Lin-Manuel Miranda Will Direct A Film Adaptation Of The ‘Rent’ Playwright’s Autobiographical Musical

When he’s not too busy boosting the popular McElroy brothers’ podcast My Brother, My Brother and Me, giving aid to Puerto Rico, or teasing everyone about a possible musical adaptation of The Room, Lin-Manuel Miranda is busying himself with his latest project. In this case, that’s making his feature film directorial debut with an adaptation of Tick, Tick…Boom!, the autobiographical musical written by Jonathan Larson, best known for writing Rent. The Hollywood Reporter broke the news on Thursday.

Per THR‘s summary, the musical “tells the story of Jon”:

[An] aspiring theater composer who is waiting tables in New York City while writing Superbia, which he hopes will be the next great American musical and become his big break. Jon is also feeling pressure from his girlfriend, Susan, who is tired of continuing to put her life on hold for Jon’s career aspirations.

Meanwhile, his best friend and roommate, Michael, has given up on his creative aspirations for a high-paying advertising job on Madison Avenue and is about to move out. As Jon approaches his 30th birthday, he is overcome with anxiety, wondering if his dream is worth the cost.

Imagine Entertainment’s Ron Howard and Brian Grazer will produce the film, as will Miranda, who starred in a 2014 stage production of Larson’s musical. Steven Levenson, the Tony Award-winning playwright and television writer, will write the screenplay.

Before the new broke, and continuing after, Miranda took to Twitter to tease the announcement and provide some background information for his followers. He began with a slowed down piano number from the song “30/90” and the lyrics “stop the clock”:

This continued with the lyrics “freeze the frame” (from the same song), as well as information about the film’s pre-production:

He also shared producer Ron Howard’s own tweet about the announcement:

(Via The Hollywood Reporter)