Jeremy Jordan's Followup to 'Smash' Begins Production With Anna Kendrick as Co-Star

By Greg Gilman

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Production on Richard LaGravenese's musical adaptation of "The Last 5 Years," starring Anna Kendrick and "Smash" star Jeremy Jordan, begins this week in New York, Lucky Monkey Pictures and Sh-K-Boom Records said Wednesday.

LaGravenese("Beautiful Creatures") wrote and is directing the adaptation of Jason Robert Brown's musical of the same name, which is a deconstruction of the love affair and marriage of Cathy Hiatt (Kendrick), a struggling actress, and Jamie Wellerstein (Jordan), a rising novelist.

Kendrick, an Oscar-nominated actress known for roles in "Up In the Air," "50/50," and "Pitch Perfect," was recently nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in the Broadway musical "High Society."

Before starring in the last season of NBC's "Smash," Jordan made a name for himself on Broadway in productions like "West Side Story," "Bonnie & Clyde" and "Newsies," for which he was nominated for a Tony and a Grammy.

LaGravenese will produce with Lauren Versel, Kurt Deutsch and Janet Brenner, while Steve Norman will co-produce. Steven Meizler is the director of photography for the film, which begins shooting in New York City this week.

CAA will handle domestic sales, with Brian O'Shea and Nat McCormick handling international sales for The Exchange.

"I'm an avid musical theater fan but I never saw the original production. The score is a gold mine of character and insights on relationships. Listening to it, I could only imagine it as a movie," LaGravenese said in a statement.

"For fans, it will be the same musical they know and love, except for minor musical changes made by Jason Robert Brown who I've worked closely with over these eight years. The only major difference is, in the movie, the characters 'Cathy' and 'Jamie' will be singing to each other in songs that were sung directly to the audience on stage."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/jeremy-jordans-followup-smash-begins-production-anna-kendrick-225249826.html

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