And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie. — Page 2

#26

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/28/11 at 8:50pm

Yes, I've seen that article. Baz is usually pretty much on the money, but I like the think that "it ain't over till it's over..."

By all accounts I have seen, Alfie and the rest of the new cast are brilliant. I've seen a lot of raves for Hadley Fraser's Javert as well.

#27

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/28/11 at 9:07pm

:) Yeah, glad to see Hadley's getting kudos, too, I thought he was a great Grantaire in the O2 show! Interesting that him and Ramin Karimloo (Enjolras) have a band together. And Matt Lucas' Thenardier is also getting lots of positive attention. I think he's got a good shot at Movie!Thenardier since he's a TV star and experienced film actor.

Once the main characters are set we'll probably start hearing about the other roles. I agree that until we get solid news, it's all up in the air!

Another thing I'm very curious about is how they're going to manage the final scene. I love the stage version but it's going to be almost impossible to do on film without it coming across as really cheesy. That's gonna be a challenge!

Updated On: 6/28/11 at 09:07 PM

#28

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/28/11 at 9:09pm

Didn't he say he was interested in Valjean and not Javert? He said he wanted to sing "Bring Him Home" and Javert was a 'been there, done that' role for him.

I'll look for the article, but I'm pretty sure I remember reading it.

#29

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/28/11 at 10:59pm

A lot of people question whether Hugh can reach those high notes at the end of "Bring Him Home." Also, I understand that one of Hugh's audition songs was "Stars."

#30

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/29/11 at 9:30am

Maybe this is sacrilegious to LES MIZ fanatics, but I've always felt the key was too high in "Bring Him Home," taking something away from the serious drama of the scene. FORBIDDEN BROADWAY even did a spoof of it in the song "Bring It Down." Whenever I listen to "Bring Him Home," the comic character of Mary Sunshine in CHICAGO comes to mind. I, for one, would not mind at all if the key is lowered for the film version.

#31

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/29/11 at 9:36am

When HJ was preparing for THE BOY FROM OZ, he prepared for the show by training with an European opera singer who told him that had he trained much earlier, he could have made it in the world of opera. He was taking the singing lessons while learning to tap dance in his trailer while filming VAN HELSING. He will likely give the same dedication to the role of Valjean!

Talking of VAN HELSING, he did deliver a $300 million commercial hit for its studio - UNIVERSAL! It's the same studio which will distribute LES MIS and from what I have read is also part owner of the LES MIS producers, WORKING TITLE.

The "Stars" are likely to align for Hugh Jackman and the Les Miserables movie.

#32

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/29/11 at 6:34pm

Latest batch of articles indicate that Jackman will start filming Wolverine this fall, so he won't be starting Les Miz until next year:

http://collider.com/hugh-jackman-the-wolverine-filming/99585/

Still no official announcement on the Les Miz site...

#33

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/29/11 at 8:03pm

mamaleh, are you a bass or a baritone by any chance? That just sounds like a very typical thing a baritone would say.

#34

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/29/11 at 11:03pm

I never cared for those final high notes in Bring HimHome either. That could be because of Colm's annoying falsetto though. That said, let's not forget Hugh would only have to hit those notes one time in a studio, and has several takes to do it and electronic help to get it done.

#35

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/30/11 at 8:58am

Ha, good one, BroadwayBenny. No, I couldn't carry an alto or soprano tune in a bucket. If I have trouble getting past the "wow, that's high," perhaps others do, too. I just find the high notes distracting from what's happening on stage. It works the opposite way, too. I like "There is Nothing Like a Dame," but when the bass voice booms, "There is absolutely nothing...." I don't concentrate on the lyric, just the gimmick of "here comes the fun bass part." I guess that's just a personal peccadillo. Nothing earth-shattering, just my observation.

#36

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/30/11 at 12:37pm

Done and done.

Playbill reports he is Valjean.

"Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman will play Jean Valjean in the film version of the international hit musical Les Miserables, he told a Toronto radio station."
Playbill

#37

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/30/11 at 12:56pm

I wouldn't mind it if Hugh didn't sing Bring Him Home as high as others have sung it. All I care about is that he sings it beautifully. At the same time, imagine a close-up of him singing the song… you may not necessarily want to hear a Broadway belt in such an intimate showing.

