Last Wednesday Cameron Mackintosh was in Madrid to present the cast of the new production of Les Miserables that will open in November. In the press conference he was asked by a journalist about why there wasn't yet a movie adaptation of the musical.
BroadwayWorld Spain was there to capture Mackintosh's reply, which was "I signed a contract yesterday. And, in fact, the concert at the O2 next week, I'm presenting with Universal Pictures and it's huge -- with over 500 in the cast and it is being simultaneously screened to over a 1000 cinemas around the world - including Spain. It's been a long time coming, I originally was going to do it after the Broadway opening but mercifully it didn't happen. No film could have been as successful as Les Miserables has been on stage. And now, after 25 years, it seems a very good time to do it. We'll be working with a screenplay writer over the next few months and hopefully if all that comes together, we will find a great director and start."
In October this year, the legendary musical "LES MISÉRABLES" will celebrate its 25th birthday by making theatrical history with an international first - three different productions in London at the same time. The Original Production at the Queen's Theatre, the New 25th Anniversary Production at the Barbican, London and now, stars in their multitudes will gather for a celebratory concert at The O2 on Sunday 3rd October at 7.00pm, when all three productions and many of the shows original cast will come together to celebrate this momentous occasion.
LES MISÉRABLES originally opened in London at the Barbican Theatre on 8 October 1985, transferred to the Palace Theatre on 4 December 1985 and moved to its current home at theQueen's Theatre on 3 April 2004. When "LES MISÉRABLES" celebrated its 21st London birthday on 8 October 2006, it became the World's Longest Running Musical, surpassing the record previously held by "Cats" in London's West End. In January 2010, the West End production broke another record by celebrating its historic 10,000th performances.
Seen by nearly 60 million people worldwide in 42 countries and in 21 languages, "LES MISÉRABLES" is undisputedly one of the world's most popular musicals ever written, with new productions continually opening around the globe, with seven more currently scheduled. There have been 36 cast recordings of "LES MISÉRABLES", including the multi-platinum London cast recording, the Grammy Award-winning Broadway cast and complete symphonic albums and the soon to be released live recording of the New 25th Anniversary Production. The video of the 10th Anniversary Royal Albert Hall Gala Concert has sold millions of copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling musical videos ever in the UK. There are over 2,500 productions of the Les Misérables School's Edition scheduled or being performed by over 125,000 school children in the UK, US and Australia, making it the most successful musical ever produced in schools. Cameron Mackintosh is currently developing a film of "LES MISÉRABLES" with Working Title and Universal.
