Yesterday, The Walt Disney Company unveiled the first teaser trailer for director Guy Ritchie’s upcoming live-action remake of Aladdin, which – from this first look – appears to be very faithful to the classic 1992 animated movie. So much so, in fact, that the original film’s co-writer Terry Rossio is frustrated that he isn’t receiving any acknowledgement or compensation for the use of his dialogue.
“So strange that literally the only words spoken in the new Aladdin trailer happens to be a rhyme that my writing partner [Ted Elliot] and I wrote, and Disney offers zero compensation to us (or to any screenwriters on any of these live-action re-makes) not even a t-shirt or a pass to the park,” wrote Rossio on Twitter.
https://twitter.com/TerryRossio/status/1050617901688872962
Rossio then went on to explain that animated films are not covered by the Writers Guild of America, and as such are “not covered by the WGA, and not subject to any rules, other than those specifically contracted.”
https://twitter.com/TerryRossio/status/1050626895736233984
In fairness to Disney, it’s understandable why they wouldn’t pay out compensation for material that they own, but surely the House of Mouse could stretch to a few complimentary theme park passes and an acknowledgement in the film’s credits?
Aladdin is being directed by Guy Ritchie (King Arthur: Legend of the Sword) and features a cast that includes Mena Massoud (Aladdin), Naomi Scott (Princess Jasmine), Will Smith (Genie), Marwan Kenzari (Jafar), Navid Negahban (The Sultan), Nasim Pedrad (Dalia); Billy Magnussen (Prince Anders) and Numan Acar (Hakim). It is set for release on May 24th 2019.
