‘The Little Mermaid’ & ‘Fast X’ Cleared For China Releases

Melissa McCarthy said drag queens were "100 percent" an influence behind her portrayal of the tentacled sea witch Ursula in the upcoming live-action "The Little Mermaid" flick set to hit theaters on Memorial Day weekend. McCarthy recently joined costar Halle Bailey and director Rob Marshall to discuss the upcoming film with Entertainment Weekly where she gave a brief spiel about her history with drag performances and how her drag queen persona spilled over into her portrayal of the infamous villainess.

Disney’s The Little Mermaid, has revealed that Harry Styles turned down a role in the live-action film due to the singer seeking more “darker” movies.The ‘As It Was’ singer was initially approached to be cast as Prince Eric in the new remake of children’s classic starring singer Halle Bailey. However, the Grammy Award winner declined the position.The director of The Little Mermaid, Rob Marshall, told Entertainment Weekly that he “met with” Styles and “he was lovely”.“What a wonderful guy,” said Marshall.

Melissa McCarthy pulled influence from drag culture while portraying Ursula in the upcoming live action retelling of The Little Mermaid.

Melissa McCarthy looked to her origins performing in New York City under the drag name Miss Y as her inspiration for her Ursula on The Little Mermaid.

Javier Bardem is opening up about The Little Mermaid, and his role as King Triton in the live-action movie.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Prince Eric will not be forcing himself on Ariel through song in Disney’s upcoming live-action “The Little Mermaid,” directed by Rob Marshall. Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, who wrote the music for the 1989 animated movie, returned to work on the 2023 live-action remake and updated some of the song lyrics so they wouldn’t be outdated when it comes to consensual relationships. “There are some lyric changes in ‘Kiss the Girl’ because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel],” Menken recently told Vanity Fair. “We have some revisions in ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’ regarding lines that might make young girls somehow feel that they shouldn’t speak out of turn, even though Ursula is clearly manipulating Ariel to give up her voice.”

upcoming live-action remake to emphasize consent and female empowerment. In an interview published Tuesday, Vanity Fair asked Alan Menken, the 73-year-old prolific Disney composer, if any changes needed to be made to the music from the 1989 animated flick.

Alan Menken, who composed Disney’s most recognizable scores and songs, really enjoyed collaborating with Lin-Manuel Miranda on the live-action version of The Little Mermaid.

Harry Styles may not be playing Prince Eric in the live-action remake of , but he's always a king in our hearts!While it was long-rumored that the «As It Was» singer could be taking on the role of Ariel's prince, the part ultimately went to Jonah Hauer-King, and the film's director, Ron Marshall, is explaining why in a new interview with .While Marshall confirmed he spoke with Styles about playing Eric «once upon a time,» he shared that the  star «really felt like he wanted to go off and do the movies that he ended up doing, which were sort of darker» than Disney's reimagining of one of its most beloved fairy tales.As for Hauer-King, Marshall said the British actor, who previously appeared in PBS' 2017  miniseries, came with a «sweetness» and «deep passion» that he was looking for in the film's prince., who also spoke to Hauer-King and Ariel herself, Halle Bailey, noted that three other people were up for the part of Eric.«I didn't take her being kind to me as any indication,» Hauer-King recalled of his final audition round with Bailey. «I just assumed she was a lovely person and would've done that for anyone.»After returning to his trailer from the audition, Hauer-King told the outlet he heard a knock at his door.

Way back in 2019, it was reported that Harry Styles turned down the role of Prince Eric in The Little Mermaid live action remake, which will hit theaters next month on May 26.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director “The Little Mermaid” director Rob Marshall confirmed in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly that he met with pop superstar Harry Styles to play the role of Prince Eric opposite Halle Bailey’s Ariel in Disney’s upcoming live-action remake. Reports surfaced during the film’s casting process that Styles was being courted to play Prince Eric, but this is the first time Marshall has confirmed that discussions with the Grammy winner took place. Why did Styles turn down Disney’s live-action “The Little Mermaid” remake? According to Marshall, the reason was twofold: He wanted to take on darker films and didn’t want to be in a musical as he made the jump from pop star to actor.

forever for the live action version of to hit our screens.  was first announced as Ariel in July 2019, but we didn’t get our first of the Disney adaptation until September last year. Luckily, we only have mere weeks to wait now as the film is slated for a May 26 release date, and we’re starting to find out exactly what changes we can expect to see on the big screen—including lyric changes to include consent.In a recent interview with , the film’s composer Alan Menken revealed that there would be tweaks to the lyrics of some of our favorite songs, including “Kiss the Girl” and “Poor Unfortunate Souls.” “There are some lyric changes in ‘Kiss the Girl’ because people have gotten very sensitive about the idea that [Prince Eric] would, in any way, force himself on [Ariel],” Menken said. We assume the lyrics he is talking about include the chorus which goes: “Yes, you want her / Look at her, you know you do / Possible she wants you too / There is one way to ask her / It don't take a word / Not a single word / Go on and kiss the girl.”These lyrics suggest that Prince Eric doesn’t need Ariel’s verbal consent to kiss her, which of course he does, but there’s the slight issue of the fact that she cannot speak. “We have some revisions in ‘Poor Unfortunate Souls’ regarding lines that might make young girls somehow feel that they shouldn’t speak out of turn,” Menken added.

Chlöe Bailey is a proud big sister.

 in 1937, sparking an artistic movement that has since allowed audiences across the world to fall in love with countless animated characters, creatures, animals and more.Now nearly a century later, Disney also leads the movement to retell these beloved classics with live-action techniques, making waves for their fresh takes on films like Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King, and, just around the corner, Here is ET's guide to the live-action remakes of your favorite animated films. Based on the Brothers Grimm fairy tale, was the first full-length animated feature film and Disney's first princess. Disney is currently in production on a live-action remake starring Rachel Zegler as the titular princess. Gal Gadot will also star, along with Andrew Burnap and Martin Klebba.

Halle Bailey just made a little girl’s dream come true in arguably the most magical place on earth- Walt Disney World.

“The Little Mermaid” will be “updated” for modern audiences according to the star.

hasn’t even premiered yet, and is already making little girls’ dreams come true. On a trip to Disney World, Bailey met a tiny fan named Mila, who gave the actor-singer-princess the biggest hug a small child can give. Luckily the whole heart-melting moment was caught on video. In the clip Bailey has in her arms a little girl wearing Minnie Mouse ears, who has her baby face on Bailey’s shoulder and her arms wrapped tightly around her neck.

Halle Bailey's Ariel hasn't made her theater debut but she's already winning the hearts of young fans. star has been sharing videos of her trip to Disney World to meet this year's Disney Dreamers Academy class on her Instagram Stories, and on Thursday, she posted the sweetest video of her meeting a little girl named Mila Rose. In the clip, Bailey is holding Mila in her arms, who is wearing Minnie Mouse ears and looks like she doesn't plan to let go anytime soon.

EXCLUSIVE: Audible is teaming up with singer, song-writer and actor Leigh-Anne Pinnock on an adaptation of The Little Mermaid.

Zack Sharf Digital News Director Becoming princess Ariel for Disney’s live action “The Little Mermaid” required Halle Bailey to be in the water for 13 hours straight on set during some days of filming, the actor revealed in a new Edition magazine profile. The film, directed by “Chicago” and “Into the Woods” helmer Rob Marshall, used practical water tanks and visual effects to create extensive underwater sequences for the movie. “I pushed myself as far as I’ve ever pushed myself in life,” Bailey told the publication about spending some days on set in the water for 13 hours. “And I feel like the message from [Ariel] was to know that you’ve always had it in you.”