Amazon Studios has successfully acquired the worldwide distribution rights to 20th Century Studios‘ film adaptation of the hit West End musical Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. Originally scheduled for a 2021 theatrical release, the film has now been slated to make its debut on September 17, 2021, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video.
“Everybody’s Talking About Jamie has quickly become one of the most beloved musicals of recent years,” Head of Amazon Studios, Jennifer Salke said in a statement. “Jamie’s story is one that resonates across all generations – it’s about unconditional love, and we know our global audiences will fall in love with Jamie as he overcomes adversity to truly find his authentic self. We are so thrilled to share this joyful and inspirational story with the world.”
The announcement also came with the release of a new teaser which you can check out below, highlighting newcomer Max Harwood as the titular 16-year-old high school student who dreams of becoming a drag queen. The coming-of-age musical pic was initially set to debut last year but was pushed back to 2021 due to the ongoing pandemic. Earlier this year, it was again delayed and removed from the theatrical release calendar of 20th Century Studios.
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Inspired by true events, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie follows Jamie New (Harwood), a teenager from Sheffield, who dreams of life on stage. While his classmates plan their livelihoods after leaving school, Jamie contemplates revealing his secret career ambition to become a fierce and proud drag queen. His best friend Pritti (Patel) and his loving mum (Lancashire) shower him with endless support, while local drag legend Miss Loco Chanelle (Grant) mentors him toward his debut stage performance. But Jamie also has to contend with an unsupportive father (Ineson), an uninspired careers advisor (Horgan), and some ignorant school kids who attempt to rain on his sensational parade. In rousing and colorful musical numbers, Jamie and his community inspire one another to overcome prejudice, be more accepting, and to step out of the darkness into the spotlight.
The film stars newcomer Max Harwood, Sarah Lancashire, Lauren Patel, Shobna Gulati, Ralph Ineson, Adeel Akhtar, Samuel Bottomley, with Sharon Horgan and Richard E. Grant.
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The stage production’s director, Jonathan Butterell, is making his feature directorial debut from the screenplay and lyrics by Tom MacRae. It will feature songs by Dan Gillespie Sells and a score composed by Sells and Anne Dudley. Mark Herbert, p.g.a, Peter Carlton, p.g.a, and Arnon Milchan are producing with Yariv Milchan, Michael Schaefer, Natalie Lehmann, Daniel Battsek, Ollie Madden, Peter Balm, Niall Shamma, and Jes Wilkins serving as executive producers.
Everybody’s Talking About Jamie film and the musical play are both inspired by Jenny Popplewell’s 2011 TV documentary titled Jamie: Drag Queen at 16. The film is also expected to feature the hit songs from the musical including ‘And You Don’t Even Know It,’ ‘The Wall In My Head’ and ‘Everybody’s Talking About Jamie’ as well as an exclusive new song ‘This Was Me,’ performed by Holly Johnson, lead singer of Frankie Goes to Hollywood.
