At this weekend’s Academy Awards, Lin-Manuel Miranda’s didn’t complete his journey toward becoming the second Latino EGOT (Emmy, Grammys, Oscar, and Tony) winner. But with news that his 2008 Broadway musical In the Heights is finally getting the movie treatment, it may not be much longer until the EGT winner decorates his mantle with an Oscar. This weekend at a pre-Oscars party, film executive Harvey Weinstein revealed that Jay Z will co-produce In the Heights, Page Six reports.
Back in September, Jay Z signed a first-look deal to produce movies and TV shows with the Weinstein Company. At the time, he said he was “excited to tell stories from real-life prophets, whom through their struggles have changed the world for the better, and others whose stories are filled with fantasy and delight,” according to Complex. In the Heights is set in the mostly Dominican neighborhood of Washington Heights. It follows a large ensemble of mostly Latino characters trying to make it in NYC, with hip-hop and salsa defining the musical’s soundtrack.
The show – which earned the Hamilton creator his first two Tonys – ran for 1,184 performances. It closed in 2011, which is when Universal halted its plan to turn the play into a movie. Last year, Miranda told The Hollywood Reporter that the reason the movie didn’t come to fruition was because Universal worried that “they didn’t have a big enough Latinos star to bankroll this movie.” But now, they’re aiming to make a “scrappy $15 million movie of Heights that is more in keeping with the spirit of the show.”
This version comes with a script from Quiara Alegria Hudes, who also wrote the book for the original musical. And as Variety reports, the film’s expected to start shooting in the spring. This time around, Miranda won’t reprise his role as Usnavi – the main character – but he’ll surely contribute in a way that once again makes an impression on Oscar voters.