Backstage With… The stars and director of new live-action The Little Mermaid

Published

1 year ago

May 27, 2023

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The Little Mermaid – the cartoon feature-film based on Hans Christian Andersen’s story about a mermaid desperate for life on land – was credited with kicking off Disney’s renaissance in 1989, a period when the company returned to making successful animated movies following something of a slump.

Half set underwater, with big musical numbers and aquatic creatures mixed in with mythical ones as well as those on land, making a live-action version was no mean feat.

The casting of the lead character Ariel had to be right – not only did the actress have to convincingly act as a mermaid, but they would also need to perform beloved songs and spend much of the movie without a voice at all.

Enter popstar Halle Bailey – who with her sister Chloe is one of half of the pop duo Chloe x Halle – was the first person to audition for the role and ultimately the only one to win it.

But her casting led to a racist backlash, with those behind it seemingly ready to believe in mermaids, but only if they are white.

Javier Bardem, who plays Ariel’s father King Triton, is dismissive of anyone who disagrees with Bailey’s casting.

“I don’t think we need to give any voice to that,” he told Sky News’s Backstage podcast.

“Seeing it, she’s so technically superior, she’s such an amazing actress, her voice is just ridiculous, but I think what makes her so incredibly watchable and you feel like you’re always with her is her kindness as a human,” agreed Melissa McCarthy, who plays the sea witch Ursula.

“There’s just a little bit of magic in her and I think you feel that, you can’t deny it and I can’t imagine any other human or fish playing Ariel.”

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For director Rob Marshall it was frustrating to see Bailey being judged before anyone had seen her in the role.

“When we cast her there was no agenda, we weren’t looking for a woman of colour, we saw every ethnicity for the role – we just wanted to find the best Ariel,” he told Backstage.

“That was all we cared about and she was the one, it was just so clear, and so I thought these people are so small-minded, to me it feels archaic we’re even discussing skin colour in this era – it’s like from another century.”

“I thought, you know what, just come see the film, in my head I was like, you will see that she’s Ariel, there’s no question about that, and I’m excited for people to see her.”

For the other actors playing roles that loom large in many people’s childhoods was a balance between paying tribute to what came before and refreshing and modernising for the new movie.

The original Ursula was said to be inspired by the US drag queen Divine and McCarthy says she was definitely inspired by drag for her own performance.

“I’ve always been a big fan of drag since high school – it’s such an incredible art form and it’s been around forever and there’s something to that kind of unapologetic, bigger than life, I’m right in your face, I shall not apologise,” she said.

“But also it’s a front for things, so yes, it’s a homage to a certain type of woman, but you’re also kind of poking fun at that type of woman.

“It’s a balancing act and there’s always a drag queen in my heart for all my parts.”

For Hamilton star Daveed Diggs who plays King Triton’s advisor – a crab called Sebastian, he was aware that he didn’t want to simply do an impression of the character’s original voice actor Samuel E Wright.

“I was super worried about it until the day we started,” he admitted.

“And then it was very clear that Rob [Marshall] was creating an atmosphere where he really wanted us to bring new things to it and the whole team like Alan [Menken – who did the film’s music] too, every time we were doing anything, it was like, really find what works for you.”

He added: “Everybody attached to this thing is such a fan of the original, so all of that was coming into it, we were getting all that for free, all of the like reverence for this film that we all love, and then they really pushed us to also figure out what our version is.”

Making The Little Mermaid was a huge undertaking with the actors put on specially devised rigs in order to make them look as though they were moving underwater.

And rather than the voice cast of characters such as Sebastian or the fish Flounder being locked away in a booth far from set, they were also present during filming.

For Bardem having Diggs in the room as well as models of the character made a big difference in his performance.

He said: “There were puppeteers and also there were toys. Toys! I was playing with toys!

“But Daveed was there too, to say the lines, so you will play the scene with the actor who’s playing Sebastian, which is amazing.

“The scene will evolve and we’ll go to different places because you have two actors playing it rather than following just one voice.”

The Little Mermaid is out in cinemas in the UK.

Entertainment

Taylor Swift endorses ‘gifted leader’ Kamala Harris minutes after Donald Trump debate

Published

7 hours ago

September 11, 2024

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Taylor Swift endorses 'gifted leader' Kamala Harris minutes after Donald Trump debate

Taylor Swift has said she will vote for Kamala Harris in the US election, giving her endorsement just minutes after the debate with Donald Trump ended.

The Instagram post showed her holding her cat Benjamin Button – a reference to Mr Trump’s running mate JD Vance‘s childless cat lady” comments.

