According to The Hollywood Reporter, awards-baiting studio The Weinstein Company has now acquired the project, and will work with Miranda as a producer to bring it to movie theaters. As THR notes, TWC co-founder Harvey Weinstein was instrumental in launching the now-ubiquitous recent wave of movie musicals, beginning back in 2002 with Best Picture Oscar winner "Chicago"; Weinstein is no doubt hoping for a similar prestigious awards season run with this flick.
This is actually the second time that producers have attempted to adapt "In the Heights," which won the Tony for Best Musical back in 2008, after Universal initially developed then ultimately dropped the project back in 2011. At issue at the time was the film's budget, which was to have been $37 million; this time around, THR reports that Miranda and TWC are hoping to bring it together for $15 million.
Back when the project was still at Universal, famed musical director Kenny Ortega was to helm the flick; it's unknown who will be courted to direct this version, though original "In the Heights" book scribe Quiara Alegria Hudes is working on a new draft of the screenplay. THR notes that it's also unclear whether or not Miranda will star in the film, since he's now 10 years older than his character, a young bodega owner in the Washington Heights neighborhood of New York City struggling with whether or not to return to his native Dominican Republic.
There's no timeframe yet for when Miranda and TWC hope to begin production (especially since the star is currently slated to star in "Mary Poppins" follow-up "Mary Poppins Returns"). Stay tuned.
[via: The Hollywood Reporter]
Photo credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
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