Back in 2011, Jenny Popplewell released a documentary about Jamie, a 16-year-old teenager who wants nothing more than to become a drag queen. That documentary led Tom MacRae to writer Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, a well-received musical also based on a true story. Now, the musical is becoming a big screen movie from 20th Century Fox bringing Jamie to life on a lot of different mediums, and now the trailer has dropped.
Jamie is unusual within the social strata at his high school. He dreams of “playing dress up” forever and making it big as a drag queen on the stage. It’s not something his classmates nor his father seem to be able to fathom, which means Jamie, a character based on the real-life Jamie Campbell and played by Max Harwood, must face challenges in his day-to-day. You can watch the music and dance-filled first look at Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, below.
Tom MacRae was back to help with the screenplay for the movie, with some help from Dan Gillespie Sells. Richard E. Grant, Lauren Patel, Sharon Horgan and Ralph Ineson also star in the movie, which has been in the works for a while (since 2018 in fact). Initially, fans of Everybody’s Talking about Jamie would have gotten the film in 2020. It was one of the many movies scheduled to come out this year that has been delayed due to the pandemic.
Instead of coming out on October 23, 2020 (just a few weeks from now) we're just now getting the first trailer for the film. It's expected to now hit theaters on February 26, 2021. Twentieth Century Studios has had a little luck with big musical movies recently. The studio put out The Greatest Showman, a musical starring Zac Efron and Hugh Jackman, in 2017. It subsequently has done well on streaming and other platforms. Next, Bohemian Rhapsody, a musical based on the band Queen's music, made a whole lot of moolah in 2018.
There's been a bit of a resurgence in the appetite for musicals as movies in recent years. Obviously, on a smaller scale, when Hamilton hit Disney+ earlier this year, it was a major hit, but some of that may have had to do with timing and the sheer popularity of that musical as well. We also know a production of In The Heights is also coming together right now with Lin-Manuel Miranda involved. West Side Story is also getting a remake from Steven Spielberg.
As for Everybody's Talking About Jamie, the West End musical is expected to be the first musical to return to the stage later this year with a stint at The Apollo in November. A few other non-musical shows will also be premiering in October in the UK. In the U.S. Broadway remains dark and will continue to do so until mid-2021.
