Disney’s Live-Action ‘Aladdin’ Movie Struggles to Find Stars of Middle Eastern or Indian Descent
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Disney is in a whole new world of trouble. The live-action adaptation of Aladdin is reportedly struggling to cast its lead roles of Aladdin and Jasmine, the street rat and the Arabian princess who stole each other’s (and our) hearts in the classic 1992 animated film.
Disney and director Guy Ritchie are intent on finding an unknown actor and actress of Middle Eastern or Indian descent, as the animated movie takes place in the fictional Middle Eastern city of Agrabah. However, because Aladdin will continuing Beauty and the Beast‘s trend of adapting the musical elements of the animated films, Disney and Ritchie are having trouble finding stars of color who can act and sing.
Disney, Ritchie, and casting director Randi Hiller launched a massive global casting call in March to find the stars of the live-action adaptation of Aladdin, but 2,000 actors and actress auditions later, the team have been unable to find leads in their 20s who can sing and act.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the original casting call had planned for production to begin in July, but Disney and Ritchie have been forced to go back to the drawing board.
“The test process was a mess,” a casting agent told THR, commenting on the several rounds of tests that took place in London, with actors coming in for up to two weeks at a time.
Though Ritchie is intent on finding his diamond in the rough for the lead roles like Lily James for Cinderella or Neel Sethi for Mowgli in The Jungle Book, THR reports that the studio at one point was eyeing Dev Patel or Riz Ahmed. Ahmed would have been an inspired choice because he is a musician who has featured on the Hamilton mix tape — albeit a rapper that goes by the name Riz MC — when he is not an actor. The team presumably doesn’t want to take away too much of the star focus from Will Smith, who is playing the buoyant, supernatural wish-granter Genie, who was played by the scene-stealing Robin Williams in the animated film.
The long and troubled search has compelled the casting crew to reach out to movie-musical veterans Marc Platt, who has produced musicals and worked on Disney’s upcoming Mary Poppins Returns, and Chris Montan, an established executive music producer for Disney’s animated films, to consult on the project. There are a few names on the shortlist for Aladdin, THR reports.
Who Is Being Considered?
Aladdin: Dutch actor Achraf Koutet, Canadian actor Mena Massoud and American actor George Kosturos.
Jasmine: Naomi Scott, a half-Indian actress who played Kimberly in the new Power Rangers, and Indian actress Tara Sutaria.
http://www.slashfilm.com/disneys-live-action-aladdin-movie-struggles-to-find-stars-of-middle-eastern-or-indian-descent/
Disney and director Guy Ritchie are intent on finding an unknown actor and actress of Middle Eastern or Indian descent, as the animated movie takes place in the fictional Middle Eastern city of Agrabah. However, because Aladdin will continuing Beauty and the Beast‘s trend of adapting the musical elements of the animated films, Disney and Ritchie are having trouble finding stars of color who can act and sing.
Disney, Ritchie, and casting director Randi Hiller launched a massive global casting call in March to find the stars of the live-action adaptation of Aladdin, but 2,000 actors and actress auditions later, the team have been unable to find leads in their 20s who can sing and act.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the original casting call had planned for production to begin in July, but Disney and Ritchie have been forced to go back to the drawing board.
“The test process was a mess,” a casting agent told THR, commenting on the several rounds of tests that took place in London, with actors coming in for up to two weeks at a time.
Though Ritchie is intent on finding his diamond in the rough for the lead roles like Lily James for Cinderella or Neel Sethi for Mowgli in The Jungle Book, THR reports that the studio at one point was eyeing Dev Patel or Riz Ahmed. Ahmed would have been an inspired choice because he is a musician who has featured on the Hamilton mix tape — albeit a rapper that goes by the name Riz MC — when he is not an actor. The team presumably doesn’t want to take away too much of the star focus from Will Smith, who is playing the buoyant, supernatural wish-granter Genie, who was played by the scene-stealing Robin Williams in the animated film.
The long and troubled search has compelled the casting crew to reach out to movie-musical veterans Marc Platt, who has produced musicals and worked on Disney’s upcoming Mary Poppins Returns, and Chris Montan, an established executive music producer for Disney’s animated films, to consult on the project. There are a few names on the shortlist for Aladdin, THR reports.
Who Is Being Considered?
Aladdin: Dutch actor Achraf Koutet, Canadian actor Mena Massoud and American actor George Kosturos.
Jasmine: Naomi Scott, a half-Indian actress who played Kimberly in the new Power Rangers, and Indian actress Tara Sutaria.
http://www.slashfilm.com/disneys-live-action-aladdin-movie-struggles-to-find-stars-of-middle-eastern-or-indian-descent/
Comments
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Disney is in a whole new world of trouble. The live-action adaptation of Aladdin is reportedly struggling to cast its lead roles of Aladdin and Jasmine, the street rat and the Arabian princess who stole each other’s (and our) hearts in the classic 1992 animated film.
