Jackman signs for Les Miserables.

[Johnnycantdecide]

Posted: 6/26/11 at 9:47am

http://www.movieweb.com/news/les-miserables-gets-hugh-jackman

[willep]

Posted: 6/26/11 at 10:12am

Ugh. Am I the only one who doesn't really like his singing voice?

[Q]

Posted: 6/26/11 at 10:27am

willep - actually, you're probably in the majority around these parts.

For me, personally, I couldn't be happier about this - and I hope he's playing Valjean.

[sueb1863]

Posted: 6/26/11 at 10:59am

I wouldn't completely trust these reports yet. I've been seeing a lot of conflicting reports this week, saying Jackman's been signed, Jackman's in talks but hasn't signed, Jackman hasn't talked to anybody at all yet, etc. I saw one article whose headline said Paul Bettany had been signed as Javert, but the article went on to say that Bettany had only tried out for the role and hadn't actually gotten the part yet.

You'd think if Jackman had actually been signed, they would at least say who he's playing.

For another thing, this article calls Javert 'Valvert'!

ETA: The above article seems to be based on this one from Variety, dated June 15, which got the whole 'Jackman as Valjean/ Javert' rumor mill a-grindin':

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118038639


Updated On: 6/26/11 at 10:59 AM

[LizzieCurry]

Posted: 6/26/11 at 12:16pm

Yep, I was gonna say -- the first thing that tipped me off was that most of the comments were a week old.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 6/26/11 at 2:49pm

He can't pull of Val Jean. He'd be a fantastic Javert though...

[rougeduck]

Posted: 6/26/11 at 3:53pm

American Sign Language would be a terrific concept for the movie. Good for Jackman for getting on board.

[Tateh]

Posted: 6/26/11 at 8:53pm

You are not alone Willep. I have hated his voice for a long time

[sueb1863]

Posted: 6/27/11 at 6:51am

Near as I can tell, nothing is a done deal yet. Some articles have said there haven't been any talks at all, and I haven't seen any quotes or interviews from Jackman or Hooper about it, just lots of third-party speculation.

An Alfie Boe fan on one of his message boards wrote to Cameron Mackintosh to ask that he be cast in the role, and Mackintosh's receptionist replied that the film's casting was being handled by Working Title, not Mackintosh, so it looks as if he's not playing any role in the choices made. It's all in the hands of WT and Universal, and I imagine they're pushing for well-known names.

Anything could happen at this point, including the entire project getting scrapped just like the Tri-Star/ Alan Parker version in the early 90s. Guess we'll see!
Updated On: 6/27/11 at 06:51 AM

[chewy5000]

Posted: 6/27/11 at 8:41am

I could see him as Grantaire...

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 6/27/11 at 5:00pm

I like Jackman's voice, but I don't find him a good choice, musically or otherwise, for either of the leads in Les Miz. He could be a wonderful, highly charismatic Enjolras if he would do it, which would be doubtful.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 6/27/11 at 5:02pm

Then again, considering all the starry ladies who took featured roles in Nine, one could hope for Jackman as Enjolras.

[henrikegerman]

Posted: 6/27/11 at 5:07pm

Would love to see Gerard Butler as Valjean and Michael Cerveris as Javert.

[Johnnycantdecide]

Posted: 6/27/11 at 5:11pm

I would LOVE to see Alan Rickman as Javert.

[sabrelady]

Posted: 6/27/11 at 6:02pm

Rickman could act the hell out of it- but given how he was in Sweeney Todd not sure he'd be vocally up to it.

[sueb1863]

Posted: 6/27/11 at 7:06pm

I love Alan Rickman, but at 65 he's too old for Javert. It's a challenge to make him look young enough to play Snape in the Harry Potter series, he's almost twice the age of the book character! Fortunately he does such a great job that it doesn't really matter. I don't think he could manage Javert's demanding vocals, though.
Updated On: 6/27/11 at 07:06 PM

[Fan2]

Posted: 6/27/11 at 7:52pm

The second leg of Jackman's one-man show starts July 5 in Toronto, and he's doing interviews this week. In this audio, at about 2:40, he confirms that he's doing Les Miserable next year.

http://www.chfi.com/2011/06/27/hugh-jackman-interview/

[sueb1863]

Posted: 6/27/11 at 9:04pm

Thanks for the link, fan2!

Interesting. Maybe we'll get more confirmation over the next few days, if they've nailed down the details. I haven't seen any new articles about it today.

[seamlessicon]

Posted: 6/28/11 at 4:07pm

Interesting...can Jackman sing that high or will they lower the keys for him?

[JohnBoy2]

Posted: 6/28/11 at 4:38pm

I've always been slightly annoyed by the over-singing in this show. Hopefully, the film version will tone that down. It always comes off like the cast is trying to out sing one another. Not that I have much hope for this film. You can count on one hand the number of good film adaptations of stage musicals.

[adamgreer]

Posted: 6/28/11 at 6:08pm

Interesting...can Jackman sing that high or will they lower the keys for him?

If he is in fact playing Jean Valjean (and I assume he would be), they would have to lower the keys. There's no way he could sing Bring Him Home or Valjean's part of the epilogue the way it's currently written.

[jo]

Posted: 6/29/11 at 10:17am

Hugh sings TOO MUCH IN LOVE TO CARE (the duet from Sunset Boulevard)- which he did for almost a year in the Australian production --

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4KsSYuJz_c


Just wondering -- is this a good indication of how well can handle high notes?

[Timmerbo]

Posted: 6/29/11 at 5:18pm

I reckon he can sing Bring Him Home in the current key. Hugh is good up to the high A. It's the songs that go higher that are worrisome.... I can imagine Valjean's Soliloquy being problematic, or the high B in Who Am I.