Tag Archives: Marshall

Auli’i Cravalho to Star in ABC’s Live “The Little Mermaid” Special

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Auli’i Cravalho is heading under the sea…

The 18-year-old part-Puerto Rican actress/singer is set to star as Ariel in ABC’s The Little Mermaid live special.

Auli’i Cravalho

In addition to Cravalho, who rose to acclaim as the voice of the title character in Disney’s Moana, the special will also star Queen Latifah as Ursula and Shaggy as Sebastian. 

The Wonderful World of Disney Presents The Little Mermaid Live!, featuring a mix of live action, animation and puppetry, will air on November 5 to mark the classic Disney animated feature’s 30th anniversary.

ABC originally announced in May 2017that it would stage a live production of the beloved underwater tale under the long-dormant Wonderful World of Disneybanner, which was slated for October 3, 2017. In August of that year, the network announced that the live event had been put on hold.

Since joining ABC last December as President of Entertainment, Karey Burke has expressed strong support for live specials. Her commitment was likely reaffirmed in May after the success of Jimmy Kimmel’s live staging of two classic Norman Lear sitcoms on the network, which spawned two more installments.

Burke today said that if The Little Mermaid is a success, it too can lead to do more live musicals based on Disneyfilm titles on ABC. “If it works, I expect we will do more of them and we will work closely with the feature department about timing,” she said.

Billed as a tribute to the original animated classic and its music, The Wonderful World of Disney Presents The Little Mermaid Live! will feature live musical performances by its star-studded cast interwoven into the broadcast of the original feature film. 

The hybrid format will combine intricate sets and costumes created for the special with music from the original animated film and the Tony Award-winningBroadway stage version, composed by eight-time Oscar-winner Alan Menken. 

Howard Ashman’s film lyrics will also be showcased, with Glenn Slater, lyricist for the Broadway adaptation, as a contributor.

Cravalho is already in the extended Disney Princessesfamily having voiced Moana in the hit animated movie. 

Following her breakout role in Moana, Cravalho performed the film’s anthem, How Far I’ll Go, at the Oscarsand starred in the NBCmusical drama series Rise. It was just announced that she is the lead of the Brett Haley Netflixfilm Sorta Like a Rock Star. 

The announcement of The Wonderful World of Disney Presents The Little Mermaid Live! going forward comes as Disney is gearing up for production of a live-action feature adaptation of The Little Mermaid for director Rob Marshall, Hamilton‘s Lin-Manuel Miranda and Menken. Halle Bailey has been set as Ariel in the movie, Awkwafina as Ariel’s seagull friend Scuttle, and Jacob Tremblay as Ariel’s friendly fish pal Flounder, while Melissa McCarthy has been rumored for the role of UIrsula and Harry Stylesfor Prince Eric.

Burke is not worried about ABC’s live Little Mermaid special and the upcoming movie cannibalizing each other. “Ours is distinctly different from the feature film,” she said.

Gael García Bernal to Perform at This Year’s Oscars

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Gael García Bernal has a date with Oscar…

The 39-year-old Mexican actor/filmmaker will perform at this year’s Academy Awards, according to the show’s producers.

Gael García Bernal

Garcia Bernal will be among the artists tackling this year’s Oscar nominated songs.

Garcia Bernal will be joined by Natalia LaFourcade and Miguel to sing “Remember Me” from Disney/Pixar’s Coco; with music and lyrics by Kristen Anderson-Lopez and Robert Lopez.

Garcia Bernal voiced the character of deceased songwriter Héctor Rivera in the animated film, and his character wrote the song.

Other performers include Mary J. Blige, Andra Day, Keala Settle, Sufjan Stevens and Common.

Blige will perform “Mighty River.” Blige performed the song for Mudbound, and she’s nominated in the Best Supporting Actress category. Blige wrote the Oscar-nominated song with Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson.

Common and Andra Day will perform his Oscar-nominated song “Stand Up For Something” from Marshall, his collaboration with Diane Warren.

Settle will perform the Oscar-nominated song “This is Me” from The Greatest Showman.

Stevens will perform his Oscar-nominated song “Mystery of Love,” written for Call Me by Your Name.

“We’re excited to have these talented artists showcase the powerful contribution music makes to film making,” said De Luca and Todd. “It’s a privilege to welcome them to the 90th Oscars stage.”

The Jimmy Kimmel-hosted show is set for Sunday, March 4.

John Leguizamo to Take Part in The People’s State of the Union

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John Leguizamo is heading to State…

The 53-year-old Colombian actor/comedian will take part in what’s being dubbed as The People’s State of the Union.

John Leguizamo

Taking place a day before U.S. President Donald Trump deliverers his State of the Union speech, Lequizamo will join celebrities like Mark Ruffalo, activists, and representatives from political organizations in New York City on Monday, January 29.

The goal? To unite against Trump’s agenda and spur voters to win back U.S. Congress in the mid-term elections.

“In essence, it’s a better reflection of our state of the union based on a more populist point of view, based on the people’s point of view,” Ruffalo told People of the event. “I think it’s important because we have a president who has a difficult time with the truth, who has a radical, divisive agenda, and spends an enormous amount of time focusing on the negative and hopelessness and despair.”

“We want to celebrate this moment that we’re in of what is now probably one of the most influential and powerful and really beautiful movements to come into play in the United States since the civil rights movement,” Ruffalo continued, going on to describe the event as “a celebration of the power and the beauty of this movement, but also of our accomplishments and to focus on what’s to come in the immediate future.”

Other participants will include Whoopi Goldberg, Cynthia Nixon, Michael Moore, Kathy Najimy, Wanda Sykes, Lee Daniels, Rosie Perez and Fisher Stevens, as well as Andra Day and Common, who will perform their song “Stand Up for Something” from the film Marshall.

To watch the speakers and hear the topics discussed, tune into the live-stream at peoplessotu.org.

Bailon’s “The Real” Renewed Through 2017-2018 Season

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Adrienne Bailon is staying Real throughout the country…

Daytime syndicated talker The Real, featuring the 32-year-old Puerto Rican and Ecuadorian American singer, actress, dancer and television personality as one of the panelists, has been cleared for the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons on television stations covering more than 95% of the country. That includes Fox Television stations as part of a deal announced in October.

The Real

The Daytime Emmy-nominated series is posting ratings growth in its second season and has a strong social media presence, ranking second in daytime to Ellen in total social action and with more than 447 million YouTube views to date.

“The Real has carved out an impressive home in the daytime space,” said Ken Werner, President of Warner Bros. Domestic Television Distribution of the show that features fellow hosts Tamera Mowry-Housley, Jeannie Mai, Tamar Braxton and Loni Love. “The uniqueness of the series is not in its format, but rather in its hosts, whose individuals voices are distinctive and fun and collectively have created a unique destination for conversations that cannot be found elsewhere. Growing in their second season is a great achievement and is a leading indicator of continued success and growth in the years ahead.”

Along with Fox, station groups renewing the show include Sinclair, Hearst, Tribune, Media General, Nexstar, Cox, Gray, Weigel, Sunbeam, Scripps, Raycom, Tegna, Northwest, Meredith, Marshall, Mission, Cordillera, Entravision, Mckinnon and News Press.

The series also will continue to air weeknights on BET at 1:00 am ET/10:00 pm PT.