The cast of “In the Heights” including Anthony Ramos (Usnavi de la Vega), Jimmy Smits (Kevin Rosario), Dascha Polanco (Cuca), Corey Hawkins (Benny), Melissa Barrera (Vanessa), Leslie Grace (Nina), Daphne Rubin-Vega (Daniela), Gregory Diaz IV (Sonny), Olga Merediz (Abuela Claudia) and director Jon M. Chu discuss their new Lin-Manuel Miranda musical movie adaptation in this interview with CinemaBlend’s Corey Chichizola. Find out why Anthony Ramos prefers "In the Heights" over Lin-Manuel Miranda's "Hamilton" and more!
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 (record scratching)
00:02 - Join us together. - Stop it!
00:04 - Phone call, lot of office.
00:05 We sold a winner yesterday.
00:07 - What's the payout?
00:08 - 96,000.
00:09 - Dollars?
00:10 Holla!
00:11 (cash register dings)
00:13 - Hi folks.
00:14 Congratulations.
00:15 This movie is poppin'.
00:16 I'm so excited for people to see it and fall in love.
00:19 Corey, I'd like to start with you.
00:21 One of the things that really strikes out with me
00:23 about this movie is how elevated and magical it is.
00:26 I mean, you get involved in some of the kind of trippiest
00:29 coolest sequences between, you know, your song at the end
00:33 and then 96,000 and that, all that animation that happens.
00:37 Could you speak to what it was like working
00:39 with those fantastical elements and trying to nail
00:42 the choreography for those like animation moments?
00:46 - Oh, wow.
00:46 Yeah, I'll speak, I actually speak about 96,000
00:49 because we haven't really talked a lot about that.
00:53 But like, I remember, you know, being with the guys
00:56 and like, you know, we found this street
00:58 that like leads to the pool and John was like,
01:00 "Yeah, so we just gonna kind of, you know,
01:02 figure it out with it."
01:03 He had this vision of this, of the story
01:06 from the very beginning, both the, you know,
01:09 at the very end when the sun goes down
01:12 and all the other, like these huge moments.
01:14 But he also allowed us to kind of like tweak 'em
01:18 and just be ourselves and bring whatever we,
01:21 ideas we thought we could bring to it.
01:23 So like, you know, the whole being, like walking down,
01:26 I mean, we did it a thousand times because it had to be-
01:29 - I can only imagine.
01:30 - It had to be perfect.
01:31 Like it was like all of the animation and like,
01:34 we didn't know what it was gonna be.
01:35 Like we were just like- - That blew my mind.
01:37 - Yeah, like all in the reaction.
01:38 - I didn't know what that was gonna be.
01:39 - Yeah, it just, it surprised us.
01:41 And when we finally saw it, we were like,
01:42 "Wow, it actually worked."
01:44 'Cause at first it was gonna be something bigger,
01:46 all these colors.
01:47 And when we hit the golf club and all of this
01:48 different stuff and then he found a way to simplify it
01:52 and just do just enough, just what the story called for.
01:55 So, but that's just the genius of Jon Chu.
01:57 Like he gets that, he understands that
02:01 and lets us go and dream and be our biggest selves on screen
02:05 and dream our biggest dreams, you know?
02:08 - It was cool.
02:09 We just had to use our imagination.
02:10 It was cool to see like this element be added
02:15 into the film, right?
02:17 This, and this use of VFX and this use of like,
02:20 you know, Leslie and Corey scene where the building
02:22 is on the side and we see them dance
02:24 on the side of a building, of they dancing
02:27 and you see their feet on the window
02:29 and the kid is like, you know, looking out the window
02:31 like, "Yo, are these people dancing
02:33 on the side of this building?"
