Robert Downey Jnr and Sean Penn lined up for role in film version of the musical

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Difficult though it may be, try to imagine Robert Downey Jr and Sean Penn practising their scales as they warm up their voices to sing for roles in the movie version of Les Miserables.

They’re just two of the names being studied by film executives involved in pre-production for the movie version of mega-musical Les Miserables.

Tom Hooper, who won a best director Oscar for The King’s Speech, is in the final throes of sorting his deal with Working Title and Cameron Mackintosh to direct the picture. He’ll sign in a few weeks, then go into a huddle with writer Bill Nicholson to complete the screenplay.
A casting director will then be appointed, followed by other key production staff.

But there will be no motion picture if the right actors can’t be found to play the main leads of Jean Valjean, the heroic ex-prisoner, and Inspector Javert, his relentless pursuer.

Mackintosh championed the opera tenor Alfie Boe to me months ago, and he wants the singer to screen-test for Valjean. When Boe played Valjean at the 25th-anniversary Les Miserables concert it was one of those rare moments of alchemy when the emotion of a singer’s voice matched the character he was playing. That’s the level of quality needed for the film.