No doubt this film is going to do wonders for the careers of all those involved. Yes, this musical is somewhat guarded by those who love Victor Hugo’s 1862 novel and the stage productions but they needn’t fear as it is in the safe hands of Tom Hooper, who did The King’s Speech. Also, as you can see above the cast is pretty nifty too; it stars Anne Hathaway as Fantine, Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean, Russell Crowe as Javert, Amanda Seyfried as Cosette (these four form the leading cast), Samantha Barks as Eponine, Aaron Tveit as Enjolras, Eddie Redmayne as Marius, Sacha Baron Cohen as Monsieur Thenardierto, and Helena Bonham Carter as Madame Thénardier. Amazing!

 Hugh Jackman Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne

Russel Crow

There are also those all important tiny details that will make any fan feel like they’ve received an insiders look at the upcoming cinematic event. Swide have 10 for you:

• Anne Hathaway was one of the last considered for the role as Fantine and, when she auditioned, reportedly blew them away, leaving everyone in tears.
• Sacha Baron Cohen was almost beaten by Geoffrey Rush for the role of Monsieur Thenardier but managed to get in there before Rush sealed the deal.
• Fans of the original musical will be feeling tense, knowing that coomposer Claude-Michel Schonberg and lyricist Alan Boubil wrote a new song exclusively for the film. There is little info about this song and so we’ll have to wait for December to hear it.
• Hugh Jackman has sang with Anne Hathaway previously for the Academy Awards and was the one who suggested that the casting director consider Hathaway for the role. What a lovely man.
• Amanda Seyfried is famed for her role in Abba film musical Mama Mia but still had to go through over four months of auditions before landing the part of Cosette. Her determination clearly paid off.
• Loads of the extras that you’ll see in the film are either West End stars or have been in various productions of the stage version of Les Mis, including big names like Kerry Ellis, Hadley Fraser, Fra Fee and Alistair Brammer.
• Usually, a movie’s soundtrack is recorded several months in advance and actors mime during playback and filming. The magic of Les Mis is that everyone song was recorded live on set to capture the soul of the piece and those that were singing. Director Tom Hooper has been praised for this approach.
• So that the set and filming were not interrupted, the actors all wore ear pieces which fed the sound of the live piano, being played off-stage, to them as they sang.
• The original author of the book, Victor Hugo, was as celebrated in his time as he is now. But many people didn’t know that he was also a skilled artist, having produced over 4000 drawings in his lifetime.
• The on-screen adaptation is involving as much of the iconic imagery that lovers of the book and musical associate with Les Miserables, including the iconic image taken from the musical of a young girl with windswept hair.

The film is set for release on Christmas day in the US and then filling international hearts full of joy as of 11 January 2013.

It goes without saying that this film is going to be absolutely epic and I’m sure the critics are ready to cast judgement on the stars, are you? Check it out below:

I repeat… EPIC

Written by Ben Taylor