After months of speculation, Anne Hathaway has officially joined Tom Hooper’s adaptation of the musical, Les Miserables. Her spokesperson confirms a Deadline report that she’ll play Fantine, the tragically abused mother of young Cosette. Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe have already been cast as the noble Jean Valjean and the heartless Inspector Javert, respectively. Hathaway has demonstrated her vocal talents at Academy Awards ceremonies, once even performing a duet onstage with Jackman when he hosted.
William Nicholson, who co-wrote Gladiator, is writing the script, with the film being targeted for a Dec. 7, 2012 release.
Read more:
Russell Crowe joins Hugh Jackman in ‘Les Mis’
Hugh Jackman in talks for ‘Les Mis’
Can she sing? Well at least she dies early.
SPOILER ALERT!
Yeah, not really a spoiler considering the story has been around since the 1860s.
bahahhahhah @Jamie
Not really a spoiler…her death comes very early in the story and is the event that pretty much sets up the rest of the story. It’s not really a “twist” or anything…even if you’ve never seen the musical or read the book, it becomes pretty obvious very early in the show that she will not make it to the end.
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I agree. Thankfully she gets killed off. Anne Hathaway is SO annoying.
Why couldn’t they just hire a talented FRENCH actress for goodness sake. Marion Cotillard anyone??
Liz, that’s because there are no TALENTED french actresses…and who wants to see all that underarm hair? NO ONE! and whoo-whee – the STENCH! let’s hope they follow the broadway / loindond musicals, then at least it will be worth watching compared to that piece of crap by the same name starring Liam Nieson…lord that was awful!
Anne Hathaway has a great voice! You only think she’s annoying because you associate her with her comedic rols such as Princess Diaries, but you need to watch her in dramatic roles. Plus, Mario Cotillard is too old to play Fantine. Old people are fine for the stage, but in a movie, there are close-ups and old people playing young does not work.
Haters are going to hate. Bottom LIne. Marion Cotillard doesn’t have the voice to sing theatre songs.
People need to do their research before they judge. Anne Hathaway was actually trained in musical theatre and prefers performing on stage than in movies. You can’t say she can’t sing only because she’s famous for her movies. I feel she’ll be an incredible Fantine. Taylor Swift on the other hand has had absolutely no involvement in musical theatre whatsoever and has had very small roles in movies and TV. In that case, you can say she is not right for the part because she has displayed bad acting and questionable singing before and is not at all qualified to portray a role like Eponine.
Fantine sings in the Finale; her part doesn’t end entirely when she dies.
Here’s a spoiler alert: About 2 characters make it out of Les Miz alive. Happy Holidays!
4 if you count the inn keeper and his wife.
She can sing. She was origionally cast as Christine in the film version of Phantom (the part eventually went to Emmy Rossum) but she had to pull out because of previous contract obligations to Disney and film “The Princess Diaries 2″.
She would have been sooooo much better than Emmy Rossum. (ANYONE would have been better.) I like the casting choices so far!
SO TRUE.
terrible casting decision.
Anne is a good singer. She can do it all.
Anne Hathaway is a triple threat, an EGOT contender for sure!
can she rub her stomach and burp at the same time. yeah so talented!!!
Probably! If she can sing, dance, and act, that’s the very definition of “triple threat” in show business. Now if YOU can add one more thing to YOUR repertoire of stomach rubbing and burping, well, now that would be something…kind of sad….
Everything except fill out a Catwoman costume.
OUCH! tell you what, i wouldn’t kick her out of my bed any time soon!
LOL loves crap.
Lea Michele as Eponine?
Darren Criss as Marius?
This from someone who likes Glee: As much as I like Darren and Lea, both Glee cast members in this show would be a distraction. One or the other, if suitable for the roles, but not both, please. Having said this, Lea has already has Broadway cred and can do more than “Rachel Berry”. It would be fun to see her return to her stage roots.
Oops…”to her stage roots and bring her Broadway game to film.”
She played Young Cossett in Les Mis. I’d love to see her in the movie.
And Russell Crowe isn’t a distraction? Is an “unknown?” Can he even sing? Really?? I’m picturing him butchering “Stars”–seriously not an easy song to sing…
Russell Crowe can sing, actually. He was even the lead singer of his own band, the 40 Odd Foot Grunts. Don’t think they were very good though.
scratch that, they were called the 30 Odd Foot of Grunts, not it matters much. They no longer exist.
Lea played Eponine in the Hollywood Bowl and was offered the role on Broadway, but turned it down to do Spring Awakening.
I agree with you about Javert and Crowe- Stars is an amazing song and hard…it’s broadway too, not a rock band. I know Hugh Jackman can do broadway (saw him live in Toronto- amazing!!!)
