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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 10, 2015 18:49:29 GMT -6
variety.com/2015/film/news/beauty-beast-ian-mckellen-cogsworth-1201464763/Ian McKellen to Play Cogsworth in Disney’s ‘Beauty and the Beast’ After portraying a wizard and a mutant in two lucrative franchises, Ian McKellen’s next role will be a piece of furniture. The British thesp is set to play Cogsworth in Disney’s live-action retelling of “Beauty and the Beast,” starring Emma Watson, Variety can exclusively reveal. Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Josh Gad and Emma Thompson also star. Bill Condon is directing from a script written by Evan Spiliotopoulos and rewritten by Stephen Chbosky. David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films are producing. Production will begin later this year for a Mar. 17, 2017 release. In the original Disney movie, Cogsworth was the Beast’s loyal butler, who was transformed into a clock by a curse that overtook the castle. The studio’s 1991 animated feature version of “Beauty and the Beast” grossed more than $375 million worldwide, spawned a Broadway play and became one of the few animated films to receive a best picture Oscar nomination. Disney has several live-action reboots of classic tales on the horizon, including “Mulan,” “Winnie the Pooh,” “Dumbo,” “Pinocchio,” “The Jungle Book” and “Pete’s Dragon.” McKellen recently reprised his role of Gandalf in “The Hobbit: the Battle of the Five Armies” and can be seen next in Condon’s “Mr. Holmes,” hitting theaters on July 17. He is repped by CAA and Independent Talent Group.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 14, 2015 11:10:15 GMT -6
variety.com/2015/film/news/beauty-and-the-beast-gugu-mbatha-raw-plumette-1201470581/‘Beyond the Lights’ Star Gugu Mbatha-Raw Joins ‘Beauty and the Beast’ “Beyond the Lights” star Gugu Mbatha-Raw has been tapped to play the feather duster Plumette in Disney’s live-action adaptation of “Beauty and the Beast” starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens. Luke Evans (Gaston), Josh Gadd (LeFou), Ian McKellen (Cogsworth), and Emma Thompson (Mrs. Potts) also star. Bill Condon is directing from a script written by Evan Spiliotopoulos and rewritten by Stephen Chbosky. David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films are producing. Mbatha-Raw’s character has gone through several iterations in the Disney canon, with the flirty feather duster previously called both Babette and Fifi in other versions of the story. Production will begin this year for a March 17, 2017, release. The studio’s 1991 animated feature “Beauty and the Beast” grossed more than $375 million worldwide, spawning a Broadway play and becoming the first animated film to score an Oscar nomination for best picture. Disney has several live-action reboots of classic tales on the horizon, including “Mulan,” “Winnie the Pooh,” “Dumbo,” “Pinocchio” and “The Jungle Book.” Mbatha-Raw was most recently seen in “Jupiter Ascending” and is currently filming “Free State of Jones” opposite Matthew McConaughey. She is repped by CAA, Curtis Brown Group and Authentic.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 22, 2015 10:35:56 GMT -6
variety.com/2015/film/news/stanley-tucci-beauty-and-the-beast-casting-1201476986/Stanley Tucci Rounds Out Cast of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ Stanley Tucci has closed a deal to join the cast of Disney’s live-action retelling of “Beauty and the Beast” starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens. Tucci will be playing Cadenza the grand piano, a new character to the realm who is described as a neurotic maestro. Luke Evans, Ian McKellen, Emma Thompson and Ewan McGregor also star. Bill Condon is directing, with David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman of Mandeville Films producing. The script was written by Evan Spiliotopoulos and rewritten by Steve Chbosky. Production will begin later this year. The studio has set a March 17, 2017, release for the pic. The studio’s 1991 animated feature version of “Beauty and the Beast” grossed more than $375 million worldwide, spawned a Broadway play and became one of the few animated pics to receive a best picture Oscar nomination. Disney has several reboots of classic tales on the horizon, including retellings of “The Jungle Book” “Mulan” and “Winnie the Pooh.” Tucci has recently been seen on the Pivot drama “Fortitude,” which was just renewed for a second season. He has a handful of films set to bow this year, including the drama “Spotlight” and “The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2.” He is repped by CAA and the Curtis Brown Group.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 22, 2015 10:45:50 GMT -6
