Speech maker feeling misérable

Having won an Oscar for The King's Speech– and made a surprising amount of money with the film – director Tom Hooper has his pick of projects.

So Hooper’s apparent choice is an unusual one. Apparently, he has decided to finally drag the musical version of

Les Misérables

on to the big screen, with Anne Hathaway rumoured for the role of Fantine. The project certainly has visibility. But belated versions of international musical hits such as

Evita

and

Phantom of the Opera

didn’t fare well. True,

Mamma Mia!

was a smash, but the producers moved a little more quickly and, with all those Abba fans, the film had appeal beyond the stage-musical constituency. Get back to us in 2013 or so.