02:33 Like, you know, to see, you know,
02:37 it's not often that we get to see body roles
02:39 and we get to see neighborhoods like Washington Heights
02:42 or like even the one I grew up in Bushwick
02:44 and many neighborhoods all across New York,
02:46 especially profoundly, you know,
02:47 black and brown neighborhoods be portrayed in that way
02:52 in a musical and it was just so beautiful to see that
02:57 and to see John just really like, you know,
03:03 push the boundaries when Melissa's running through the street
03:05 and you see the garments, you see the cloths falling,
03:10 you know, beautifully off of the top of these buildings
03:14 and they represent her dreams falling off these buildings
03:17 that are so familiar to her.
03:18 Like, you know, that for me added a whole vibe
03:23 to the movie that I didn't even know
03:26 was gonna be in there until we, you know,
03:28 until we started shooting and John was telling her,
03:31 "This woman is gonna have this 96,000,
03:33 you're gonna create this golf club."
03:35 And, you know, so I loved it, I loved it.
03:37 - John had told us beforehand, I mean, really, really early
03:41 in the process before we even started shooting
03:43 when we were in rehearsals,
03:45 just kind of going through the motions
03:48 that he wanted to add this animation aspect to it.
03:52 And he showed us a video and immediately Anthony, Noah,
03:57 Corey and I just fell in love with the concept
04:00 and couldn't wait to see it.
04:01 ♪ 96,000, I finally fixed housing ♪
04:04 ♪ The rent is escalating ♪
04:05 ♪ The rich are penetrating ♪
04:07 ♪ We pay our corporations when we should be demonstrating ♪
04:12 - What's up, Corey? - Hey, great.
04:14 - Love some of the blends.
04:16 - Oh, we'll be right back.
04:18 I was wondering if you could speak
04:20 to why it was important for you to kind of add
04:22 these fantastical elements to the movie.
04:26 - Well, it was never about adding big moments to this movie.
04:30 It was always about going internal, actually.
04:33 It was always about,
04:34 "Hey, we're not gonna have a villain in this.
04:36 There's not gonna be guns and knives
04:37 and we're not gonna be fighting gentrification.
04:40 Like this is post-gentrification.
04:41 Things are changing already."
04:43 The question of what are you gonna do now?
04:45 That was a more interesting question,
04:47 that everyone had different solutions for that.
04:50 However, once you get into that,
04:53 and Usnabi's telling this story to children,
04:55 and he says the streets were made of music.
04:58 Now we give ourselves permission to use this language
05:01 of movement and music to express whatever we want.
05:05 And each individual character can use it however they want.
05:08 So if you're Vanessa and you want us to feel
05:10 what it feels like to feel trapped and unseen and unheard,
05:14 then you can run on that street in the middle of traffic
05:17 and scream at the top of your lungs
05:19 and no one noticed you one for one second.
05:22 And you're not gonna cry 'cause you don't cry.
05:24 So instead, tapestry's gonna fall from the buildings
05:26 in all colors and patterns.
05:28 And we're gonna feel the impact of that as big as it is,
05:31 because we know how it feels to feel trapped.
05:34 And then we're gonna pull out of her eye
05:35 and realize she hasn't gone anywhere.
05:37 That's to me, the perfect expression
05:41 why a musical should exist in the first place.
05:43 And so we just try to do that
05:44 for every character in every song.
05:46 - This is me.
05:47 - Melissa, your character's story
05:49 got really fleshed out as well.
05:50 And we learned more about Vanessa's dreams.
05:52 What was it like bringing that new element to the story?
05:56 - I loved it.
05:57 I thought it was a great gift
05:59 to be able to know her a little bit more.
06:01 And the fact that I'm the first person
06:06 that gets to live out these new sides of Vanessa
06:10 was a beautiful thing.
06:11 And it gave me so much to work with.
06:13 And it made it so much easier
06:17 for me to make this character my own,
06:19 because it was, you know,
06:23 I think Vanessa in the musical,
06:26 she's a little bit of a mystery.
06:27 You don't really know a lot about her.
06:29 You know she wants to leave, but you don't know why.
06:31 And so getting to know a little bit
06:33 about her dreams and her ambitions is, I think, beautiful.
