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In the past few weeks there have been developments in many different musical film projects and 2012 looks to be a year featuring several notable adaptions of Broadway shows. In the past few weeks Disney has confirmed that Rob Marshall will direct a film version of Sondheim’s ‘Into The Woods’ and that a screenplay for ‘Jersey Boys’ is currently being developed. Furthermore principal casting for ‘Les Miserables’ is near completion with the announcement that Amanda Seyfried and Helena Bonham Carter have accepted roles in the film; the only major role left to be finalised is that of Eponine, which Taylor Swift has reportedly been offered. I felt this would be a good time to reflect on what has caused this resurgence in the popularity of musical films.

Glee, in my opinion, has had a profound effect on musicals. Firstly it has managed to show that the format of a musical is commercially viable. Despite a decline in ratings recently, the show still has fairly good ratings and has an incredibly devoted fanbase. This has paved the way for other musical series, such as NBC’s ‘Smash’, and shown producers and distributors that this format can work on screen. Moreover, Glee has created renewed interest in Broadway shows. By using songs from shows, such as ‘Wicked’ and ‘Les Miserables’, Glee has introduced these musicals to an audience who may not have been interested in them before.

Another important factor is the success of musicals in recent years. ‘Chicago’ won six academy awards in 2003 including ‘Best Picture’, the first musical to win this since ‘Oliver!’ in 1968, and earned a respectable amount at the box office whilst ‘Hairspray’ earned $202,548,575. In 2009 ‘Mamma Mia!’ became the highest grossing musical film of all time and earned around $600,000,000 worldwide. Mamma Mia, in particular, has given studios the confidence to back musical films and we are only just seeing these films be released now due to the longer schedule of filming a musical.

It looks to be an exciting year for any Broadway fan at the cinema. Many new films are currently being produced and many more have been optioned, such as ‘Wicked’. There are also a number of classic’s being remade including Emma Thompson’s remake of ‘My Fair Lady’ and the rumoured remake of ‘Annie’.