Award-winning musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is to be made into a major film by Sheffield-based production company Warp Films, completing the fairy-tale journey from a 16-year-old approaching a documentary maker to hit West End Show and now the big screen.
Warp Films (This Is England, Ghost Stories, The Last Panthers), known for distinctive award-winning film and television, will be revealing further details about the film on Wednesday 30 May at a live launch event at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
The film, directed by Jonathan Butterell, written by Tom MacRae and with music by Dan Gillespie Sells, will be inspired by the musical and is being developed in conjunction with Film4. Filming is expected to commence in spring 2019.
Jonathan Butterell, director of the stage production and film said:
“I couldn’t be more thrilled that Warp are producing the film of Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. We were inspired by Jamie Campbell to tell this open-hearted story of a boy looking to take his place in the world without shame or prejudice supported by the unflinching love of his Mum. Warp Films, like Sheffield, the city in which they were founded, reflect the diverse and vibrant city that we chose to set our story in. For me it’s a coming home.”
Mark Herbert, joint CEO and producer, Warp Films said: “Everyone at Warp Films went to see the show in Sheffield and instantly fell in love with it. Two weeks later Jonathan, the director, and Dan, the composer, were sat in our Sheffield offices talking about how we could adapt the show into a film. It ticks every box for a Warp Film; a great central character; diversity at its core; and a massive amount of heart. We can’t wait to start”
Jonathan Butterell saw the Firecracker documentary film ‘Jamie: Drag Queen at 16’ the true story of Jamie Campbell and his mother, Margaret. This inspired him to create Everybody’s Talking About Jamie which is a dramatised portrayal of a period in Jamie’s life.
The musical opened at the Sheffield Crucible in 2017 and is now playing at the Apollo Theatre in the West End, currently booking until 6 April 2019.
A host of five-star reviews, seven theatre awards and five Olivier Award nominations later, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie has released an official cast album and is being screened live from the Apollo Theatre to over 510 cinemas across the UK and Ireland by More2Screen on Thursday 5 July 2018, followed by a worldwide roll-out in the autumn. The official West End cast album was released digitally worldwide and on CD in the UK in April 2018.
