KING SPEECH'S Tom Hooper in Talks for LES MISERABLES Movie

The LA Times 24 Frames blog has the scoop that Tom Hooper, who was recently Oscar-nominated for directing THE KING'S SPEECH has now been offered the film version of LES MISERABLES. The blog reports that it's being conceived as a fully 'big budget musical'. 

Prior to The King's Speech, for which he's been Oscar-nominated, Tom Hooper's most recent film The Damned United starred Michael Sheen as the legendary English football manager Brian Clough. The Damned United was nominated by the South Bank Show Awards for best British film and premiered at the Toronto Film Festival. This Sony Pictures/BBC Film, written by Peter Morgan, was based on the novel by David Peace.

Tom Hooper has had an unprecedented run of success at the Golden Globes, winning the Golden Globe for best movie or mini-series made for television three years in a row (2007/8/9). His starring actors and actresses have won Golden Globes for their performances three years running.

Tom Hooper's "John Adams", starring Paul Giamatti and Laura Linney, won four Golden Globes and thirteen Emmys-the most Emmys ever awarded to a programme in one year in US television history. Based on the best selling Pulitzer prize winning biography by David McCullough, "John Adams" tells the story of the American Revolution through the eyes of the second president. Hooper directed all nine hours of the mini-series, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman for HBO.

Tom Hooper's "Longford", about Lord Longford's relationship with the "Moors Murderer" Myra Hindley, won Golden Globes for Jim Broadbent, Samantha Morton and for best TV film. It was written by Peter Morgan for HBO/Channel 4.

Hooper won the Emmy award for directing "Elizabeth I," starring Helen Mirren and Jeremy Irons. The HBO/Channel 4 miniseries won three Golden Globes and nine Emmy? Awards, including Outstanding Miniseries and best actress for Helen Mirrren.

Hooper was nominated for a Best Director Emmy for helming the revival of ITV's "Prime Suspect - The Last Witness," starring Helen Mirren. He directed Hilary Swank and Chiwetel Ejiofor in the BAFTA-nominated film Red Dust. Hooper's TV work also includes "Daniel Deronda," which won the Best Miniseries award at the 2003 Banff TV Festival, "Love in a Cold Climate," for which Alan Bates was Bafta nominated, and the multi award-winning ITV comedy drama "Cold Feet." For two years running Hooper directed the one hour specials that won "Eastenders" the BAFTA for best soap.

He wrote, directed and produced the short film Painted Faces aged 18, which premiered at the London Film Festival, was released theatrically and shown on Channel 4. At Oxford University he directed theatre productions with contemporaries Kate Beckinsale and Emily Mortimer, and directed his first TV commercials.

37 year old Hooper's first film Runaway Dog was made aged 13 on a clockwork 16mm Bolex camera using 100 foot of film.

"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.

Cameron Mackintosh's production of "LES MISÉRABLES" is written by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg and is based on the novel by Victor Hugo. It has music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer and original French text by Alain Boublil and Jean-Marc Natel and additional material by James Fenton. The original London 1985 production of "LES MISÉRABLES" was adapted and directed by Trevor Nunn and John Caird.

Visit www.lesmis.com for more information on Les Miserables and the North American tour.

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