Emma Watson is most known for her role as Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films and has had an amazing career since the films wrapped. She has been in flicks such as My Week with Marilynn, Noah, and The Perks of Being a Wallflower while also taking time off for University and playing a big role in global politics particularly surrounding feminism. Rumors have surrounded her since Potters ended that a live action Beauty and the Beast film was in the works from Warner Brothers and director Guillermo Del Toro though the project never fully got off the ground and it is unknown if it will continue now that Watson has left for Disney and Toro dropped out.
I've always imagined Watson would make a fantastic Belle and clung to the hope that she would eventually take the role. You can imagine my freakish excitement when the announcement was made. But beyond my feelings which change all of the time, why else does Watson fit so well into Belle's shoes? For starters, she has the look. She also has the talent. Watson has been in the company of grade A actors and has really become a fantastic actor herself. She values smart female characters and will give great respect to the role of Belle. Not only is Belle a strong female character but a character Watson grew up with and is attached to. This is a clear win win situation.
It has been said that Disney's live action remake will be a musical just like the animated feature. This begs many questions such as -- will Alan Menken return to re-orchestrate? Will songs from the Broadway show be included? Can Watson sing? Ironically, Watson is rumored to have been casted in another film titled La La Land which is also a musical. She also sang backup vocals with Ben Hammersly in the song Pantomime. I'm sure she can sing well and she will be taking singing lessons but I wonder if she can belt like Paige O'Hara did in the original 1991 film. Which also makes me wonder if any of the original cast will return to help the new actors or make cameos.
Disney has been into remaking their animated features into live action blockbusters for a while now and none of them have been highly regarded. While I very much enjoyed Alice in Wonderland, I can see why critics wouldn't like it. Oz the Great and Powerful had some really great moments but nothing saved it from being a sub-par movie. And Maleficent was just bad. Instead of trying to be a good movie it tried to be different and clone Frozen at the ending. Overall, not a good track record. Cinderella is set to come out in March so we will have to see how that movie does but from what we have already seen, Disney hasn't done much justice to their own source material. It is apparent that creativity and good story telling/movie making is given a back seat to cash. Hopefully Beauty and the Beast won't fall into this trap. Though after hearing that director Bill Condon, director of such classics like Breaking Dawn Part 1 and Part 2, will be involved I am a little more worried. Then again, Steven Chobosky (author of Perks of Being a Wallflower and screen writer/director of the film adaption) is the screen writer so there is still room for hope.
Overall, this is great news and I can't wait to see the final product and Emma as Belle! What do you think of this casting choice? Are you excited to see Emma as Belle? What do you think of Disney's live action film adaptions?
No comments:
Post a Comment