Lin-Manuel Miranda began writing what would become In the Heights as a university student. The musical play would launch him as a playwright and performer. Now, 20 years later, a movie version is in theaters for its first weekend. Miranda said like other artists, he was driven by ambition but also by something else. “It was a lot of fear, honestly,” Miranda said in a recent interview. “I was 18, 19 and starting to study theater. The fear was: I’m going into a field that has no space for me, that has no roles for me. It was sort of that thing of: No one’s going to write your dream show.” In the Heights opened on June 10. It celebrates many things: the Latino immigrant experience, neighborhood communities in New York City and life itself. The movie was supposed to be released last June, but was delayed by the coronavirus health crisis. The film’s director, however, thinks the delay was not necessarily a bad thing. Moviegoers might be ready for some energetic music, singing and dancing after a year of restricted life. In the Heights Director Jon M. Chu calls the movie, “a vaccine of joy.” “On the first day of shooting, we all got in a circle and I was like: Let go of all the pressure. Let’s just entertain…these people,” Chu remembers. On Wednesday, In the Heights played at the Tribeca Film Festival with showings across New York City. It has won praise from critics. The filmmakers hope In the Heights can be for Latinos what Black Panther was for Black Americans and what Crazy Rich Asians was for Asian Americans. Hispanics are the largest minority in the United States. They make up an even larger percentage of moviegoers. But, the minority is underrepresented in Hollywood productions. Chu said, in the end, it is moviegoers who decide. Crazy Rich Asians, which Chu also directed, was a surprise pop culture hit that led to changes in the movie industry. In the Heights tells a story about a Dominican-American store owner Usnavi who dreams of returning to the Caribbean area. Miranda himself played Usnavi in the theater version. Actor Anthony Ramos, a native of New York City’s Bushwick area, performs the part in the movie. Ramos said he experienced many of the things shown in the movie. “There are shots of the food that I grew up eating, the music that I grew up listening to,” he said. A sense of responsibility weighed on Ramos during the filming in Washington Heights. Before shooting, Ramos would shout to the crew: “For the culture!” a custom he learned from director Spike Lee while working on one of his movies. “It meant that we are all here, in this moment, doing this film and telling this story for something that is way bigger than any [of] us,” said Ramos. “This is for everybody who had to sacrifice, who had to break doors open.”
Title: ‘In the Heights:’ A Musical Visit to New York's Hispanic Neighborhood
Content: <div id='article-page'><div id='article-content' data-media-url='//news-app-staging.s3.amazonaws.com' data-base-url='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/B.wav' data-capture-url='//staging.analytics.lingraphica.com/events/capture_news' data-article-title='In the Heights: A Musical Visit to New York's Hispanic Neighborhood' data-article-id='5693'><script src='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/javascripts/getscripts.js'></script><link rel='stylesheet' href='//news-app-staging.herokuapp.com/stylesheets/article.css' type='text/css' /><div class='article'><p><span data-start-time='0' data-end-time='7729'>Lin-Manuel Miranda began writing what would become In the Heights as a university student.</span> <span data-start-time='7729' data-end-time='13313'>The musical play would launch him as a playwright and performer. </span> <span data-start-time='13313' data-end-time='20229'>Now, 20 years later, a movie version is in theaters for its first weekend.</span> <span data-start-time='20229' data-end-time='28646'>Miranda said like other artists, he was driven by ambition but also by something else.</span> <span data-start-time='28646' data-end-time='34604'>“It was a lot of fear, honestly,” Miranda said in a recent interview. </span> <span data-start-time='34604' data-end-time='39583'>“I was 18, 19 and starting to study theater. </span> <span data-start-time='39583' data-end-time='47042'>The fear was: I’m going into a field that has no space for me, that has no roles for me. </span> <span data-start-time='47042' data-end-time='49042'>It was sort of that thing of: </span> <span data-start-time='49042' data-end-time='51646'>No one’s going to write your dream show.”</span> <span data-start-time='51646' data-end-time='55667'>In the Heights opened on June 10. </span> <span data-start-time='55667' data-end-time='66396'>It celebrates many things: the Latino immigrant experience, neighborhood communities in New York City and life itself.</span> <span data-start-time='66396' data-end-time='75979'>The movie was supposed to be released last June, but was delayed by the coronavirus health crisis. </span> <span data-start-time='75979' data-end-time='84167'>The film’s director, however, thinks the delay was not necessarily a bad thing. </span> <span data-start-time='84167' data-end-time='95646'>Moviegoers might be ready for some energetic music, singing and dancing after a year of restricted life.</span> <span data-start-time='95646' data-end-time='103375'>In the Heights Director Jon M. Chu calls the movie, “a vaccine of joy.”</span> <span data-start-time='103375' data-end-time='111354'>“On the first day of shooting, we all got in a circle and I was like: Let go of all the pressure. </span> <span data-start-time='111354' data-end-time='116042'>Let’s just entertain…these people,” Chu remembers.</span> <span data-start-time='116042' data-end-time='125792'>On Wednesday, In the Heights played at the Tribeca Film Festival with showings across New York City. </span> <span data-start-time='125792' data-end-time='129292'>It has won praise from critics.