#38

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/30/11 at 1:01pm

It will be interesting to see how well Jackman can sing the score. Let's remember, he has to get it right once in the studio, not 8 times a week onstage. Also, Bring Him Home may be the type of song that just can't be as effective on screen as it is onstage.

That said, I'd love to see Hugh Laurie as Thenardier, and Hathaway as Fantine. Maybe Kathy Bates as Madame Thenardier.

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Updated On: 6/30/11 at 01:01 PM

#39

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/30/11 at 2:36pm

So far I've seen lots of articles citing the radio interview as proof that Jackman will play Valjean (even though he never directly says this), but there's still no official word on the webiste yet.

#40

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/30/11 at 3:17pm

Are you actually looking for real news from lesmis.com? Have the last 15 years taught you nothing?

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#41

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/30/11 at 4:22pm

None of this has been confirmed, all we know is what we've read on the movie sites and what Hugh himself has said. The only hint he has ever given that he will be Valjean is an interview a few months back, when someone asked him if he knew a movie of Les Mis was being made, he answered to the effect "I've heard that, I'll put my hand up." The interviewer asked him who he would like to play, and he responded "the hero of course." Plus I think JVJ is the main character of the movie so I'm pretty confident that's who he would play.

#42

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/30/11 at 5:26pm

For whatever it's worth, when I had a chance to ask him at the stagedoor of the Curran theatre in San Francisco (for his one-man show) if there was a chance that he would be Jean Valjean in Les Miserables (after reading about the interview where he said he wants to put his hand up for the movie version of Les Mis), his reply was :

"I'm working on it."

So, I guess it is on the Valjean role that he has had some discussions with Tom Hooper.

#43

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/30/11 at 6:57pm

Oh, is lesmis.com bad about news updates? I've never really gone there before so I'm not sure! :) Guess I'll just keep an eye on the usual sources...

I'm sure he'd be playing Valjean. Alfie Boe is very talented but he already played the part in the O2 show, and I can see the studios thinking that nobody other than his fanbase would pay $10 to see him play the role in a movie when they can see him do it on PBS for free.

Hopefully we'll get more solid indications soon!

#44

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 6/30/11 at 8:49pm

Love Jackman as Valjean. I just hope Paul Bettney does get Javert, I'm more excited about him actually.

And may I humbly suggest Bryce Dallas Howard or Emily Blunt as Eponine, both can sing.

Updated On: 6/30/11 at 08:49 PM

#45

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 7/1/11 at 1:40am

The problem is both can't act...Bryce Dallas Howard (who I see more as a Cosette). Emily blunt would make a fine if somewhat older Eponine, not sure what ages they are looking at for the role.
I'd love for Marion Cotillard to play Fantine.

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#46

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 7/1/11 at 8:46am

(Muttering) Michael Keaton as Thenardier...Michael Keaton as Thenardier...Michael Keaton as Thenardier...

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#47

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 7/1/11 at 8:47am

Apparently if you actually listen to the CHFI interview, Jackman never says he's playing Valjean: http://www.chfi.com/2011/06/27/hugh-jackman-interview/

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#48

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 7/1/11 at 9:11am

It's true he never said it (probably would have if asked), but in a prior interview a few weeks back he said he was interested in doing the movie and that interviewer did ask who he would want to play, and he said "the hero of course" so that's one reason I think he would be Valjean.

#49

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 7/1/11 at 10:26pm

Since Hugh Jackman has already said in an interview that he will be in the Les Miz movie, maybe he answer a question on twitter about whether he will play Valjean. His verified twitter account is @realHughJackman and he's been tweeting lately. So if someone would ask him maybe he'd say. Then again he probably gets a lot of tweets. But ya never know.

#50

And that's it! Hugh Jackman confirms his role in the LES MIS movie.

Posted: 7/1/11 at 10:31pm

If Rob Marshall directs it, all the numbers will be cut.

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