www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/ewan-mcgregor-play-lumiere-beauty-790480Ewan McGregor to Play Lumiere in 'Beauty and the Beast' McGregor joins an all-star lineup that includes Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as the Beast/Prince and Luke Evans as the vain villain Gaston. Ewan McGregor is in final negotiations to light up the screen as Lumiere in Disney’s live-action version of Beauty and the Beast. McGregor joins an all-star lineup that includes Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as the Beast/Prince, Luke Evans as the vain villain Gaston, Josh Gad as Le Fou, Gaston’s buffoonish and loyal sidekick, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth and Audra McDonald as Garderobe. Lumiere is one of the movie’s major supporting roles, a suave maitre d’ who is turned into a candelabra by the curse that falls on the prince’s castle. The character appears in a number of musical numbers and has a major solo in the "Be Our Guest" showstopper. Bill Condon is directing the movie, which begins production in May at Shepperton Studios in London. McGregor is on screens with the indie Last Days in the Desert and will be seen later this year starring opposite Natalie Portman in Jane Got a Gun. He has sung onscreen before, notably in 2001 in Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge! He is repped by UTA and United Agents.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Mar 5, 2017 18:38:27 GMT -6
www.cbr.com/russia-ban-beauty-beast-gay-content/RUSSIA MAY BAN BEAUTY AND THE BEAST OVER GAY CONTENT by Kevin Melrose No sooner was it revealed that the live-action “Beauty and the Beast” includes the first openly gay character in Disney history than a drive-in theater in Alabama announced it won’t screen the film. Now it appears as if the objections could expand to overseas. BBC News reports Russian government officials are calling for the remake of the 1991 animated classic to be banned if it violates that country’s controversial 2013 law that prohibits spreading of “gay propaganda” to minors. Director Bill Condon revealed this week that Josh Gad’s LeFou, the sidekick of the villain Gaston, will have his own subplot that addresses the character’s sexuality. “LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston,” Condon said. “He’s confused about what he wants. It’s somebody who’s just realizing that he has these feelings. And Josh makes something really subtle and delicious out of it. And that’s what has its payoff at the end, which I don’t want to give away. But it is a nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie.” Vitaly Milonov, a member of Russia’s parliament, urged Culture Minister Vladimir Medinsky to screen “Beauty and the Beast” before its planned release in Russia to ensure it complies with the country’s laws. If Medinsky discovers “elements of propaganda of homosexuality,” Milonov said he should “take measures to totally ban” it. “Beauty and the Beast” stars Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as the Beast, Luke Evans as Gaston, Kevin Kline as Mauricer, Josh Gad as Lefou, Ewan McGregor as Lumiere, Stanley Tucci as Maestro Cadenza, Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Plumette, Audra McDonald as Madame Garderobe, Ian McKellen as Cogsworth, and Emma Thompson as Mrs. Potts. The film opens March 17 in North America, and, supposedly, March 16 in Russia.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Mar 5, 2017 21:41:55 GMT -6
www.cbr.com/theater-refuses-to-screen-beauty-and-the-beast-gay-character/THEATER REFUSES TO SCREEN BEAUTY AND THE BEAST DUE TO GAY CHARACTER A drive-in theater in Alabama has decided not to screen Disney’s live-action “Beauty and the Beast” following the revelation that one of the film’s characters is gay. Henagar Drive-In Theatre made the announcement on Facebook in the wake of news that Josh Gad’s character, LeFou, would be the first openly gay character to feature in a Disney film. Henagar’s new owner took announced the decision, citing their religious beliefs as the reason the drive-in will opt not to screen the movie. “When companies continually force their views on us we need to take a stand. We all make choices and I am making mine,” the owner wrote. “For those that do not know Beauty and the Beast is ‘premiering’ their first homosexual character. The producer also says at the end of the movie ‘there will be a surprise for same-sex couples’. If we can not take our 11 year old grand daughter and 8 year old grandson to see a movie we have no business watching it. If I can’t sit through a movie with God or Jesus sitting by me then we have no business showing it. I know there will be some that do not agree with this decision. That’s fine. We are first and foremost Christians. We will not compromise on what the Bible teaches. We will continue to show family oriented films so you can feel free to come watch wholesome movies without worrying about sex, nudity, homosexuality and foul language. Thank you for your support!” The “payoff” the theater owner’s post refers to is a scene at the end of the film, where LeFou is shown dancing with another man. “LeFou is somebody who on one day wants to be Gaston and on another day wants to kiss Gaston,” director Bill Condon said of Gad’s character. “He’s confused about what he wants. It’s somebody who’s just realising that he has these feelings. And Josh makes something really subtle and delicious out of it. And that’s what has its payoff at the end, which I don’t want to give away. But it is a nice, exclusively gay moment in a Disney movie.” Disney has not yet commented on the situation.
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