Countdown to 'Beauty and the Beast' #6

Trivia Tuesday- The (almost) voice of Belle

 

It is almost impossible to imagine Belle without Paige O'Hara's voice, but if production had gone another way, it may have been a little difficult to tell the difference between the peculiar book worm and another splashy Disney princess. Jodi Benson, the voice of Ariel in The Little Mermaid, was actually once considered for the role of Belle. In Disney's Art of Animation, author Bob Thomas notes that while some preferred Benson, lyricist Howard Ashman saw Ariel as "the all-American girl kind of voice, where as Paige had the vocal quality of a classic fairy tale."

Watchful Wednesday- Miss Potter (Ewan McGregor)

Beatrix Potter's beloved stories and characters, including The Tale of Peter Rabbit and The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, have entranced readers for almost 115 years and counting. In 2006, the author herself became the subject of a charming tale with the release of Miss Potter, which chronicles her early publishing endeavors and relationship with editor Norman Warne. Academy Award winner Renee Zellweger and Ewan McGregor star as Beatrix Potter and Norman Warne alongside Barbara Flynn (Cranford), Bill Patterson (Outlander), and Academy Award nominee Emily Watson (Belle, The Book Thief). Miss Potter marks the second collaboration between Zellweger and McGregor, who previously starred together in 2003's Down with Love.

Did I mention Ewan McGregor also sings in Miss Potter? SWOON!


Throwback Thursday- My what a guy, that Josh Gad!

With production set to begin on Beauty and the Beast in mid-May 2015, fans were clamoring for any little nugget of information about the upcoming live-action film. Luckily for fans, Josh Gad (Le Fou) was making the rounds to promote his FX series The Comedians and raved about Beauty and the Beast in several interviews over the summer. Below are a few quotes from Gad and you can check out all his interviews here.

Josh Gad on being part of Beauty and the Beast

I guess for me, Beauty and the Beast was what Frozen is to a lot of kids today. It’s one of those movies that when it came out, you remember, we were all just “What is this?! This is the craziest movie ever!” And so now, being able to translate that to a live-action format and being able to sing these incredible songs by Howard Ashman and Alan Menken and Tim Rice. It’s a dream come true for the entire cast and myself, so get ready for that. It’s going to be really special.

Josh Gad on the London table read:

It was unlike anything I've ever been a part of before because it was just so epic. You almost felt like all it was missing was an audience of 7,000 because it was just full on. Usually a table read is a very intimate affair; you're all sitting there with your scripts and engaging by virtue of hearing it out loud, that's where it ends. This, we were seeing full performances done, we were seeing full pre-visualization of some of these incredibly complex scenes. It was unlike anything I've ever been a part of and probably will ever be a part of. It was just full on.