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EXCLUSIVE: Universal Pictures has ended plans to turn the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical In The Heights into a feature with director Kenny Ortega. I’m told that the studio made a hard decision to drop the project. Expectation is that creator Lin-Manuel Miranda can set up the musical elsewhere. The studio backed out because the film’s budget was $37 million, but the original expectation that big Latino names would be in small roles didn’t pan out. That made it a high price tag for a film built on the draw of Miranda, playing a bodega owner in Washington Heights who inherits his late grandmother’s lottery winnings and plans to close his store and retire on the beach in the Dominican Republic. In the three-day span, he realizes that the neighbors on the block are his true family, which makes the exit decision a hard one. Universal acquired the rights in late 2008 with the show’s book writer, Quiara Alegria Hudes, writing the script.
Studios all over town are making hard choices on green lights, something Universal dealt with recently when it decided not to go forward with the Guillermo del Toro-directed At the Mountains of Madness. Part of the reason In the Heights was pricey was because it would have been shot in New York in the summer. But after watching The Fighter leave Paramount with a $50 million price tag and then get put together as a lean, mean indie that cost around $20 million (Paramount distributed it anyway), I think In the Heights can also be reconfigured in way that would make the film more attractive to a backer. Sure enough, Miranda’s WME reps have already begun that process. As for Miranda, he’s obviously disappointed, but taking the high road.
“I have had nothing but a positive experience with Universal Pictures,” he said in a statement. “We weren’t able to make the film version of In The Heights together, but I’m looking forward to working with them in the near future. Moving forward, I’m excited to explore other options to make the In The Heights movie a reality.” The Broadway musical ran nearly three years and won four Tony Awards, and its first tour ends in Miami on April 3.
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This is sad. I hope Universal has something better in the pipeline but I doubt it — probably some tentpole summer BS that costs $37 million just for some overrated “box office draw”. Oy.
Yea. Because God only knows movie studios hate to make money off of those summer blockbusters.
This would appeal to about 5% of audiences.
Smart move on their part.
I supposed you are going to tell me that these so-called summer blockbusters will appeal to the other 95% of the audience.
This is It and HSM have been overshadowed of by Nine, Beiber 3D and Miley movies which have not done well. Ortega should find another musical on a smaller scale to do, one that can have broader appeal with bigger stars on an indie budget and a great script. Getting an indie musical filmed quickly will be a good calling card for Ortega. He’s not known for directing plot driven films for grown ups. HSM and Breakin’ 2 Bugaloo aren’t exactly proper musicals.
GUYS…
It was very smart on the Studio behalf… LATINOS DONT GO TO THE MOVIES cuz they DONT KNOW how to support amongst themselves.. The problem is NOT Hollywood but us, the Latinos.. We need to unite as a group, but we dont.. why? too much pride in where we come from: PR, DR, CUBA, MEXICO, COLOMBIA, But what we need to realize is: to the Gringos WE ARE ALL MEXICANS!!!.. It doesnt matter, just unite.. Once Hollywood sees that we go to the movies and pay for our tickets, they will not question 37 million or even 100 million into a latino theme film!!!
I’m sorry, but I’m not going to support a Latin movie just because it’s full of Latinos. Especially not if it’s a contrived one (thanks Hollywood) that magically has Mexicans and Cubans and Dominicans and at least one African-American character in a big multicultural hug-fest. It’s not about “showing my support,” it’s not about “uniting,” it’s about Hollywood making movies that have great Latin stories at their core, not marketing pitches.
don’t forget the rest of south america! ecuador,chile, argentina…
look , itss not untiting against them, its about seeing a real story. Im tired of the bubblegum perfect stories. Either its hood as hell or its barbie suburbea in movies. These barrios are real! I wanna see this in a movie cuz the music is amazing, it flows. The spanglish just made it so real and the stories and the stereotypes. It was the forbidden love,the bankruptcy story, and you got to see a whole blackout scene that live gives you chills! universal needs to take a walk around my barrio
Oy, indeed…
from the studio that was going to expand into the Spanish / Mexican world. They just suck now and need to be replaced from top to bottom.
Aren’t lots of cheap movies shot in New York over the summer?
True. I doubt those Woody Allen movies are coming in at 50 mil, plus don’t they have the tax breaks? Could have been the cost of the talent; big stars in small roles means lots of Sacagaweas.
Not enough West coast Latinos nor gay men on both coasts would have made this movie a hit. Smart decision. I personally thought this show was cliched and the songs weren’t catchy.
Latino and gay men are the only two marginalized groups of people who can identify with the universal concepts in this musical.
Goodness knows everyone can identify with white people, which is why there are so many movies made about them and for them, right?
that is false i am a straight white female and am sitting here in a room of white straight boys and girls and we all would pay good money to see it
Most of the music is rap. It’s not exactly gay bait.
Just because something is a musical doesn’t mean it’s The Sound of Music. Idiot.
Saw the musical. It’s fair to good and while it could technically translate into a movie, that doesn’t mean it would translate into a movie many people would want to see. It’s frankly not that interesting.
