Monday, September 5, 2016

Alan Menken: “The cast is just a dream cast, it’s ridiculous."

With the 25th anniversary release of Beauty and the Beast on the horizon, not only are we learning more about the animated classic, but fans are also finally getting a more in depth look at the live-action film. Composer Alan Menken, who will also score the live-action film, recently sat down with Entertainment Weekly to discuss the film's "dream cast."

Emma Watson as Belle:
“She’s really good! I can’t picture anyone else, honestly. She’s Belle for me now entirely."
Dan Stevens as Beast:
“Of course, he spends a lot of the movie with a lot of fur covering him but he’s great.”
 Luke Evans as Gaston:
“Fantastic – what a revelation.”
Menken also discussed working on Beauty and the Beast for a third time following the 1991 animated film and 1994 Broadway production and collaborating with director Bill Condon this time around.
“It’s exciting. For me because I’m writing the new songs and scoring the new movie, it’s a lot of work,” he laughed. “It’s interesting and it’s challenging to come back to the same source material three times. And in this case I’m really taking my lead – I am bearer of the flame to a degree, but I want to be as good a team member with Bill Condon as I can be. So I’m really taking my lead from him as a director, and he’s doing a great job.”
Entertainment Weekly recently debuted an exclusive clip from the special feature "Menken & Friends: 25 Years of Musical Inspiration," which is included on the 25th anniversary Digital HD and Blu-ray release. Menken is joined by fellow composers Stephen Schwartz, Kristen Anderson-Lopez, Robert Lopez, and Lin-Manuel Miranda to discuss the lasting impact of the music of Beauty and the Beast.
“So many musicals have tried to chase that formula — the sidekicks, the bad guys,” Hamilton creator Lin-Manuel Miranda says. “But Beauty and the Beast did it at its pinnacle. It’s the best it’s ever been done.”

Source: Entertainment Weekly

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