Dan Stevens: 5 things to know about the 'Beast'

NBC NEWS
Angela Stevens
March 10, 2017

We are just days away from the highly-anticipated debut of Disney’s newest live-action film "Beauty and the Beast." Emma Watson stars as Belle while Dan Stevens takes on the role of the Beast.

Stevens recently stopped by ABC News’ “Popcorn with Peter Travers.”

Here are 5 things we learned about Stevens

1. He learned to walk and dance on stilts for his role as the Beast

“Emma is small. She’s shorter than me. She’s a petite lady. And that extra 10 inches just accentuated the height,” Stevens said. He added that the stilts required some getting used to.

“She’s a great dancer but she was terrified of me that I was going to break her toes in these contraptions that I was wearing,” said Stevens. “Fortunately we learned the dance on the ground. As I always say to my kids, if you think you can fly, always test it taking off from the ground. So we learned it on the ground and then worked our way up to these stilts,” he said. Then they found their rhythm.

“Once we got the footwork down, the dancing on the stilts was surprisingly easy. I thought it was going to be a lot more tragic than it actually was," he remarked. "But once we broke through that sort of fear barrier, it was fantastic. There’s something about the waltz that we had to learn and the way that dance is designed to make you feel, this whirling ecstasy, it’s fantastic. Even on stilts.”

2. Why the prince was turned into a beast

“He’s a rich kid, the son of a billionaire, living in his tower, treating women as objects. He’s not a very nice man really," Stevens said. "He doesn’t really understand love on a sort of elemental level. He thinks these sort of play things can come and go and it’ll be fine. He has a sense of entitlement."

3. For the first time, the Beast gets his own special song

In many of the princess movies, the princess gets her big moment to belt out a rousing number. But this time, a special song was penned by songwriter Alan Menken for the Beast. Menken is best known for his scores for previous Disney films such as "Aladdin," "The Little Mermaid" and "Pocahontas." Menken also scored the animated version of "Beauty and the Beast."

READ MORE HERE: http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/dan-stevens-things-beast/story?id=45953330

Beauty and the Beast's Luke Evans: 'Emma Watson has made Belle a strong, 21st century woman' "It's quite brilliant, what she's done with the role."

DIGITAL SPY
BY NAOMI GORDON
24 FEBRUARY 2017

He may play a narcissistic, testosterone-fuelled baddie in Beauty and the Beast, but in real life, Luke Evans was bowled over by Emma Watson's "brilliant" portrayal of Belle as a "strong, 21st century woman".

The actor takes on brutish love rival Gaston in Disney's live-action adaptation, and speaking to Digital Spy on the set of Noel Clarke's upcoming thriller 10 x 10, he said: "I'm very proud of her achievement in the film - not just her singing ability, but how she's portrayed Belle, and how she's brought her into a 21st century, strong woman."

The Girl on the Train star has a background in musical theatre and explained that, while singing as Gaston wasn't easy, it was a "total joy" to accomplish.

"I wouldn't say it was easy singing as Gaston, but it was very enjoyable," he continued. "I love singing, and Gaston's songs are so great, and they're huge numbers, and so funny. It was just a total joy."

Meanwhile, Luke will star opposite True Detective's Kelly Reilly in Suzi Ewing's first feature-length film 10 x 10 - written by Brotherhood's Noel Clarke

http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/news/a820374/beauty-and-the-beast-luke-evans-emma-watson-belle-strong-21st-century-woman/

Let’s All Watch Tom Hiddleston Sing ‘The Bare Necessities’ Next To Christina Hendricks

UPROXX

WRITTEN BY JOSH KURP

August 10, 2013

The D23 Expo is the kind of place where the press and people who wear lanyards and Mickey Mouse underwear go absolutely nuts over the announcement of a Tinker Bell spinoff movie called The Fairy Pirate. It’s not a pretty look for humanity, unlike Tom Hiddleston and Christina Hendricks, who are about as attractive as humanity gets.

Read more: http://www.uproxx.com/webculture/2013/08/lets-all-watch-tom-hiddleston-sing-the-bear-necessities-next-to-christina-hendricks/#ixzz2bcczzMEW

'Thor' director Kenneth Branagh in talks to direct 'Cinderella' Mark Romanek recently exited the fairy tale film starring Cate Blanchett BY HITFIX STAFF THURSDAY, JAN 31, 2013 4:18 PM (HIT FIX)

"Thor" director Kenneth Branagh may help "Cinderella" live happily ever after at Disney.

Just three weeks after original director Mark Romanek ("Never Let Me Go") exited the project, Disney is reportedly in talks with Branagh to come aboard the fairy tale film.

It's scheduled to begin production this fall in London, and the studio is understandably in a hurry to ink a deal with Branagh, according to Vulture.

Cate Blanchett is still attached to play the wicked stepmother, although the search for Cinderella herself is still on. The film has been in the works since 2011, following the massive success of Tim Burton’s "Alice in Wonderland."  The initial script was by Aline Brosh McKenna ("Devil Wears Prada"), but Vulute reports that "Twilight: New Moon" director Chris Weitz has since re-written it.


Read more at http://www.hitfix.com/news/thor-director-kenneth-branagh-in-talks-to-direct-cinderella#RQEBWFKUOacKAuJZ.99