'Beauty and the Beast' Live Action 2015: Emma Thompson, Kevin Kline Join Cast as Mrs. Potts and Belle's Father
Two years away and Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" continues to make news with further cast announcements.
Two more actors have signed onto Disney's live action remake of the 1991 classic princess movie, reuniting two "Harry Potter" cast members.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, Emma Thompson, who played the mystical Professor Trelawney in the "Harry Potter" series, will play Mrs. Potts, reprising the role played by Angela Lansbury in the 1991 animated film.
Along with Thompson, actor Kevin Kline will take the role of Maurice, Belle's father. Filming is set to begin in May of this year and the movie will be released on March 17, 2017.
Directed by Bill Condon, who has worked on "Dreamgirls" as well as some "Twilight" films, the movie will fuse live action with CGI. The movie will be released in 3D, even though Disney's latest live action remake, "Cinderella," was not released in this format.
Entertainment Weekly reports the remake will feature songs from the 1991 award-winning film. These are the songs written by Alan Menken and Howard Ashman. Menken won an Academy award for the movie's soundtrack. There will also be new songs written by Menken and Tim Rice, as Ashman died before the released of the 1991 movie. They also include songs from the Broadway musical.
It is believed some of the cast members will sing in the live action, something not unheard of as Lily James sang when she played Cinderella.
The BBC adds that Josh Gad, who voiced Olaf in Disney's hit animated movie "Frozen," will play LeFou, Gaston's sidekick.
The casting of Thompson reunites her with Emma Watson, who will play the lead, Belle. The two worked on various movie installments, their characters at times coming head-to-head as Watson's Hermione Granger did not believe the divination classes Thompson's Trelawney taught were useful.
However, now their characters will be better acquainted as Mrs. Potts helps Belle navigate the Beast's mansion.
Also starring are Dan Stevens as the Beast and Luke Evans as Gaston.
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