You ‘know Hugh Jackman can do broadway’? Seriously? The dude is one of the most successful broadway performers of all time. Won a Tony and is about to open his one-man show which has $6M dollars of advance sales already.
These 16 yar-old Glee-hards are hilarious… you did see him in Toronto though so I guess he’s ok. Geez
I don’t think Scotty-t even knows what he’s arguing about.
I’m just glad to finally see Crowe playing a villain! He comes off as such a jerk that it’s hard to get behind him as a hero.
absolutely not – no DRAMA queens – just freaks please
Are you serious? If you are you must be 12 years old. Or learn about other talent outside of the Glee Pool.
this.
“this” is so last year.
While I’ll grant that Lea Michele was excellent in Spring Awakening, the roles of Marius, Cosette, Enjolras, and Eponine should be played with considerable more edge than anyone on Glee could ever offer. Hugh Jackman is a force to be reckoned with, as is Russel Crowe (at least in terms of acting).
It would be easy to turn the casting of the young people into a hodgepodge of teen idols, but I sincerely hope the producers don’t go that route. Give me some talented, raw unknowns.
Agree 100%, they are out there, Raw, Talented and unknowns. Can/t wait to find out who will play Eponine!
Unfortunately, they are not going to put unknowns in these roles, no matter how talented they may be.
The main reason Alfie Boe didn’t get the role of Jean Valjean in the movie is that he wasn’t enough of a “big name” (in Hollywood)……
I LOVE LesMiz, but I’m not overly impressed with the casting of the movie so far. And one thing is for sure, if Leah Michelle ends up playing Cosette, or any of the Glee actors get roles in it, I’m officially ignoring this movie.
Lea Michele does not have the range to play Cosette, and she played Eponine before “Glee” so she is a possible contender, but with her and Darren’s busy schedules I don’t think it’s possible for them.
Jayne Wiesner (Sweeney Todd) could be a good Cosette.
LizzieK, that’s actually a really good suggestion for Cosette. Jayne Wiesner has a lovely soprano – I was quite surprised by her “Green Finch and Linnet Bird.” She would be just fine.
Jennifer Damiano for Eponinne!!! Is there anyone else thinking the same as me…and thanks Celimene!
WHAT?! I just threw up in my mouth…like a lot.
Although I do like Darren Criss, he’s just not right for Marius.
I could be wrong, but from what I understand (from seeing the show on Broadway many times), Eponine is supposed to be a young teenager, like 14 or 15. I don’t see Lea Michele as believable in that age bracket. They should go with someone who looks younger.
since when are they hiring teenagers to play the roles of cossette and eponine on broadway? so they don’t have to do it for the film either. as for marius, Darren Criss is a much better choice than Nick Jonas or any of the other Disney stars that could end up in the role. As for an unknown, wise -up people – this is going to be an all-star cast. Forget Glee star, just cross your fingers that Justin Bieber and Selena Gomez don’t get cast in the roles because I bet there names are being tossed around by casting agents as I type.
As long as we don’t end up with Nick Jonas playing Marius again – the worst casting choice in history – or anyone like him. Can’t sing as needed for musical theater, has one facial expression that looks like he’s suffering from hemorrhoids, and the acting range of a stump.
Oh gag, get off the Glee kick. There are other people who can sing and would be able to act.
Lea Michele as Eponine?
Darren Criss as Marius?
No and No. Both too old. You can get away with it on stage but I don’t think you can on film. Get somebody unknown.
NO! Lea Michele is talented but annoyingly grating, plus she’s too old for Eponine at this point, especially for a big screen adaptation.
She’s 26. It’s highly unlikely that they’re going to be getting someone much younger than that.
However, it’s highly unlikely Michele will take the part, because it’d be pretty much impossible to fit into “Glee”‘s schedule.
With Michele’s reputation (rhymes with witch), I doubt the Les Miz film producers are banging at her door for the actress to act in the film.
maybe they should get the chick from true grit? she’s in the right age bracket and pleasant on the eyes…but can she sing?
I’m guessing the film is going to stick closer to the physical descriptions from the books than stage productions did. So Eponine should be a scrappy French teenager.
Geoffrey Rush would make a great Thenardier.
rumours are that he is in talks for that with Helena Bonham Carter as Mrs. Thernadier
After Sweeney Todd, no one should ever let Helena Bonham Carter sing again. I really like her, but no.
I have to sadly agree, M. I love Helena Bonham Carter and she is an extremely talented actor, but in no way is she a good singer.
Mrs. T really doesn’t have a lot of “pretty” singing to do, so a traditional musical theatre voice isn’t a neccessity.
