Mika Talks to New York Magazine About Jackman's Barnum

As previously reported, Hugh Jackman will star as P.T. Barnum in the upcoming musical film "The Greatest Showman on Earth" written by Jenny Bicks (Sex and the City) and produced by Twentieth Century Fox. The studio has been in talks with music sensation Mika to compose the soundtrack. Yesterday, the singer spoke with New York Magazine to discuss his creative process and though tight-lipped did confirm a possible contribution to the film. An excerpt from the article is below:

NYM: Your songs are quite cinematic. When you write, do you visualize?

M: Massively. Anything written down doesn't make any sense to me. I was always doing very badly at school until I came up with a technique of learning everything by tape. So I would record, I would get audiobooks with my textbooks, and I would record lessons and I would learn everything by hearing it. And I would never use any books. And that's when my grades suddenly shot up. Everything I do is very visual and very aural, so I don't read music and I draw as much as I write out lyrics.

NYM: Speaking of visuals, you're reportedly doing the soundtrack for Hugh Jackman's upcoming PT Barnum musical, The Greatest Showman on Earth. Can you tell us about that?

M: I've been approached by Fox, and I'm still considering it. I would treat it just like writing an album.

To read the full article from New York Magazine, click here.

"The Greatest Showman on Earth" is being produced by Laurence Mark, Jackman himself and John Palermo. The 'Jenny Lind' role in the film is said to be being written for Anne Hathaway.

This will not mark the first time that the P.T. Barnum story has been musicalized. Completely unrelated to the new film, Barnum, with a book by Mark Bramble, lyrics by Michael Stewart and music by Cy Coleman, debuted at Broadway's ST. James Theatre on April 30, 1980. Jim Dale took home the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical as the iconic and larger-than-life American showman. Michael Crawford later staged the role at the London Palladium in 1981.

Hugh Jackman is currently starring with Daniel Craig in Broadway's A STEADY RAIN, by Keith Huff. Directed by Tony Award nominee John Crowley, A STEADY RAIN began previews on Thursday, September 10, 2009 and opens next Tuesday, September 29, 2009 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre for a limited 12 week engagement through Sunday, December 6, 2009.

Jackman will also star in the Full Monty-ish 20th Century Fox film comedy "Avon Man." "Hitch" writer Kevin Bisch will handle scripting duties. "Avon Man" follows a group of men laid off from an auto dealership. One of those guys, Jackman, is reluctantly recruited into becoming an Avon salesman, and while the experience is initially emasculating, he uses his charm and good looks to become a top seller. The comedy takes a twist when the car salesman sets out to save his financially strapped family and town by pushing his buddies into the makeup business to win a regional contest.

Hugh Jackman won a 2004 Tony Award, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Award for his portrayal of the 1970s singer-songwriter Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz. Previous theater credits include Carousel at Carnegie Hall and Oklahoma! at the National Theater in London, where he was nominated for an Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Musical. In his native Australia he won a MO Award (Australia's Tony Award) for his performance as Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard, and he was nominated for a MO Award for Disney's Beauty and the Beast.

Photo by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.