It’s not about Latinos or Gays, you ignorant bigot, is about Hollywood being afraid to invest in musical films. You can make 4 horror films with the budget for the Heights, and these films can generate 4 times their budget in a week.
I thought The Heights was an excellent theatrical musical piece!
Unknowns or not, I would think that $37 million would be a bargain for a movie musical shot on location. Is it oblivious of me to think that?
Yes it is….despite the inflated egos and salaries of those in Hollywood still able to secure work, to most companies (as well as in most industries), $37M is a lot of money. Especially in a climate with boxoffice attendance and grosses down over 20%, and DVD revenue still collapsing.
Saw this coming a mile away, but it doesn’t make me any less sad.
Who is the audience for this project?
Domestic box office americans – the sort that spent over $100 million each on Momma Mia, Dream Girls, Hairspray etc before they were eventually released world wide to make even more money. Also, the same demographics that are currently boosting Glee, Dancing with the stars and American Idol to the top of the ratings and showing a keen interest in musical entertainment at the moment. Maybe someone should cash in on this?
“Who is the audience for this project?” I love that question despite it being so stupid. Have you seen this show? Loads of people have and they’re not just gay men. The audience would’ve been people who like smart musicals. The audience for Glee ain’t just gay men.
Would have been nice to see a big budget Hollywood musical with a Latino cast in this day and age, but I guess they didn’t think the ends justified the means. Ah well.
Good call. Best not make any films unless we can easily picture the audience demographic. I’ll give up on my two current projects then, a ballet melodrama directed by a guy who made a thriller about maths & a low budget British film about a member of the royal family with a speech impediment. Who the he’ll would watch them?
Before anyone does the silly pedant thing – wrote that on an iPhone which corrected hell to he’ll. Apologies.
In what way is that an acceptable summary of the plot? That’s spoiler-ridden and reveals things that (in the show) don’t happen until the middle of Act 2. The show is NOT about anyone inheriting their late grandmother’s lottery winnings. It’s more about the people of Washington Heights and their dreams, families, fights, loves, and struggles.
Not the movie version.
Just saw this musical not too long ago and fell in love. I really hope they are able to make a movie, now that the tour is ending my chances of seeing it again are pretty low, considering I live nowhere near Miami.
So what happened – Zac Efron couldn’t master Spanish?
Adam Fogelson needs hits, and this one is questionable at best. If the current management of Universal films don’t produce some winners real soon…Comcast will make changes even more quickly.
It’s all about the Benjamins, and Universal (now Comcast) is running out of time, funding and patience.
As a CYA move…this is the right choice.
Doesn’t the entire thing take place on a single street in Washington Heights? Couldn’t they have just fixed up New York Street on the Universal backlot instead of shooting on location?
Paging ms bullock,please pick up the white courtesy phone
This is appalling and sad. In a time when the census is telling us that there are 50 Million Latinos in this country, Hollywood is shying away from taking the risks and possibly reaping the rewards of funding a movie to target this audience and beyond. ITH is a story that could have transcended the Latino market and shown Hollywood what it is to make a quality Hispanic film for the masses . . something that has never been done before. Hopefully this will become a reality somewhere else
AMEN
I didn’t think this musical was that great (story-wise at least)but its too bad they don’t believe it would’ve appealed to a big enough audience to be worth that much without big names. Hopefully another studio will pick it up with a smaller budget. Honestly if they can make it a GOOD movie/musical then it could do well regardless of the lack of star names.
With the massive appeal of Glee and Step Up and HSM franchises I’m surprised that more musicals aren’t coming out of Hollywood. Studios keep wondering why the kids aren’t going to the movies; they’re home watching Idol and Glee.
Yes, because all 50 million Hispanics in this country are fans of musical theater.
As others have pointed out, the recent “surge” in the popularity of movie musicals is mainly b/c of “attractive” leads like Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, not because most movie goers want to all of a sudden see musicals. I don’t remember the movie versions of Rent or The Producers doing huge box office.
I still can’t believe the “creative genius” behind Newsies and Hocus Pocus (the movie where Bette Midler is a child-murdering witch) is able to still get work in this industry.
If you think that only Hispanics would see this movie, then you are just as narrow minded as the powers that are.
That having been said, I’m pretty sure the Broadway audiences who supported this show weren’t Hispanic.
And even if the 50 million Hispanics aren’t fans of musical theatre, a good number of them will check out the movie merely because they can see their own on the big screen.
I get needing to reduce risk, but if this is viewed as a transmedia project, it should have been a slam dunk, even at the $37 mill price tag. Is this additional proof that studios aren’t willing to fund anything other than ‘cartoons’ because they don’t know how to market anything else?
Cartoons ain’t doing so hot. You can make two In The Heights for the cost of the marketing on Mars Needs Moms.
im very upset this project is a no-go.ITH had a great audience,great reviews on Broadway.im sure ALOT of people who loved the musical,would go see the movie.hope another company picks up the project.
Don’t worry.
The show was too much of a hit & the market is ripe for this type of project for it not to land elsewhere.
This is when a smart film company goes in, does the movie, tales advantage of the Hispanic industry and makes millions!!!!!