Given her recent appearance in her concerts I think Christina Aguilera has this one nailed! They barely need to do anything to her other than to add a couple of soiled petticoats.
HBC’s voice is paper-thin, and miserably amateur. No way she could pull off a role as meaty as Madame T.
Hahahahaha @johnlarca.
He already played Javert in the last film adaptation.
He was in the 1998 version. Why are they making this film AGAIN?!? Hollywood must really be out of ideas.
True they have made many versions of Les Mis over the years, but this is a film of the musical so I am looking forward to it. For example, the 1998 version cut out some key characters completey (Eponine) while reducing others to tiny bit parts (the Thenardiers and Enjrolas). So I am excited.
this is good news. i think hathaway will make an excellent fantine. i also hope they don’t dip into the glee pool for the younger roles. lea michelle might not make the worst eponine, but i also think they need to find someone who is more timid and can portray that “damaged goods” aspect of the character. lea michelle is too glossy and upright to be eponine, and these aspects of her character i don’t think she’d be able to overcome in the role.
Lea Michele is an actress. Sh’es played characters who are not “gloosy and uptight” like Eponine and Wendal (in Spring Awakening). You all need to realize, her rep isn’t who she relaly is. Besides, everyone says she’s apro on set — not a time-waster. Frankly, as a boss, I’d rather somebody work hard and do the job than be simpering and always a yes-girl, like so many young actresses are.
Amen to that comment.
Great – now she can torture us with another accent.
lol fortunately there is literally next to no dialogue (on second thought, there may actually be none) in this musical.
Actually, they’re reworking the show so there will be dialogue. I think that was reported a while ago…
I would only be more annoyed if Jessica Biel got the part.
Anne gets the best song in the whole show. It even made Susan Boyle a star. Not sure I understand the “too old” comments about the Glee stars. Um, they aren’t *that* old and the parts aren’t written that young. Well, maybe Eponine, who is often played by gratingly adenoidal singers. Maybe they can get Selena Gomez to play her.
Really selena gomez? i had to laugh when i read that
Sure! And they can get Demi Lovato to play Cosette and Nick Jones can reprise Marius! And, for good measure, they can cast former Mousketeer Ryan Gosling as Jean Valjean, Raven Symone as Fantine, and Goofy as Javert in an all Disney version called “The Miz !”
I caught the latest anniversary concert on PBS one night…and Nick Jonas wasn’t as dreadful as I thought he’d be! Granted, you could tell he was trying a LOT harder than the rest of the cast, but the boy has some chops. Demi Lovato on the other hand…I place her in the company of Katy Perry in that a drunk cat can sing better.
Well, the characters people are saying they should portray are teenage if I remember right. Even the Glee cast look like pretty old high schoolers in my opinion!
maybe let susan boyle play the part of that fat old hag. she’s got the look, the rags, and the pipes to sing!
I’ve heard rumors that Lucy Hale got the part of Eponine. I’ve never watched any of her shows but I found videos of her singing on youtube and she does has a good Eponine voice. She is young enough and looks the part. I’ve heard Emma Watson (I think that’s her name…the girl from Harry Potter) is getting the role of Cosette. I’ve never heard her sing, but that’s okay..Cosette doesn’t have a big singing role. I’m curious who would play Marius though….
I don’t know… Cossette may not have the showpiece songs, but the songs she does have are pretty hard to song – super, super, high parts. If they cast someone who can’t hit those notes, it would be pretty grating.
I’ve heard that she can sing. I don’t know if she can sing well enough to play Cosette though. She does have the look. Still, I think they could do better (even though I like her overall, she wouldn’t be right for this role).
Can Russell Crowe sing? That is a challenging role.
Russell Crowe has done musicals in Australia and had a pretty decent rock band for a while, so, yes, he can sing. And anyone familiar with Les Miz can tell you that Madame Thenardier is a character role that doesn’t require a great singing voice.
But it still requires skill and vocal strength. Ever try singing it, Diane?
Ugggggh she ruins everything. Catwoman and now this??? Blaaah she’s obnoxious.
Oh, you’ve SEEN Dark Knight Rises???? I ‘m assuming you did to know that AH ruins it! Do tell!
She ruins everything because she’s annoying and catwoman is an awesome character. Ipso facto she ruins catwoman just by being herself.
So excited about this project! Hugh & Russell tearing up the screen – WOW.
YES! Can’t wait to see them in “The Confrontation” I can just see Jackman in Crowe’s face..”I am warning you, Javert…”
Blech. Those clown features and huge black shark eyes make EVERYTHING ‘miserables’
she’s great
i hope she gets it too
someone took down their link, but they had this attached. good idea, making your own tape. Day is great for cosette