Harvey Weinstein announced some long-awaited news during his annual pre-Oscars gala on Feb. 25: The film version of “In The Heights” is in the works, and Jay Z is reportedly on board to produce it.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the man better known as Beyoncé’s husband is indeed joining the “In The Heights” team, already helmed by producer Scott Sanders (whose company was behind Broadway’s “The Color Purple”). THR sources claim that the latest iteration of the “In the Heights” script ― based on “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first musical ― is complete, but casting has yet to begin.
In an interview with The Huffington Post, Miranda suggested a casting choice of his own: Jordan Fisher, the current John Laurens in “Hamilton,” is his top choice for a “pretty good Benny.” Benny is, of course, the character Christopher Jackson played in the original, Tony Award–winning Broadway production in 2008.
As for any involvement in the film adaptation from Miranda himself, he made it clear he was more interested in a background role: “I don’t want to play the [lead] role if it feels like it’s not age-appropriate with the rest of the cast,” he told HuffPost. “But Chris Jackson and I can be in the background playing dominoes during ‘When You’re Home’ and that would be fucking great.”
