The IN THE HEIGHTS Film Adaptation Thread

[hannhannham]

Sorry I mean In the Heights has significantly more songs than book scenes compared with most musicals. It seems almostsung-through to me, with book scenes sprinkled around.

Also, I'm not saying that being Latinx in the United States is NOT a political matter in itself, but the material does not seem to callfor nor support the very approach the movie is taking, which might feel heavy-handed if the nuances and complexity of the subject matter are not addressed with caution and care.The show is as personal as it gets, and it shines because of how personal it is. I sincerely hope the movie would not trade this intimacy for broadpolitical statements.

Yes, they shot the movie in Washington Heights, but the present day Washington Heights, or at least the way it is presented in the film, gives a different feel than when I saw the show when it was first on. It's unapologetically musical, but la la land-ish or musical operetta musical, not in-the-heights musical that Lin created."

IMO it's not close to being sung through - I remember the last time I saw a rendition I was surprised at how much talking there was. 

The show is deeply personal to Lin and Quiara, so I'm sure the rewrites are handled with care. Surely a DACA storyline is close to their hearts - and how can you show a story in a present-day Latinx community without talking about it?

The only thing that surprised me was the coloring - I think I thought they'd use lighting/coloring more similar to the live action ITH commercial they did for the Broadway show. Other than that though - I think it looks great. Maybe it's because I live in the Heights :p I also think we are supposed to imagine much many more people onstage in the stage version than they can actually fit/can pay. For example,when listen to "The Club" and I can easily imagine 40 people in the club with them. Obviously there was not room for that on stage, but the spirit of it was always there for me especially around the neighborhood. No block in all of Manhattan would you only ever see the same 5 people every day - even in the heights!


SporkGoddess said: "I ask that question constantly. I think a lot of people just weren't really aware of ITH because it didn't have that zeitgeist like Hamilton did. I also think it was harder for some people to connect with due to the Spanish lyrics. I was told that a lot of people left at intermission when the tour came here back in the day because of the Spanish (which wasn't translated)."

Interesting! I have never heard this complaint - I always felt like all the Spanish in the show was easily figured out by context clues. 

[Anakela]

teddy1996 said: "daphne rubin vega said that daniela and carla will be girlfriends in this movie. hmmm that’s interesting. "


I mean, I always saw it as they were a couple in the musical? 

[teddy1996]

Anakela said: "teddy1996 said: "daphne rubin vega said that daniela and carla will be girlfriends in this movie. hmmm that’s interesting. "


I mean,I always saw it asthey were a couple in the musical?"

they were never a couple in the musical. they were just bffs. 

[teddy1996]

as much as i am excited for the in the heights movie, my main problem is that there aren’t enough black latinos in it. washington heights is mostly filled with afro latinos but most of the latinos in this movie are light skinned.

[Chowd95]

teddy1996 said: "as much as i am excited for the in the heights movie, my main problem is that there aren’t enough black latinos in it. washington heights is mostly filled with afro latinos but most of the latinos in this movie are light skinned. "

Instead of Hollywood so white, now it's Hollywood so light-skinned Latino? I looked at my program from the first tour and the casting in the movie is on par with the stage version.

[gypsy101]

Dancingthrulife2 said: "Personally, I'm concerned. It seems to me that the director or whoever comes up with the script does not trust the material and adds so many book scenes in a supposedly sung-through musical to make it "relevant." If it's not done well, the relevancy can easily seem forcedand preachy. Also, from what the trailer shows, it looks too clean, too spacious that it loses the special kind of intimacy, messiness, homeyness, and the heady mixture of all these that made me fall in love with the musical. The musical is very personal, and that's what I love about it. When you usher in your political agenda, it might, although not necessarily if done right, lose the charm that makes the musical so special and alluring."

you know the person that wrote the screenplay is the same person that wrote the book of the musical right 

[BrodyFosse123]

Not only that, but Lin-Manuel Miranda was heavily involved with ALL aspects of the film from castings, rehearsals to filming. He was on set EVERY day and worked alongside the film’s director Jon M. Chu who used him as a reference consultant. Nothing in the film was done without Lin-Manuel’s involvement. Any liberties taken were with his blessings and approval. Many being his own ideas as well.

[teddy1996]

Chowd95 said: "teddy1996 said: "as much as i am excited for the in the heights movie, my main problem is that there aren’t enough black latinos in it. washington heights is mostly filled with afro latinos but most of the latinos in this movie are light skinned. "

Instead of Hollywood so white, now it's Hollywood so light-skinned Latino? I looked at my program from the first tour and the casting in the movie is on par with the stage version."

i get that but washington heights is a community filled with black latinos. lots of dark skinned latinos and i hope to see that in this movie. i’m just gonna wait to see the movie. i don’t want to pass off too much judgment 

[Kad]

The musical itself is hardly an example of gritty realism. From its set, which almost looked like a vintage postcard version of Washington Heights, to the story beats and shape of the plot, it operated in a heightened and idealized or romantic depiction of the neighborhood and community. 