06:37 And it goes to show how every character,
06:41 every character has dreams
06:42 and they're all equally as important.
06:44 - I saw "In the Heights" first.
06:45 I saw it on Broadway.
06:46 I was like a huge fan.
06:47 So when "Hamilton" came out, I kept being like,
06:49 "Y'all are sleeping on the show."
06:51 That came out first.
06:53 So now that, you know, "Hamilton" went crazy again
06:57 last summer with your performance.
06:59 For those folks who loved "Hamilton,"
07:01 who don't know "In the Heights,"
07:02 what do you think is gonna really bring people in?
07:05 - Well, number one, it's the same guy
07:07 that wrote both of them, right?
07:09 So it's the same guy.
07:11 Bruno Mars, 24K Magic hits.
07:13 We trying to hear the next record, right?
07:14 So it's like, you know, it's, you know, this is Lin.
07:18 But this, you know, it's funny because like you said,
07:20 this was Lin's first baby.
07:22 This was this, you know, and this one took him longer.
07:26 If I'm remembering correctly, you know,
07:28 eight years as opposed to six, you know,
07:30 that "Hamilton" took, you know.
07:32 And, you know, I think there's something so special
07:35 about this show because not only is it personal
07:39 to the person who wrote it and made it, right?
07:41 Like more personal, right?
07:42 Like I think, you know, Lin took a story
07:45 from a book with "Hamilton"
07:46 and really created it into this fantastical thing
07:49 with these larger than life concepts
07:52 and, you know, and with a casting that broke barriers
07:56 and really like showed the world that, you know,
07:58 we can tell this story that's always been told
08:00 this one way, this way, you know,
08:03 and that reflects the world nowadays.
08:06 But for people who love "Hamilton"
08:07 and haven't seen "In the Heights,"
08:09 you know, this is, I think, on a more,
08:12 on a, this story is a story that we,
08:17 this is the film, this is a piece of art
08:19 that I've never seen.
08:20 The kid in me has never seen the movie going child in me
08:25 has never watched a film like this.
08:27 - Right.
08:29 - This post and the music that we hear
08:33 and the combination of Latinos from all over the world
08:38 and like how colorful this cast is
08:40 and this vibe and this music
08:42 that feels like the music we listen to right now.
08:44 And, you know, and feels,
08:48 and the story just feels so current.
08:50 I think, you know, people have a lot to look forward to,
08:52 you know, especially folks who have seen "Hamilton"
08:54 and loved it.
08:55 I'm like, yo, this film is, you know, dare I say,
08:58 I mean, this is my favorite piece of Lin's, you know,
09:01 without that, if I, without-
09:04 - I've had that hot, I've had that hot take as well.
09:07 Don't worry, I'm with you.
09:09 I'm definitely, I'm like controversial opinion
09:11 and "Nice" is like my number one, but you know.
09:14 - You know you love me?
09:16 - I was very curious to see if there were any points
09:18 where "Sunrise" was involved in the movie
09:22 or if you tried to fight for that song.
09:24 'Cause I just think that one is just so gorgeous.
09:26 - Oh man.
09:27 - We all love "Sunrise."
09:30 - Yeah.
09:31 - Like, we were all upset about that song
09:34 not being in this adaptation,
09:36 but we knew that there were gonna,
09:39 there's so many beautiful songs in this musical.
09:41 We knew that some of them
09:42 weren't gonna be able to make it in.
09:43 Like, Nina doesn't have a mom in this version.
09:46 And, you know, we feel like a lot of those decisions that,
09:51 you know, obviously very hard decisions
09:52 that John, Lin, Piara had to make
09:55 in order to make our movie, you know, fit.
10:00 They amplified and only like heightened the stakes
10:05 for every character.
10:06 And also really made the moments where you do get
10:10 to see them in these, in songs like, you know,
10:14 when the sun goes down, when you're home.
