Lin-Manuel Miranda says it’s ‘almost impossible to separate' his story from ‘In The Heights’

Lin-Manuel Miranda has been working on adapting his Tony Award-winning stage production In The Heights into a movie musical with co-writer Quiara Alegría Hudes for over 20 years.

Directed by Crazy Rich Asians' Jon M Chu and based on Miranda's hit musical of the same name, the film chronicles the fortunes of a New York City bodega owner who saves up his money in the hope of creating something better for himself. 

In The Heights has received rave reviews so far, which should feel great for Miranda, who has been working for 13 years to get the story on screen. He told Etalk's Traci Melchor all about bringing the production to the big screen.

“It’s almost impossible to separate the story of In The Heights from my story. I began writing In The Heights when I was 19 years old and I’m 41 years old. The short version is Quiara [Alergría] and I spent our 20s getting [it] out of our heads and onto a broadway stage and then another 13 years getting it to screens."

"[I] couldn’t have done it without her and what’s been kind of amazing is we love that neighbourhood," he explained.

"We both still live there. Even though the neighbourhood has changed and we have changed, that decision of wanting to honour our community and honour these stories has always sort of rung true with people," Miranda added.

In The Heights stars Anthony Ramos as Usnavi, a role that was originated by Miranda in the Broadway show. Miranda does have a small role in the film as Piraguero, or Piragua Guy and Melissa Barrera, Corey Hawkins, Leslie Grace and Olga Merediz round out the rest of the cast.

Taking over broadway is a huge deal but taking over the streets of New York is next level. Miranda said he had so many pinch-me moments when it came to this new movie and the creation process.

“To see Abuela Claudia sing 'Paciencia Y Fe' in this legendary tunnel to the one train at 190th street that could only exist in Washington Heights because we’re the only part of New York that is so mountainous you need to walk through a tunnel to get to the train," he said.

In The Heights director, Joh M. Chu is known most widely for directing Crazy Rich Asians. Miranda said his guidance made this diverse, inclusive story even more universal and he brought a lot of cinematic ideas to the story.

“I think what Joh did so brilliantly every step of Heights’ transition from stage to screen was he always went for what is the most cinematic storytelling option. What is the version you actually can’t put on stage? '96,000' in the streets? Cool. '96,000' in a Highbridge pool on 175th street with 500 dancers? Cinematic," Miranada said.

"'When The Sun Goes Down’ is a beautiful ballad between Benny and Nina but they’re in love so what if they are weightless and they are dancing up the side of a building complete with fire escapes and leaking air conditioners," Miranda added.

The playwright said that "at every stage" of production, Chu was "looking for the most cinematic options."

"I think because of the success of Crazy Rich Asians, he was supported by Warner Bros. in a way that he could make these characters dream big. He kept saying to us, ‘This is not a little musical. This is a big musical,’ and he fought for that every step of the way," Miranda said.

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