Matthew Warchus Drops Out of SLUMDOG Musical

As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Downton Abbey's creator Julian Fellowes is currently in the process of writing the book for an upcoming musical version of the Oscar-winning 2008 film 'Slumdog Millionaire.' Though Ghost and Matitlda's Matthew Warchus was previously rumored to direct the project, the New York Post now writes that he is 'no longer in the mix.'

An insider told NYP: “He said he was not given all the information and didn’t know about the problems with its rights. Once he knew, he immediately decided not to do it.”

Read the original report here.

Slumdog Millionaire tells the story of a Mumbai teen who grows up in the slums, becomes a contestant on the Indian version of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" and is arrested on suspicion of cheating. While being interrogated, events from his life are shown to explain why he knows all the answers. The film stars Dev Patel, Freida Pinto, and Saurabh Shukla, among others.

Warchus' recent projects included a production of Alan Ayckbourn's trilogy of plays The Norman Conquests at London's Old Vic Theatre, Boeing Boeing at New York's Broadhurst Theatre (Tony nomination for Best Director of a Play), a UK tour of the musical Our House and the stage adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, which played the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane from May 2007 through July 2008. In 2010, Warchus directed the acclaimed RSC musical production, Matilda, which transferred to the West End in October 2011. Warchus's production of Ghost: The Musical, a stage adaptation of the Academy Award winning 1990 film, Ghost premiered at the Manchester Opera House in March 2011, and opened at the West End's Piccadilly Theatre in July 2011 where it is still running. The show transferred to Broadway in spring 2012.

Fellowes penned the script to the current West End musical Mary Poppins, produced by Sir Cameron Mackintosh and Disney, which opened on Broadway in December 2006. He wrote the script for Gosford Park, directed by Robert Altman and won the Oscar for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen in 2002. In late 2005, Fellowes made his directorial début with the film Separate Lies.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.