Tom Hooper was becoming hot property in Hollywood even before he landed his Oscar for The King’s Speech, slated to direct half a dozen projects floating around including apparently Iron Man 3 (oh please let that be true). The other major rumour was that a big budget version of Les Misérables was being dangled in front of him, and now, according to Variety, it seems that that particular carrot might indeed be true.
Variety reports that Hooper will be developing the film alongside the show’s original stage producer, Cameron Macikntosh.
William Nicholson is writing the script and he’s no stranger to bombastic historical epics having penned Elizabeth: The Golden Age; let’s hope he can do something special with Victor Hugo novel. The plot follows various characters in the 17th century but centres on Jean Valjean, a former convict trying to redeem himself but being constantly hunted by lawman Javert.
Hooper’s got some big shoes to fill as the musical is the 3rd most performed show on Broadway and has performed over 10,000 times.
There have been over 50 film and TV adaptations though usually without Claude-Michel Schönberg’s music. The last attempt was in 1998 with Liam Neeson, Geoffrey Rush and Uma Thurman and was a massive flop, so Hooper will be looking to make the definitive movie version of the story.