</span> <span data-start-time='129292' data-end-time='144167'>The filmmakers hope In the Heights can be for Latinos what Black Panther was for Black Americans and what Crazy Rich Asians was for Asian Americans. </span> <span data-start-time='144167' data-end-time='149167'>Hispanics are the largest minority in the United States. </span> <span data-start-time='149167' data-end-time='154521'>They make up an even larger percentage of moviegoers. </span> <span data-start-time='154521' data-end-time='160479'>But, the minority is underrepresented in Hollywood productions.</span> <span data-start-time='160479' data-end-time='166125'>Chu said, in the end, it is moviegoers who decide. </span> <span data-start-time='166125' data-end-time='176854'>Crazy Rich Asians, which Chu also directed, was a surprise pop culture hit that led to changes in the movie industry.</span> <span data-start-time='176854' data-end-time='187354'>In the Heights tells a story about a Dominican-American store owner Usnavi who dreams of returning to the Caribbean area. </span> <span data-start-time='187354' data-end-time='192250'>Miranda himself played Usnavi in the theater version. </span> <span data-start-time='192250' data-end-time='200604'>Actor Anthony Ramos, a native of New York City’s Bushwick area, performs the part in the movie.</span> <span data-start-time='200604' data-end-time='205958'>Ramos said he experienced many of the things shown in the movie. </span> <span data-start-time='205958' data-end-time='212958'>“There are shots of the food that I grew up eating, the music that I grew up listening to,” he said.</span> <span data-start-time='212958' data-end-time='220104'>A sense of responsibility weighed on Ramos during the filming in Washington Heights. </span> <span data-start-time='220104' data-end-time='231708'>Before shooting, Ramos would shout to the crew: “For the culture!” a custom he learned from director Spike Lee while working on one of his movies.</span> <span data-start-time='231708' data-end-time='242958'>“It meant that we are all here, in this moment, doing this film and telling this story for something that is way bigger than any [of] us,” said Ramos. </span> <span data-start-time='242958' data-end-time='248750'>“This is for everybody who had to sacrifice, who had to break doors open.”</span> </p></div><div class='control-buttons-sticky' style='display:none;'><div class='control-buttons'><button title='Back' class='back' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Play' class='play' disabled='disabled'></button><button title='Pause' class='pause' style='display:none;'></button><button title='Forward' class='forward' disabled='disabled'></button><button class='finished-reading' style='display:none;'>Done</button></div></div></div><div id='article-media'><div id='media-image'><img src='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/B.jpeg'/></div></div><div id='question-content' style='display:none;'><div class='vocabulary_question question-container' data-question-id=17581 data-hint-location='20229' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/what_does_ambition_mean.wav'>What does ambition mean?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/a_strong_desire_to_do_or_to_achieve_something_typically_requiring_determination_and_hard_work.wav'><span>a strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/a_strong_feeling_that_something_is_about_to_happen_especially_something_unpleasant.wav'><span>a strong feeling that something is about to happen, especially something unpleasant</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/the_fact_or_condition_of_being_addicted_to_a_particular_substance_thing_or_activity.wav'><span>the fact or condition of being addicted to a particular substance, thing, or activity</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/a_large_motor_vehicle_carrying_passengers_by_road.wav'><span>a large motor vehicle carrying passengers by road</span></div></div></div><div class='multiple_choice_question question-container' data-question-id=17582 data-hint-location='166125' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/which_is_another_movie_directed_by_director_jon_m_chu.wav'>Which is another movie directed by Director Jon M. Chu?</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='Crazy Rich Asians'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/crazy_rich_asians.wav'><span>Crazy Rich Asians</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/pulp_fiction.wav'><span>Pulp Fiction</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/saving_private_ryan.wav'><span>Saving Private Ryan</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/sleepless_in_seattle.wav'><span>Sleepless In Seattle</span></div></div></div><div class='sentence_completion_question question-container' data-question-id=17583 data-hint-location='125792' style='display:none;'><div class='question' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/it_has_won_praise_from__blank_.wav'>It has won praise from <span class='blank'>critics</span>.</div><div class='choices' data-correct-choice='critics'><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/critics.wav'><span>critics</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/chefs.wav'><span>chefs</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/doctors.wav'><span>doctors</span></div><div class='choice' data-sound-name='https://news-app-production.s3.amazonaws.com/articles/5155/astronauts.wav'><span>astronauts</span></div></div></div><div class='question-buttons'><button class='skip-button'></button><button class='hint-button'></button><button class='speak-button'></button></div></div></div>
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