“Beauty and the Beast” opens this weekend, and the stars aren’t talking to everyone, but they are talking to Deco’s beast of a reporter, Chris Van Vliet.
Yes, those stars invited me to be their guest in Los Angeles, and I asked them why now is the right time to remake this Disney classic.
Ewan McGregor (as Lumière): “Look at her. What if she is the one? The one to break the spell?”
Twenty-six years ago, “Beauty and the Beast” was the first animated film nominated for best picture, and now, the classic story is being brought to life.
Emma Watson (as Belle): “Who’s there?”
Dan Stevens (as Beast): “Do you wish to take your father’s place?”
Emma Watson (as Belle): “Come into the light.”
While the movie pays tribute to everything you loved about the original, it also adds a few elements — including new characters and new songs. Director Bill Condon tells me, change isn’t a bad thing.
Chris Van Vliet: “So where is the line drawn of adding new stuff, but not adding too much new stuff?”
Bill Condon: “The real criterion was ‘Are we learning more about them as human beings?,’ because they are being played by real actors now.”
Those real actors are Emma Watson as Belle, Dan Stevens as the Beast, Luke Evans as Gaston and Hollywood, Florida’s own Josh Gad as LeFou.
Josh Gad: “I grew up with Deco Drive.”
Josh is no stranger to playing the comic relief in Disney films, after voicing Olaf in “Frozen.”
Chris Van Vliet: “I was having an interesting discussion after seeing the film about whether or not Gaston is a Disney villain, and I was making the argument that he’s not because he’s so likable.”
Luke Evans: “Surely, by the end, when he shoots him for the third time, you’re like ‘hold on a minute.'”
Josh Gad: “It brings to question a lot of character assessments about you when he’s shooting someone three times in a row.”
Luke Evans (as Gaston): “That’s what makes Belle so appealing. She hasn’t made a fool of herself just to gain my favor. What would you call that?”
Josh Gad (as LeFou): “Dignity?”
Josh Gad: “There’s an element to the character that’s so dangerous because he’s human, because he doesn’t have any magical powers or anything right? He’s a regular guy that you fall in love with, and then he uses that charm to turn an entire group of people against a character that they’ve never met, that they know nothing about.”
And the only person that Gaston loves more than Belle is Gaston.
Chris Van Vliet: “So Luke, how do you get into character? Do you just stare at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself you’re fantastic looking?”
Luke Evans (as Gaston): “You are the most gorgeous thing I’ve ever seen. Nobody deserves you.”
Luke Evans: “Totally.”
Josh Gad: “Your trailer was covered in them.”
Luke Evans: “I just had them take the walls out and put mirrors in. Floor to ceiling.”
“Beauty and the Beast” opens on Friday — and get this, it’s not even in theaters yet, and it’s already breaking records. You can tell people are excited for this movie because it’s sold more presale tickets than any family movie ever.
Copyright 2024 Sunbeam Television Corp. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.