Mumbai: Universal Pictures has acquired the rights to produce a feature film based on In The Heights, a multi-generational and multi-ethnic musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda and Quiara Alegria Hudes. In The Heights has exhilarated audiences both on and off Broadway since February 2007 and has won four Tony Awards this year including Best Musical, Best Choreography, Best Orchestration and a Best Original Score Award and Best Actor nomination for Miranda.
In The Heights’ original Broadway producers, Kevin McCollum, Jeffrey Seller and Jill Furman, will executive produce and Hudes will be writing the screen adaptation for the film.
"In The Heights is a musical rich with storyline and characters that transcend the setting in which they are cast to entertain and speak to audiences from all walks of life," said Universal Pictures president production Donna Langley. "We are thrilled to be working with Miranda to bring this fantastic story to the big screen."
Twenty-eight year-old Miranda, who wrote the music and lyrics and currently stars in the show, first conceived In The Heights while in his sophomore year at Wesleyan University. In The Heights is the story of a vibrant and tight-knit community of New York’s famed Washington Heights neighborhood. The music pulses with the hopes and dreams of three generations as they struggle to forge an identity in a neighborhood on the brink of transition.
"Nearly nine years into my journey with Heights, I remain constantly humbled by all the opportunities we have been given. I am thrilled to work with Universal and help bring this story to millions of people around the world," said Miranda.
The deal was brokered by way of John Buzzetti of The Gersh Agency and Nancy Rose and Ira Schreck of Schreck, Rose, Dapello, Adams & Hurwitz. Former President of Production at Miramax Meryl Poster will produce In the Heights in her first project with Universal where she has a first-look deal with Universal Media Studios. Miranda will also serve as a producer of the film.