[teddy1996]

washington heights is a community filled with black latinos. dark skinned latinos. i expect to see that. but hollywood always wants to portray all latinos as light skinned. i’m just gonna wait to see the movie, i don’t want to pass off too much judgment especially since we have only seen a two minute trailer.

[SporkGoddess]

Interesting! I have never heard this complaint - I always felt like all the Spanish in the show was easily figured out by context clues. 

I agree with you, but I'm in the Midwest and not exactly a large metro city. I think there probably was some racism given that the language was Spanish, and then the hip hop definitely didn't help that perception. I wonder how they would have reacted to say, Light in the Piazza's Italian.

Also, Hamilton, while hip hop, is about a topic and story that is fairly well known to people outside of NYC and Latino communities and, I would argue, more prestigious than the daily going ons of a working class immigrant community. As for myself, although I think ITH has a very flawed book I emotionally connect to the material more than I do with Hamilton.

Seth Rudetsky actually complained about this on SiriusXM's On Broadway once. He used to tell people to go see ITH and they wouldn't. Those same people now ask him for Hamilton tickets. 

[CarlosAlberto]

The film's new logo reminds me of Coca-Cola with a hint of Fame....

 

[Broadway Forever2]

teddy1996 said: "as much as i am excited for the in the heights movie, my main problem is that there aren’t enough black latinos in it. washington heights is mostly filled with afro latinos but most of the latinos in this movie are light skinned."

It was like this in the Original cast of browadway play lmao.  The film actually does a better job of casting more darker skinned latinos imo. Leslie Grace who plays Nina is Dominican and clearly afro latino. So is the Dascha Polanco and Noah Catala who plays Grafitti Pete. 

 

It looks good to me. Better than I thought it would be. Honestly if I was Spielberg I would be a bit concerned. 

 

But yeah I'm wary about some of the changes. I'm not sure about a DACA storyline. 

[teddy1996]

Broadway Forever2 said: "teddy1996 said: "as much as i am excited for the in the heights movie, my main problem is that there aren’t enough black latinos in it. washington heights is mostly filled with afro latinos but most of the latinos in this movie are light skinned."

It was like this in the Original cast of browadway play lmao. The film actually does a better job of casting more darker skinned latinos imo. Leslie Grace who plays Nina is Dominican and clearly afro latino. So is the Dascha Polanco and Noah Catala who plays Grafitti Pete.



It looks good to me. Better than I thought it would be. Honestly if I was Spielberg I would be a bit concerned.



But yeah I'm wary about some of the changes. I'm not sure about a DACA storyline."

the other changes are that camila is no longer apart of the story, daniela and carla are a couple, vanessa’s aspiration is becoming a fashion designer, and an older usnavi will be telling the story. 

[Broadway Forever2]

teddy1996 said: "Broadway Forever2 said: "teddy1996 said: "as much as i am excited for the in the heights movie, my main problem is that there aren’t enough black latinos in it. washington heights is mostly filled with afro latinos but most of the latinos in this movie are light skinned."

It was like this in the Original cast of browadway play lmao. The film actually does a better job of casting more darker skinned latinos imo. Leslie Grace who plays Nina is Dominican and clearly afro latino. So is the Dascha Polanco and Noah Catala who plays Grafitti Pete.



It looks good to me. Better than I thought it would be. Honestly if I was Spielberg I would be a bit concerned.



But yeah I'm wary about some of the changes. I'm not sure about a DACA storyline."

the other changes are that camila is no longer apart of the story, daniela and carla are a couple, vanessa’s aspiration is becoming a fashion designer, and an older usnavi will be telling the story."

 

I honestly don't understand why they cut Camila but if they are adding so much stuff maybe it was needed. I love the song "Enough" though.

 

Idk how they will have time for all this stuff. The musical is already long. 

[Jessetenny]

Given the release date, do we think this movie will campaign for The Oscars? Any guesses on early potential nominations? Oscars 2021 are looking VERY musical with WSS, ITH and The Prom.

[teddy1996]

how long do you guys think this movie will be? cause the musical is very long. i really hope that it’s at least 2 hours and up. 125-130 minutes would be a good runtime for this movie

[Musical Master]

Quite excited for this one, the show is very good and I'm glad Lin had personal involvement with this. It's also very visually exciting.

[teddy1996]

Musical Master said: "Quite excited for this one, the show is very good and I'm glad Lin had personal involvement with this. It's also very visually exciting."

 

on wikipedia, they added a running time of 155 minutes. that’s 2 hours and 35 minutes. i think that’s a fake running time. it hasn’t even been confirmed yet. 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Heights_(film)

[BrodyFosse123]

Jessetenny said: "Given the release date, do we think this movie will campaign for The Oscars? Any guesses on early potential nominations? Oscars 2021 are looking VERY musical with WSS, ITH and The Prom."

