Latest from Cameron Mackintosh on LesMis Movie

Les Misérables film producer Cameron Mackintosh has confirmed that as already tweeted by Hugh Jackman the movie will feature a new song for Jean Valjean. Written by the original song writing team of Claude Michel Schönberg, Alain Boublil and lyricist Herbert Kretzmer the new number is called Suddenly.

In an interview yesterday Mackintosh said: "It's a really lovely new song.  It was something that Alain and Claude-Michel came up with, after a passage in the book, which beautifully explains what happens when Valjean takes Cosette from the inn and looks after her. Herbie's written a lovely lyric to it, and we're all delighted how it seems to fit into the film version. The whole thing has been written by Alain and Claude-Michel in the same way they've worked with Herbie on the original score — I think rather religiously. They've gone back to their working methods of 30 years ago!"

When asked if there might be an additional original song played over the closing credits Mackintosh responded; "No, no. The one thing you don't have to worry about Les Miz is there are enough tunes! I mean, we're going to have great fun compiling reprises — all of the songs — that we want to put over the credits, which I'm sure will be endless."

He also confirmed that the vocals for the film would be sung live rather than dubbed as most of the stage musical is sung-through and dubbing would be a chore. Mackintosh explained:  " We have a fantastic cast; many of them are drawn either from the musical theatre or can sing in a way that music is second nature to the way that they act. That's why we're all very excited about the adventure that we're entering.

We're doing something which has not been done before on this scale. There is a huge amount of music and a huge amount of singing in Les Misérables; you can't get the performances except through the voice. The whole thing that we have to achieve with the movie is that we tell a story through music. It's a film story we're telling. Therefore, we need to take the audience into that world. 

One of the things that impressed me about  Tom Hooper when he first showed his interest in being the director of the movie is that he both embraced the score and also wanted to create live sound, and get the excitement of the performance and the depth that you only get…by recording it live. Over the last four or five years, technology has moved so far that it is now something that is possible to try. I'm sure we're going to learn a lot on the way, but we're all up for that adventure."