News Analysis India

Tag: Lin Manuel Miranda

  • Lin-Manuel Miranda to skip Oscars ceremony following wife’s COVID-19 positive diagnosis

    By PTI

    LOS ANGELES: Filmmaker-playwright Lin-Manuel Miranda says he will give the upcoming Academy Awards ceremony a miss after his wife tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

    The award-winning singer-songwriter took to Twitter on Saturday to share the news, adding his wife and former lawyer Vanessa Nadal was doing well.

    “Made it to Hollywood” This weekend, my wife tested + (positive) for COVID. She’s doing fine. Kids & I have tested – (negative), but out of caution, I won’t be going to the Oscars tomorrow night,” Miranda wrote.

    Made it to Hollywood…This weekend, my wife tested for COVID.She’s doing fine. Kids & I have tested , but out of caution, I won’t be going to the Oscars tomorrow night. Cheering for my TickTickBoom & Encanto families w my own family, alongside all of you, ALL of you. -LMM
    — Lin-Manuel Miranda (@Lin_Manuel) March 26, 2022
    His directorial debut, “Tick, Tick BOOM!” is nominated for two Oscars, including the best actor nod for Andrew Garfield.

    Animated film “Encanto” is up for three golden statues in the categories of the best-animated feature, original score, and original song for Miranda.

    “Cheering for my TickTickBoom & Encanto families w my own family, alongside all of you, ALL of you (sic)” he added in the tweet.

    The record-breaking song from “Encanto” — “We Don’t Talk About Bruno” — will have its first live performance at the 94th edition of the Oscars at the Los Angeles Dolby Theatre.

    According to The Hollywood Reporter, the Academy released updated COVID-19 protocols and guidelines on Friday following a spike in positive cases among attendees at this year’s BAFTAs.

    In line with the new protocols, “those who tested positive for COVID-19 and are within a zero to five-day window from the date of their first positive test are not permitted to attend under any circumstances,” among other requirements.

  • Lin Manuel-Miranda wanted musicals for Latino characters

    By IANS

    Actor-filmmaker Lin Manuel-Miranda wanted to write musicals for Latino characters after fearing his ethnicity would prevent him from getting into the industry.

    He said: “The only reason I started writing was because I loved musicals, but I couldn’t see a way in. I wanted a life in musicals but beyond ‘West Side Story’, I didn’t see one – not for Latino dudes. You can play any part you want in a school play, but in the real world you get put in a box.”

    The three-time Tony winner went on to reveal that he wrote the musical ‘In the Heights’ – which is based on the New York neighbourhood Washington Heights that Lin grew up in and still resides in today – was written out of “fear”, reports femalefirst.co.uk.

    Speaking to Red Magazine, he said: “(‘In the Heights’) was really written out of fear. I wrote it because I wanted to write roles for Latino characters and I was writing it to fill a void.”

    “I set it in the most musical place I know, which is Washington Heights, and I was inspired by the music that you would hear up here – salsa, merengue, hip hop and bachata.”

    As well as being the composer behind the hit musical ‘Hamilton’, which utilises an all-black cast to retell the story of Alexander Hamilton – Lin opened up about working on the Disney film ‘Encanto’, which centres on a magical Colombian family and for which he has composed eight musical numbers.

    He said: “I wanted to help put a huge Latino family on screen and to widen the doors in my own corner of the world. But it’s not some kind of grand academic thesis statement as much as it is keeping promises to your inner child.”

  • I’m truly sorry: Lin-Manuel Miranda over lack of Afro Latinx actors in ‘In the Heights’

    By PTI
    LOS ANGELES: Playwright and actor Lin-Manuel Miranda has expressed regrets over lack of dark-skinned Afro-Latino actors in his musical “In the Heights”.

    Directed by Jon M Chu of “Crazy Rich Asians” fame, the Warner Bros film was released in the US theatres as well as streamer HBO Max on June 10.

    After the debut, the movie was criticised for showing dark-skinned Afro-Latinos in background and in dance scenes but not in main roles.

    In response, Miranda posted a statement on Twitter and admitted that the film’s team “fell short” in meeting the expectations of the fans.

    “I’m seeing the discussion around Afro-Latinx representation in our film this weekend and it is clear that many in our dark-skinned Afro-Latinx community don’t feel sufficiently represented within it, particularly among the leading roles,” Miranda, who has produced the movie, wrote.

    The Tony-winning playwright pledged that he will do better in representing Afro-Latinos in his future projects.

    “In trying to paint a mosaic of this community, we fell short.I’m truly sorry,” Miranda said.

    He further said note that he’s “learning from the feedback” coming from the audiences.

    “I’m learning from the feedback, I thank you for raising it, and I’m listening. I’m trying to hold space for both the incredible pride in the movie we made and be accountable for our shortcomings.

    “I promise to do better in my future projects, and I’m dedicated to the learning and evolving we all have to do to make sure we are honoring our diverse and vibrant community,” Miranda said.

    The issue blew up when Chu was asked about the lack of dark-skinned Afro-Latino actors in the movie during an interview with The Root.

    “I think that was something we talked about and I needed to be educated about, of course. In the end, when we were looking at the cast, we tried to get the people that were best for those roles,” the director had said.

    “I hear you on trying to fill those cast members with darker skin. I think that’s a really good conversation to have and something we should all be talking about,” he added.