All films campaign for Oscar consideration.  Even films that have received zero nominations did campaign during awards season. 

Numerous Oscar winning films were released during the summer which worked in their favor as by the time awards season kicks off the film has already been on home video so voters have seen it and it’s still fresh on their minds.  

[Lavieboheme3090]

Very exciting to see they are in fact making a film adaptation of the material rather than just putting the original show up on screen.

It's going to feel timely, and will remain timely for a long time.

[teddy1996]

latinos in general need representation but its time to represent them as they are. black, white, indigenous or a mix of everything. washington heights is the blackest latin dominican neighborhood in NYC. this musical is supposed to celebrate all latin communities including afro latinx and so i expect to see plenty of afro latinos in this.

[Boq101]

I was wondering how much of the songs they'll be keeping, this is what I have so far:

Act I

• "In the Heights" — Definitely in, I wonder if all of the scenes in it will stay as musicalized.
• "Breathe" — In, maybe shortened?
• "Benny's Dispatch" — Fun song but idk that it's needed, is it also a thing in 2020?
• "It Won't Be Long Now" — In for sure.
• "Inútil"  — I think this is cut. I think perhaps a scene in its place, but def cut.
• "No Me Diga"— In, maybe different gossip, different line breakup to give Cuca some lines
• "96,000" — In
• "Paciencia y Fe" — In. I don't know what they would cut so I'm hoping it stays intact.
• "When You're Home" — INNNN
• "Piragua" — I feel like these are cut. Maybe we'll get the music underscoring him walking around, maybe a small version, nothing crazy like Eliseo's.
• "The Club" — In, I read somewhere it's not a big a moment in the movie as it is in the show. 
• "Blackout" — Definitely a piece they played around with a lot, since it doesn't need to end an act.

Act II

• "Sunrise" — I'd wanna keep it but it also seems like an easy thing to cut. 
• "Hundreds of Stories" — It's a very in-one song, I could see them sparsing some of the material, maybe a scene in stead?
• "Enough" — RIP Camila
• "Carnaval del Barrio" — In, lots of changes for the new DACA storyline
• "Atención" (Attention)— Again, not sure how prevalent the cab system is at spreading news anymore. 
• "Alabanza" — in
• "Everything I Know" — in
• "No Me Diga (Reprise)" — scene
• "Piragua (Reprise)" — cut
• "Champagne" — in
• "When the Sun Goes Down" — in
• "Finale" — changed? That trailer gave lots of questions. 

 

let me know what you think i wanna talk about itttt. :)

[kofler22]

Lin manuel recorded all of his Piraguas scenes and he even saued that he used the same keys than the original piragüero

[helvizz]

Boq101 said: "I was wondering how much of the songs they'll be keeping, this is what I have so far:

Act I

• "In the Heights" — Definitely in, I wonder if all of the scenes in it will stay as musicalized.
• "Breathe" — In, maybe shortened?
• "Benny's Dispatch" — Fun song but idk that it's needed, is it also a thing in 2020?
• "It Won't Be Long Now" — In for sure.
• "Inútil" — I think this is cut. I think perhaps a scene in its place, but def cut.
• "No Me Diga"— In, maybe different gossip, different line breakup to give Cuca some lines
• "96,000" — In
• "Paciencia y Fe" — In. I don't know what they would cut so I'm hoping it stays intact.
• "When You're Home" — INNNN
• "Piragua" — I feel like these are cut. Maybe we'll get the music underscoring him walking around, maybe a small version, nothing crazy like Eliseo's.
• "The Club" — In, I read somewhere it's not a big a moment in the movie as it is in the show.
• "Blackout" — Definitely a piece they played around with a lot, since it doesn't need to end an act.

Act II

• "Sunrise" — I'd wanna keep it but it also seems like an easy thing to cut.
• "Hundreds of Stories" — It's a very in-one song, I could see them sparsing some of the material, maybe a scene in stead?
• "Enough" — RIP Camila
• "Carnaval del Barrio" — In, lots of changes for the new DACA storyline
• "Atención"(Attention)— Again, not sure how prevalent the cab system is at spreading news anymore.
• "Alabanza" — in
• "Everything I Know" — in
• "No Me Diga (Reprise)" — scene
• "Piragua (Reprise)" — cut
• "Champagne" — in
• "When the Sun Goes Down" — in
• "Finale" — changed? That trailer gave lots of questions.

let me know what you think i wanna talk about itttt. :)"

I hardly think they'd cut the Piragua songs, they're very short, they feature Lin and they're great, fun metaphors for the situation of the barrio.

I'm not sure about Inutil being cut either, it's short, very emotional and tells the story of an immigrant (which is very much what the show is about), gives depth to Nina's dad, shows the reason as to why he does what he does and it's the character's only song.

And, since the movie will be Usnavi telling the story of the barrio to some kids, they can use the taxi cabs in Atencion, it may not be very usual, but it was part of the barrio's history.