King’s Speech director Tom Hooper close to signing up for Les Miserables movie?

Following our report a few weeks ago, it now seems that Universal Pictures has convinced Cameron Mackintosh and Working Title to sign-up The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper to the forthcoming Les Miserables movie.

Apparently intense negotiations are now underway through Hooper’s agent, ICM, to agree the deal terms and get the movie into production by the end of the year.

Shooting somewhere in Europe, the movie musical will be a big-budget film adaptation of the hugely successful stage show. The movie will be produced by the show’s theatrical producer Cameron Mackintosh along with Four Weddings and Bridget Jones producers Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner from Working Title.

The screenwriter of the project is Oscar nominated writer Bill Nicholson,  who wrote the screenplays for Gladiator, Elizabeth: The Golden Age and Shadowlands amongst others.

The question now is, who gets to play the leads? There is much internet speculation that Hugh Jackman may be cast in the movie. Other front-runners include Nick Jonas, who briefly starred in the UK production of Les Mis at the Queen’s Theatre last year and at the Les Miserables 25th anniversary concert at the O2.

RUMOUR CHECK-LIST

• Movie: Les Miserables
• Director: Tom Hooper
• Distributor: Universal Pictures
• Producer: Working Title, Cameron Mackintosh
• Script: William Nicholson
• Date of release: 2012

Source: Deadline (24/03/11)