such wonderful things surround you, what more is you linkin' for 🎵
Friday, July 5, 2019 at 6:00PM • /Film Why Lulu Wang turned down a huge streaming offer for The Farewell to go theatrical with A24
• Vulture ranking the Spider-Man villains -- Into the Spider-Verse villains ought to be flipped and Far From Home's big bad is a spot or too low but otherwise a very correct list!
• The Atlantic good piece on the possibly self-parodic elements of Spider-Man Far From Home
• The Guardian an interesting but depressing report on directors getting away with making LGBTQ films in homophobic countries
After the jump The Little Mermaid, The Lost Boys, Toy Story 4, and Be More Chill...
• AV Club Turns out Russell Crowe was at one point in talks to play Aragorn in Lord of the Rings (the headline to this piece is misleading though because it doesn't sound like he was actually offered the part) but didn't want it
• Variety on Toy Story 4's inclusion of two characters with disabilities
Small Screen
• Deadline He wants to suck your blood. The great Danish actor Claes Bang (The Square) is Dracula in a new miniseries retelling the ever retold story
• /Film The CW has scorched their pilot for The Lost Boys and is starting from scratch (but for two of the actors) for their television
• Vanity Fair Stranger Things will be curbing the smoking in season 4 after complaints about this season. That poor sheriff (David Harbour) -- that's going to be a tough habit for him to break
Stage and Page and Miscellania
• Advocate How gay were America's presidents? A ranking
• AP the recent lawsuit against Kevin Spacey has been dropped but the story is not quite over
• NPR 'Tiny Desk Concert' features Be More Chill. These strippd down versions are so much more appealing than what I heard in the chaotically noisy show. P.S. I'd never seen this series before but I'm giggling that it's called "Tiny Desk" because if your desk is big enough to fit 10 people and a piano in corporate America, it's not tiny ;)
• Broadway World Stephen Sondheim set to become the only living artist with theaters named after him in both London and New York in time for his 90th birthday next year
• Playbill a ton of shows are closing this summer so see them while you can if you're interested (the latest to announce its end is Pretty Woman which had been doing decently with tourists but no one else)
• New York Times "When Theater is a Religious Experience" on the recent string of spiritually-themed shows
• Slate Really liked this piece from a novelist about rekindling old friendships and rules when you visit friends in other places
One last bit of movie news...
You probably know this already but it's worth nothing: Halle Bailey was cast as Ariel in Disney's live-action remake of The Little Mermaid (1989) with Jacob Tremblay and Awkwafina doing voice work as Flounder & Scuttle respectively. Melissa McCarthy is currently rumored as Ursula. And listen... though we love Melissa, if it's not a drag queen playing Ursula, we aint interested! Anyway back to Ariel. We spotted this image below on Bianca del Rio's Instagram (but not sure where it's from -- you know how the internet is about sharing without crediting). Now that would-be memes are riffing on other memes, is this the moment social media became sentient... like Skynet only less kill-all-humans dangerous?
Reader Comments (11)
Honestly, I don't see the big deal over this casting of a young black girl to play Ariel in The Little Mermaid. Who cares? If it works, fine. If it doesn't, oh well...
@thevoid99 Absolutely!
The most important is the development of the character and no the race of the actor who plays it. Sadly it still uses to give roles to some actors based on their color skin that provocates stereotypical performances...but i have to admit that the picture makes me laugh.
Disney is (thankfully) at the point where they can cast an African American lead -- but a Drag Queen is far, far away, sadly.
I'm into Melissa's casting in the meantime. I think she'll be great.
Nathaniel, I know you're a fan of Jake Gyllenhaal, but can we discuss how H-O-T he has been looking on the Spider-Man tour? Gurl.
Claes Bang is such an insanely perfect casting choice for Dracula that it almost makes me forget my allergy to Steven Moffat.
Spacey's friend and co star Judi Dench will be delighted at this news.
The Little Mermaid news I thought Emma Stone would have that role sewn up.Yay on McCarthy Nay on Awkwafina
#JUSTICEFORREDHEADS.
Man, I'd love to live in a world where that Spider-Man: Far from Home theory was given time to be put into place. Lots of ideas there, but the film is a bore and spends way too long on other stuff to develop any of its ideas critical of Marvel and/or Disney.
thevoid, the big deal is that a lot of people are racists. That's it. That's why there's a fuss.
markgordonuk:
1) Emma Stone is playing Cruella de Vil (not to mention too “old” by Disney princess standards), so I doubt she was ever in the running. Chloe Grace Moretz was previously in talks, but I guess those fell through.
2) Redheads will be fine. Y’all still have the original. #JusticeForRepresentation
@markgordonuk But Emma Stone is not naturally redhead.... I feel like Eric Cartman of South Park in that chapter about gingers
🤣🤣
#DIVERSITY
Love Melissa McCarthy, but can she sing? Titus Burgess for Ursula!
@Biggs - I'm down for Tituss Burgess as Ursula. Lizzo would also be great.