The highly anticipated big screen adaptation of Les Miserables was screened for the first time in a secret screening in front of a select number of critics at New York’s Lincoln Centre on Thursday (November 22) and was met with a standing ovation.
Source: Vogue
Directed by The King’s Speech’s Tom Hooper and starring Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway as part of an all star cast, the musical feature looks set to become a serious contender for an Oscar, the first major musical to be considered since Chicago won the Academy Award for Best Picture back in 2003.
Les Miserables will be the first musical picture to feature actors singing live while filming.
Hooper told the crowd of critics in Alice Tully Hall: “I’m grateful that I finished it [the film]… I’m grateful to the thousands of people who have been on this journey, particularly the wonderful cast… and I’m grateful to Victor Hugo, who unfortunately can’t be with us.”
The feedback from the screening was extremely positive, playing to a reported standing ovation. Dave Karger from Entertainment Weekly tweeted, ”Anne Hathaway could easily win supporting actress. Her ‘I Dreamed a Dream’ is the showstopper.”
Les Miserables is set to open in the US on Christmas Day while the UK will have to wait until January 11th 2013, with the UK premiere penciled in for early January.