10:17 And like, they made those moments so important
10:20 and made us give all of our characters,
10:23 like their due emotion and like bring all of us,
10:28 they made us bring us, you know, all of ourselves
10:30 to our characters in the moments that they did have
10:33 their song or their songs,
10:36 because we knew that, you know,
10:38 you weren't gonna be able to get the full,
10:40 full context of a sunrise, you know.
10:43 - Yeah, well, I think it did, it succeeds so well.
10:46 Like there's all this stuff gets cut,
10:47 but yet the characters feel deeper.
10:49 So I think that is really interesting.
10:51 And-
10:52 - That's to Piara's, you know, genius writing as well.
10:55 And like them going back and forth with us.
10:57 Lynn also giving us context to how he wrote
11:00 and what he envisioned for every song
11:01 and what each line tells of every character.
11:05 - Right.
11:05 - It made us dig deeper, you know.
11:07 - Any songs or moments that didn't make it into the movie
11:11 that you wish, oh, if we just had an extra,
11:14 however many minutes we could squeeze this bad boy in.
11:16 - So many, so many.
11:18 But you know, I love that you talk about moments
11:21 because that's what makes all these, you know,
11:23 the moment where Usnavi looks out the window
11:25 and we're pushing in and it's, you know,
11:27 that shot is sort of a meet me in St. Louis,
11:30 that everything's framed in that movie.
11:32 It's about home and we're pushing in on him
11:34 and he's looking out and he's yearning for something.
11:36 And there's a glass in front of him,
11:38 he's trapping him in his bodega.
11:40 And yet the reflection in it is his community.
11:42 And they're not just like being solemn.
11:44 They're actually daring him to break that glass.
11:47 They're daring him to dream bigger.
11:49 And so I love those kinds of moments,
11:51 that pressure that we get to feel there.
11:52 There are moments where him and Nina
11:55 have some scenes together that were just so adorable
11:57 'cause they're basically brother and sister
11:59 talking about the future.
12:00 And she says to him like,
12:02 "How do you know it's gonna be the same
12:04 "when you get back to the DR?"
12:05 And he's like, "It's fine,
12:06 "it's gonna be the same when he gets out."
12:08 We didn't need it, but I loved seeing them together.
12:11 So some of these character pairings,
12:13 even Jimmy Smiths and Corey,
12:16 they had some scenes together that were really adorable
12:19 that I thought was great.
12:20 But you know, we already had a long movie,
12:22 so we had to make some choices.
12:24 - When this project was coming together
12:25 and it came out that you were playing Kevin Rosario,
12:27 I was like, "That casting is unbelievable."
12:32 So, you know, I was so excited.
12:34 - Come on, Corey, you said, "What?"
12:36 - No way, man.
12:38 - He can't sing?
12:40 - Well, I mean, it was nice to hear you singing the voice
12:43 in the opening number.
12:44 (laughing)
12:45 ♪ Morning Usnavi ♪
12:48 - Nice voice, by the way.
12:50 - Beautiful.
12:51 - And I was kind of ready.
12:52 I didn't know which songs were gonna,
12:54 were switching or switching order.
12:56 I didn't know what the Matt Inouye was gonna be in the song.
13:01 Was there ever a part of you that wanted to dig your teeth
13:05 into Kevin's big number in the musical?
13:09 - Oh, Corey, so you obviously got that musical thing
13:12 happening, which is so cool.
13:14 It's a wonderful thing that you're talking about
13:19 with regards to the iteration and change
13:22 from the Broadway musical, which is two and a half hours,
13:27 to this film version that we have
13:31 that has become, with Kiara's draft,
13:36 Lynn and Kiara's work was expanded
13:41 and become much more current in terms of the themes.
13:45 I mean, the basic storyline is there
13:49 with the neighborhood and all of those things.
13:51 And then John's visualization on a cinematic level,
13:55 and these odes that you have, that you talked about, Corey,
13:59 in terms of old Hollywood and what audiences.
14:02 I was totally fine when I saw that script.
14:07 I said, "This, they found a way to, they cracked this nut,
14:12 "this nut, which is a gem to begin with,
14:14 "but they found a way to really crack this nut."
