Hamilton Film Adaptation?

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/act-four/wp/2016/05/19/hamilton-tickets-are-out-of-reach-its-time-for-a-hamilton-movie/?tid=sm_tw

The article does make you wonder when/if we will get an announcement of a film adaptation of Hamilton. It's a property that has gained nationwide attention so capitalizing on it would be great. However, a problem would be the foreign markets? What do you guys think?

As every other discussion has pointed out....it's too soon.

I've always firmly believed that the reason the talks keep stalling for the Wicked movie is because it is still making so much money on Broadway. A movie is a great way to revive a struggling show like Rent, even though that movie was atrocious. There's a reason that the Phantom and Les Miz movies weren't made in the late 80s or early 90s.

Lin has stated that he wants to have the stage show filmed with the original cast. They had to bring the originals back for Into the Woods, so even if it takes a while to come to fruition it's possible the original cast may still get recorded.

I don't even know how they could adapt it. They'd have to cut so much to make it a reasonable running time

Jshan05 said: "cmorrow said: "Jshan05 said: "Does anyone know if they've already filmed it for the Lincoln Center library yet?"


Hamilton has not yet been taped for the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive (TOFT)."



Does anyone know if they bring back the original cast members for the filming? For example, when She Loves Me was revived in the early 90's, I know that Judy Kuhn left the cast early. Did she come back for the TOFT filming?"



Judy Kuhn does appear in TOFT's video of She Loves Me, taped in June of 1993. And TOFT always tries to record shows with as many original cast members as possible, but the library has no control over who is in it on the day of the shoot. It's rare that a cast member returns for the taping, but it has happened. (I don't know what the situation was with Judy Kuhn -- that was before I worked there.)

I think it will be tough to get "certain demographics" to buy the multi-ethnic casting on film.

Who says we need a Hamilton movie at all? Would it really benefit the material to put it in such a literal medium?

icecreambenjamin said: "I really don't think that it would work on film. The show has a theatricality about it that would not transfer. The clash between the period costume, sets, and then the rap music would be far too much on screen. I love it just as much as everyone else, but I feel like a movie would come off as campy and bizarre. I would honestly much rather have the original broadway cast filmed."



I feel the same way as icecreambenjamin does. I don't think a show as theatrical as "Hamilton" would really work on film as is...there would have to be much adapting and revisions to do so, film is a totally different animal in that respect.

A filmed version of the stage version would be most welcome though, in very much the same vein as the South Pacific and The Light in the Piazza were done for Live at Lincoln Center.

I feel it is still too early in the run to do it at this point though.

I agree that it's too much a piece of theater to make a good movie. You can get away with stuff like multiethnic casting on stage that won't work in a movie which is seen to be a more "real" environment.

The best option is to film the stage version and then show it on TV at some point.

I disagree that the film is too "theatrical" to work on film. I imagine they could make it work very well. But the fact is, along with many of those huge musicals that took forever to get their films made, it really is all about money. Phantom and Les Miz both had to wait so long and I agree with sarahb22 that they suffered. Of course movie musicals were not a thing that was done in the 80's and 90's so it's not shocking to me. Dreamgirls, Nine and Chicago each took over 25 years to be made as well. Wicked won't be made for another 10 years probably. It's just how it goes. For some reason theatrical producers have this strange notion that a movie will eat into the profits of the stage version but I don't think this is legitimate. Did it affect Chicago, Hairspray or Mamma Mia! all of which were several years into their runs on Broadway, when their films were made? I doubt it.

gypsy101 said: " Did it affect Chicago, Hairspray or Mamma Mia! all of which were several years into their runs on Broadway, when their films were made? "

Hairspray was a film first.

Well Hamilton is shorter than Les Mis anyway so they would have time to work with.

I understand what people are saying but I think if they embraced the theatricality of it and made it almost a surreal/dreamlike film then it could work well.

Updated On: 5/19/16 at 10:42 PM