The Original Writer of ALADDIN Slams Disney For Their Live-Action Remake
The writer of Disney’s original animated film Aladdin, Terry Rossio, is not happy with the live-action remake that the studio is developing. The first teaser trailer for the film was released last week and it featured a lot of familiar elements from the original film. The fans were really happy with what they saw because the trailer did such a great job of tapping into the nostalgia of the fans.
So why is Rossio upset with Disney over it? Because he’s not getting any kind of compensation for the work that he did on the movie even though they are using the dialogue that he wrote. He slammed the Mouse House in a recent tweet saying:
So strange that literally the only words spoken in the new Aladdin trailer happens to be a rhyme that my writing partner 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.
— Terry Rossio (@TerryRossio) October 12, 2018
John August (Big Fish) and Guy Ritchie (Sherlock Holmes) are being credited as the screenwriters for the new Aladdin film, but chances are the script is going to be super similar to the original movie.
I don’t know if Rossio or any of the other original writers will be credited for the work that they put into the story that will be used in the live-action film. Unfortunately Disney doesn’t legally owe them anything due to contracts. the writer explains:
The studio owns the content on an animated feature. When the films were made, no one foresaw a live action remake so nothing was contracted. Disney has been approached many times for some kind of compensation fee (I asked for a Disney pass) but they answered no, zilch, nada.
— Terry Rossio (@TerryRossio) October 12, 2018
Wow! All he was asking for was a pass and they said no! That’s crazy! That’s not asking much. It seems odd that the people who helped create the original classic Disney films wouldn't be able to receive some sort of perk for their work.
Do you think they should be compensated in some way?