We'll Do It Live: Actors Are Singing for Real in Behind-the-Scenes 'Les Miserables' Trailer

I learned something new today. Never really giving much thought to how movie musicals were made, I assumed that actors were also prerecorded performing songs and then lip-synched to those recordings during filming. In most case, it would appear that I would be right. Turns out director Tom Hooper's Les Misérables is doing things differently though. In a behind-the-scenes trailer released today, the film's actors — Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway, Russell Crowe, Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne — reveal that they're actually singing for real in all the film's takes. Kind of impressive. Everyone is wearing a hidden earpiece to hear a keyboard accompanist, so try to spot those earpieces when you see the movie.

Hooper's last film, The King's Speech, won both the Oscar for Best Picture and Best Director in 2011, so pay attention to Les Misérables. The film currently ranks at No. 3 on the OscarIndex. Bad news, though — Hooper brought Helena Bonham Carter along with him for this movie too. I just don't get her appeal.