Aladdin is been remade into a live- action movie and we can’t wait to see it in the big screen!
Based on the 1992 animated movie this new live action one has us very excited!
- Aladdin is an upcoming American musical fantasy film directed by Guy Ritchie
- The screenplay is co-written with John August
- It is produced by Walt Disney Pictures
- It is a live-action adaptation of Disney’s 1992 animated film of the same name
- Which is in turn based on the Arabic folktale of the same name from One Thousand and One Nights
- The film stars Mena Massoud as the title character
- Alongside Will Smith, Naomi Scott, Marwan Kenzari, Navid Negahban, Nasim Pedrad, and Billy Magnussen
- In October 2016, Disney announced Guy Ritchie would direct a live-action Aladdin remake
- Smith was the first member of the cast to join
- He signed on to portray Genie in July 2017
- Llater that month Massoud and Scott were confirmed for the two lead roles
- Principal photography began that September at Longcross Studios in Surrey, England
- Also filming in the Wadi Rum Desert in Jordan
- It lasted until January 2018
- Aladdin is scheduled to be released in the United States on May 24, 2019
- The studio said that the film would be “an ambitious and nontraditional” take on the tale of Aladdin that would keep much of the musical elements of the original film
- On the non-traditional aspect, the studio planned for the film to be told in a nonlinear format
- In February 2017, Lin said that they were looking for a diverse cast and that they would not try “to make Prince of Persia”
- A worldwide casting call for the lead roles of Aladdin and Princess Jasmine commenced in March 2017
- With principal production set to begin in the UK in July 2017 until January 2018
- On April 19, 2017, it was reported that either Gabriel Iglesias or Will Smith was in talks for the role of Genie
- For which the latter was confirmed in July
- In May 2017, Jade Thirlwall was in talks for the part of Princess Jasmine
- On July 11, 2017, it was announced that principal production on Aladdin had been pushed back by a month, to August 2017
- Due to struggles in finding the right actor to portray the titular role
- Over 2,000 actors and actresses had auditioned for the roles of Aladdin and Jasmine
- But that finding a male lead of Middle-Eastern or Indian descent in his 20s who could act and sing had proven difficult
- Naomi Scott and Tara Sutaria were the final two actresses in the running for the role of Jasmine
- But neither could be cast until a chemistry test was done with whomever was cast as Aladdin
- The studio was interested in casting Dev Patel or Riz Ahmed for the lead role of Aladdin
- Neither were considered likely to obtain the role
- In what became the final rounds of screen testing, actors Achraf Koutet, Mena Massoud, and George Kosturos were still in the running for the role of Aladdin
- However, the studio had begun perusing old audition tapes for the role
- Having not been satisfied by the latest round of screen tests
- At the 2017 D23 Expo, on July 15, it was announced that Massoud had been cast as Aladdin and Scott had been cast as Jasmine
- Ending a four month long open casting call
- On July 17, 2017, it was announced that Disney had hired Vanessa Taylor to polish the original screenplay by August
- Specifically to do some “character work” and what is called “script doctoring”
- Meanwhile, Richie and the studio focused on casting the other main roles with filming slated to start in August in London
- In August 2017, Marwan Kenzari joined the cast as Jafar
- With Nasim Pedrad cast in a newly created role as “a hand maid and friend of Jasmine”
- Who will serve as a “comic relief”
- And Numan Acar as Hakim
- The following month, Billy Magnussen joined the cast in a newly created role as Prince Anders
- Alongside Navid Negahban as the Sultan
- In November 2017, Robby Haynes was cast as Razoul
- When asked about Ritchie’s take on the film, Pasek & Paul described it as “very muscular and action-packed”
- Despite initial reports, the animal characters Abu, Iago, and Rajah from the original film will be appearing in some capacity
- On December 20, 2018, Gilbert Gottfried said he was not asked to reprise his role as Iago
- In March 2019, it was announced that Alan Tudyk would be voicing the character instead
- Part of the film was shot in Wadi Rum Desert, Jordan
- Reshoots took place during August 2018
- At the 2017 D23 Expo, Alan Menken announced that he will be co-writing new songs for the film with songwriters of La La Land, Pasek & Paul
- Menken would also score the film
- Which will also include the original film’s songs written by Menken, Howard Ashman and Tim Rice
- Pasek and Paul wrote the lyrics for two new songs
- One of them is a solo for the character of Jasmine
- Which Paul called “a beautiful piece of music”
- Praising Scott’s singing as “incredible”
- The other song is a new duet for Aladdin and Jasmine
- Which Paul referred to as “a sweet song”
- The duo also wrote a new lyric for the original film’s song “Arabian Nights”
- The visual effects will be provided by Industrial Light & Magic and supervised by Michael Mullholland, Daniele Bigi and David Seager
- With the help of DNEG, Nzviage and Proof
- Will Smith debuted the first official poster on October 10, 2018
- The teaser trailer was released the following day
- In December 2018, Entertainment Weekly offered a first official look at the cast in costume on the cover of their issue for the most anticipated films of 2019
- On February 10, 2019, Disney debuted a special sneak peek of the film during the 61st Annual Grammy Awards
- It was met with largely negative feedback from audiences
- Primarily due to the appearance of the Genie in his blue design, created via motion capture effects
- The negative reception sparked a large amount of memes and Photoshop edits mocking Will Smith’s appearance in the sneak peek
- On March 12, 2019, Disney debuted a second trailer on Good Morning America
- This trailer was met with a much more positive reception than the previous one
- As it featured several songs from the original film
- And more of Smith not entirely in motion-capture
- The film has drawn criticism for its decision to add a new original white character by casting actor Billy Magnussen as Prince Anders
- Fans and critics deemed “unnecessary” and “offensive”
- Sparking accusations of whitewashing to the film while pointing out the irony regarding the worldwide search for actors and actresses to play the leads in connection to the controversy
- The decision to hire a half-Indian actress Naomi Scott to play the lead of female Princess Jasmine has also drawn criticism as well
- Accusations of colorism, since some people expected the role to go to an Arab or Middle Eastern actress
- However, certain members of the cast are Middle Eastern
- In December 2018, Julie Ann Crommett, Disney’s Vice President of Multicultural Engagement, said the decision to cast Scott as Jasmine reflected a mixing or association of different cultures in a broad region that consists of the Middle East, South Asia and China by extension, which all make up the Silk Road
- The real intention for Agrabah was for it to be the center of the Silk Road
- And added that Jasmine’s mother would be from a land that was not Agrabah
- In January 2018, it was reported that the white extras were being applied brown make-up during filming in order to “blend in”
- Which caused an outcry and condemnation among fans and critics
- Branding the practice as “an insult to the whole industry”
- While accusing the producers of not recruiting people with Middle-Eastern or North African heritage
- Disney responded to the controversy
- “Diversity of our cast and background performers was a requirement and only in a handful of instances when it was a matter of specialty skills, safety and control (special effects rigs, stunt performers and handling of animals) were crew made up to blend in.”
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