by Francesca ]

After closing its doors at its longtime 40th Street home in January, the Drama Book Shop is preparing for its moment back: it’s slated to reopen in March 2020 in a new location, 266 West 39th Street. Lin-Manuel Miranda, Thomas Kail, Jeffrey Seller, and James L. Nederlander perchased the shop when it was struggling and teamed up team for the relaunch with Hamilton set designer David Korins, who modeled the new space after European cafes and reading rooms. The venue will feature a coffee shop, a basement room for readings and classes, and as its centerpiece, a large spiral structure inspired by dramatic literature.

Check a rendering of the Drama Book Shop interior, designed by David Korins, in HQ in our Gallery.

Read Miranda’s statement, via Deadline.

“The Drama Book Shop is the heart and soul of the New York theater community. It’s been an oasis in midtown for a century of storytellers and theater fans alike — a safe space to gather, to learn, and to find great books and music. I found my collaborators there. I wrote drafts of In the Heights there. Freestyle Love Supreme was born there. I made sure the first book-signing of Hamilton: The Revolution was held there. The Drama Book Shop is home. To the next generation of dramatists, actors, directors, composers, choreographers, designers, and theater enthusiasts: the stage is set…Come in. Discover. Enjoy.”

Check in Gallery the picture below.

Under the cut, read The New York Times’ article about the news.

News: Lin-Manuel Miranda unveils Google Arts & Culture exhibition of Puerto Rico’s art

[ Written on November 08 2019 by Francesca ]

On Thursday November, 7 Lin-Manuel Miranda helped Google Arts & Culture to unveil an online exhibition that features work from four Puerto Rico art institutions.

To Associated Press, Miranda said:

It’s a flare out to the world that there’s incredible art here. There’s no reason why Puerto Rican art should not be seen on the same stage as the Louvre, the Met and all the incredible other places where Google has come with its cameras to digitize the artwork.

To present the exhibition, Google Arts & Culture releazed a video in which Lin-Manuel reads a poem dedicated to Puerto Rico, written by Lemon Andersen.

Check the video below and the screen captures in Gallery.