14:16 So I just, I can't wait for our little,
14:21 this is our little joy as the pandemic,
14:24 as we open up in the pandemic,
14:25 and hopefully people will get to see it in theaters.
14:30 But it was a joy to work on.
14:33 - Olga, I was so pleased to see you back in this role,
14:37 but like many characters in the movie,
14:39 Abel Acadia's story goes down a little different,
14:41 the timing of Paciencia Fé is a little later.
14:45 And I just, just wondering how it felt for you,
14:47 what your process was like in this new version of the story.
14:51 - Well, you know, when you're used to doing it one way,
14:54 and then you have to kind of adapt and go with the flow.
14:58 But I think the way the movie,
15:01 and the way they decided to give that little surprise
15:05 of the placement of Paciencia Fé,
15:07 I think it has much more impact now.
15:10 And it's much more powerful.
15:13 For me, it was much more emotional,
15:15 the way the movie has the placement versus the play.
15:20 And, you know, there's some little surprises
15:24 for the people that are fans of the show,
15:28 and a couple of changes.
15:30 But I think that this, John Chu's version is just,
15:35 he really brought it to another,
15:37 a height that I never even imagined
15:40 with his visual creativity and genius.
15:44 It just, we never thought it could be seen this way.
15:49 It's just, he's amazing, you know?
15:53 - There were a lot of actors, you know,
15:55 who like are solid in their chops that participated.
16:00 You know, I think we all came ready, right?
16:03 With "A Game" when you have Lin Kiara
16:06 and John helming a project.
16:10 You know, the difference,
16:12 the first thing that comes to mind is that
16:14 the rehearsal process and the preparation is different.
16:21 So in a way you have to, you know,
16:22 do your preparation ample time prior
16:25 and then kind of keep it idling
16:27 so that when it's go time, it's go time.
16:30 But, you know, this support, you know,
16:34 we had all the support in place.
16:39 - Cuca.
16:41 - Adios, papi.
16:44 - Dasha, I was so excited to meet your new character.
16:48 I loved Cuca.
16:49 I just loved her, you know, eating that ropa vieja,
16:53 watching all the drama happen at dinner.
16:55 I just saw her chow down while everything was going down.
16:58 What was it like creating this new character for the movie?
17:01 - It was fun.
17:02 It was empowering.
17:04 It was a true, you know,
17:08 I did my due diligence to ensure that I showed the light
17:12 of not just a salon woman or part of the salon ladies.
17:17 I wanted it to show the figures of our communities,
17:21 of the women that are constantly there,
17:23 that watch us grow, that raise us,
17:24 that, you know, are the therapist
17:26 who are loved ones then and beyond.
17:28 And so for me, being the life of the party,
17:31 but also celebrating and being led by Daniela,
17:35 Daphne, and Stephanie, it was so, you know,
17:40 it was so free.
17:42 And to see, to look to the left and to look to the right
17:44 and see, wow, this is a really,
17:46 this is a true resemblance of what we are.
17:49 You know, it was so racially diverse and the music,
17:54 the intentions behind, the energies were high,
17:57 the stakes were high,
17:58 but everybody was prepared, like Daphne said,
18:00 and we were ready.
18:02 With the guidance of Lynn, Kiara, and John,
18:04 that just makes the job fluid.
18:08 It makes it just vibe out.
18:09 It's easier for you to just perform.
18:12 - I'm so excited for everyone to see the movie
18:14 and fall in love with this experience.
18:16 Thanks for taking the time.
18:17 - And go have some ropa vieja.
18:18 Go have some ropa vieja.
18:20 - I already placed my order with the in-laws.
18:22 I got out of that movie and I was like,
18:24 I'm gonna need some ropa vieja immediately.
18:26 ♪ Today's all we got ♪
18:27 ♪ So we cannot stop ♪
18:29 ♪ This is a blockhead night ♪
18:32 you
18:34 [BLANK_AUDIO]