Disney and director Guy Ritchie are intent on finding an unknown actor and actress of Middle Eastern or Indian descent, as the animated movie takes place in the fictional Middle Eastern city of Agrabah. However, because Aladdin will continuing Beauty and the Beast‘s trend of adapting the musical elements of the animated films, Disney and Ritchie are having trouble finding stars of color who can act and sing.
Man they better Milli Vanilli that ? .
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1.5 BILLION people live in India
Bollywood is a billion dollar industry
But they cant find someone who can sing and act? -
not invested in the movie one way or another
but with a country with over a billion ppl and self contained movie industry that features dancing & singing something is off here
seems like they havent broaden their search outside of Hollywood & this representative of how established brown actors get work outside of 24 type terrorist casting -
just give it to Dev Patel , the dude already looks like Aladdin
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1.5 BILLION people live in India
Bollywood is a billion dollar industry
But they cant find someone who can sing and act?
THANK YOU!!!
Utter bs. What they really lookin for is a muthafuccas who has a LITTLE indian/mid east blood, but has white in them as well to appease to the white folks.
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1.5 BILLION people live in India
Bollywood is a billion dollar industry
But they cant find someone who can sing and act?
Not to mention that like g mentioned in his post above a lot of those Bollywood joints are musicals like Aladdin will be.
Seems like a bogus excuse to me. Like they just want to have pre-emptive justification for when they whitewash Jasmine or Aladdin when they don't cast an Indian or Arab in the roles. -
Bollywood is the largest film industry in the world. It can't be that difficult to hire a Bollywood casting director to find people. I'm glad no one is buying this ? .
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Give it to the Prince of Persia
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Get Aziz Ansari to play the monkey
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them Indians so white washed they dont even wanna be considered
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Not up on Bollywood much. Do many of them have heavy Indian accents? If so, that could be part of the issue with casting someone from Bollywood.
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Can get my girl priyanka chopra (from quantico) to play jasmine. She an actress and a singer and she Indian and did I mention she bad?
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vagrant-718 wrote: »Can get my girl priyanka chopra (from quantico) to play jasmine. She an actress and a singer and she Indian and did I mention she bad?
Damn she fine -
Hire Dis Neega To Play The Tiger
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Not up on Bollywood much. Do many of them have heavy Indian accents? If so, that could be part of the issue with casting someone from Bollywood.
Over 100 million English speakers in that country. I'm sure you can find one who doesn't speak like Apu. -
vagrant-718 wrote: »Can get my girl priyanka chopra (from quantico) to play jasmine. She an actress and a singer and she Indian and did I mention she bad?
This is the chick that didnt want to be will smith love intrest in a bollywood movie -
CottonCitySlim wrote: »vagrant-718 wrote: »Can get my girl priyanka chopra (from quantico) to play jasmine. She an actress and a singer and she Indian and did I mention she bad?
This is the chick that didnt want to be will smith love intrest in a bollywood movie
What Bollywood movie was will smith in? -
Yeah, but you know they not just going to throw the part at just anyone, even though it did seem that way for Belle in Beauty and the Beast. Me and the kids called it Decent and the Beast, lol. -
nawledge_? wrote: »Hire Dis Neega To Play The Tiger
He'd make a good Jafar. Ya'll know your suggestions are too dark. They looking for those white Arabs and Indians. -
So we're just gonna lump arabs n Indians together? lol. Ol Asians are all the same folk lmao.
Disappointed in Guy Ritchie man...did they really say they couldn't find an Indian who couldn't sing n act?
But looks like a fellow dutchman is gonna play alladin though.
Guess every disadvantage has an advantage lmao -
CottonCitySlim wrote: »vagrant-718 wrote: »Can get my girl priyanka chopra (from quantico) to play jasmine. She an actress and a singer and she Indian and did I mention she bad?
This is the chick that didnt want to be will smith love intrest in a bollywood movie
Link? -
vagrant-718 wrote: »CottonCitySlim wrote: »vagrant-718 wrote: »Can get my girl priyanka chopra (from quantico) to play jasmine. She an actress and a singer and she Indian and did I mention she bad?
This is the chick that didnt want to be will smith love intrest in a bollywood movie
What Bollywood movie was will smith in?
It never happened -
Lol can't just cast someone if they look like them when they gotta know how to sing and act
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illestni99ainne wrote: »Get Aziz Ansari to play the monkey
they better get gilbert Gottfried to play iago. -
fortyacres wrote: »just give it to Dev Patel , the dude already looks like Aladdin
He reportedly rejected it. Him and Riz Ahmed. I don't blame them
Guy Ritchie is also toxic. All he does is unwanted remakes and they always tank...