Follow the latest on the Trump v Harris debate reaction here

Swift urged her 283 million followers to “do your research,” but said AI-generated images of her supporting Mr Trump made her realise “I need to be very transparent about my actual plans”.

“I will be casting my vote for Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 Presidential Election,” she said. “I’m voting for Kamala Harris because she fights for the rights and causes I believe need a warrior to champion them.

“I think she is a steady-handed, gifted leader and I believe we can accomplish so much more in this country if we are led by calm and not chaos.

“I was so heartened and impressed by her selection of running mate Tim Walz, who has been standing up for LGBTQ+ rights, IVF, and a woman’s right to her own body for decades.”

‘Massive star’ endorsement could be ‘huge’

Sky News US correspondent James Matthews said after her post that Swift’s endorsement is “huge” for the Harris-Walz campaign.

“She is a massive star, huge,” he said. “She speaks to people in a way that politicians do not, and the message from Taylor Swift will resonate with a huge audience far beyond the kind of people watching what has gone on here.

“The timing will not have been an accident. Tonight, the headline is Taylor Swift. Tomorrow, all the talk is going to be about Kamala Harris and Taylor Swift and the momentum that will be behind her.”

It marks the first time Swift has spoken on the 2024 election. While the Style hitmaker did endorse Joe Biden in 2020, she did so only a month before election day.

However, despite her worldwide fame and popularity even Taylor Swift cannot escape the vicissitudes of American politics. The number of people following her on social media fell following her post.

Entertainment

Dave Grohl admits becoming the father to a baby ‘born outside of my marriage’

Published

10 hours ago

September 11, 2024

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Dave Grohl admits becoming the father to a baby 'born outside of my marriage'

Foo Fighters singer Dave Grohl, well known for his reputation as “the nicest guy in rock”, has admitted becoming the father to a baby born “outside of my marriage”.

The former Nirvana drummer, 55, said he plans to be a “loving and supportive parent” to his new daughter in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

Grohl, who shares three daughters with his wife of more than 20 years Jordyn Blum, said he loves his family and is doing “everything I can to regain their trust and earn their forgiveness”.

“I’ve recently become the father of a new baby daughter, born outside of my marriage”, he wrote in the post.

“I plan to be a loving and supportive parent to her.

“I love my wife and my children, and I am doing everything I can to regain their trust and earn their forgiveness.”

He added: “We’re grateful for your consideration toward all the children involved, as we move forward together. Dave.”

Grohl’s publicist told Sky News the singer would be offering no further comment beyond the statement.

The rocker has been married to director Blum since 2003.

He played drums in the pioneering grunge band Nirvana from 1990 until 1994 when lead singer Kurt Cobain took his own life aged 27.

Grohl went on to form Foo Fighters and has scored a number of chart-topping albums including their most recent effort, 2023’s But Here We Are.

Entertainment

US actor who voiced Master Splinter in original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series dies

Published

11 hours ago

September 10, 2024

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US actor who voiced Master Splinter in original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series dies

US voice actor Peter Renaday, best known for his role as Master Splinter in the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series, has died aged 89.

His former Ninja Turtles castmate Townsend Coleman, who voiced Michelangelo in the show, confirmed the news in a post on the X social media platform on Tuesday.

Renaday voiced Master Splinter, a wise and stoic mutant rat who was the turtles’ adoptive half-father and martial arts teacher, between 1987 and 1996.

Police carried out a welfare check at the voice actor’s home in Burbank, California, on Sunday and found him dead inside, according to TMZ.

His niece Mindy Zachary told the celebrity news site that his air conditioning had been out and his home had been hot due to a recent heatwave in California.

She added that his cause of death has not been confirmed but the family feels it does not need further investigation.

Coleman, 70, said he was “devastated” by the the death of our “dear sensei” – a term the ninja turtles would sometimes use to refer to Master Splinter.

He continued: “Pete was one of the most genuine, salt of the earth people I have ever known and I will miss him dearly. I had the privilege of visiting with him a month ago and he was as vibrant as ever, at 89 just as endearingly silly, smart and talented as I’ve always known him to be.

“Ugh, this is hard… a Disney legend and our dear Master Splinter – rest well, my sweet friend.”

Renaday also voiced Abraham Lincoln in The Hall Of Presidents – a major attraction at Walt Disney World in Florida.

He also had minor roles in a 1992 animated series of Batman and the Sylvester and Tweety Mysteries between 1995 and 1999.