Directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, the original ‘Tangled’ starred Mandy Moore as Rapunzel, a spirited young princess with magical, golden hair who escapes from her isolated tower for the first time to experience the world, embarking on an adventure with a charming thief (Zachary Levi), only to discover her true identity and face the dangerous truth about the woman called Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) who kept her captive.
The 50th film released by Disney’s feature animated arm, it had a script from Dan Fogelman, who would go on to create TV hit ‘This is Us.’
The movie was a huge success with both critics and audiences, grossed over $590 million worldwide, scored an Oscar nomination for original song “I See the Light,” and was among the films revitalizing Disney’s princess genre for a new generation.
Who is working on the ‘Tangled’ live-action movie?
(L to R) Hugh Jackman and director Michael Gracey on the set of ‘The Greatest Showman’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
While casting is still at a very early stage, the movie has ‘The Greatest Showman’ and ‘Better Man’ director Michael Gracey still attached to call the shots, working from a script by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson based on the animated version.
Where else can we see Teagan Croft and Milo Manheim?
(Left) Teagan Croft as Rachel Roth / Raven in ‘Titans’. Photo: DC Entertainment / Warner Bros. Television. (Right) Milo Manheim at the Los Angeles Fan Screening for Tristar Pictures and Spyglass Media Group’s ‘Thanksgiving’ at Vista Theatre on November 14, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Stewart Cook/Getty Images for Sony Pictures.
Croft may perhaps be best known for playing Raven in the DC series ‘Titans’, which ran from 2018 to 2023.
She also starred in the Australian movie ‘True Spirit,’ portraying Jessica Watson, the teenage sailor who attempted a solo journey to circumnavigate the globe.
Manheim, the son of actress Camryn Manheim, showed his musical chops over the course of four ‘Zombies’ movies, the popular franchise that combines the undead with snappy songs about being in love and an outsider. In addition to also starring in Paramount+ series ‘School Spirits,’ he starred as Seymour in a revival of ‘Little Shop of Horrors.’
When will the live-action ‘Tangled’ be on screens?
Disney has yet to confirm a release date for the movie, though since it appears to be gearing up for a shoot this year, a 2027 premiere seems likely.
(L to R) Zachary Levi, Terrence Terrell, Quentin Plair and Marshall Cook in ‘Not Without Hope’. Photo: Inaugural Entertainment.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Zachary Levi, Quentin Plair, Terrence Terrell and Marshall Cook about their work on ‘Not Without Hope’, their first reaction to the true story it is based on, their research, creating the friendship between the characters, filming in the water, survivor’s guilt, and working with director Joe Carnahan.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
Zachary Levi in ‘Not Without Hope’. Photo: Inaugural Entertainment.
MF: To begin with, Zachary, were you aware of the true story that the film is based on and what was your first reaction to the screenplay?
Zachary Levi: So, I was familiar with the story in that I remember it being on the news in 2009, kind of in the background. It was one of the mini stories that’s on the news and I was thinking to myself, “Wow, that is so sad that these guys went out for a fishing trip and three of the four didn’t come back.” I didn’t know any of the details. I don’t even know that the details were available at that time. Then the script came across my desk, and I read it. I mean, honestly, the first thing that hits me, and it hits me watching the movie, is that all these lives were so insanely impacted and lost. Three of these gentleman’s lives lost all over an anchor. As I’m reading the script, I’m like, “Just cut it. Just cut it.” As if somehow, I could bring them back into existence, if I could change what had already happened. But that, also, I think, leads to investing you in the story and seeing how it ultimately plays out, and how they’re able to survive. Ultimately, Nick is rescued at the last second, I believe that the Coast Guard said he was 45 minutes away from dying himself. But that last shred of hope, that against all odds, I will hold on, I will believe that something will change in this course of events, and it did. I’m grateful that he lived to write the book, and for us to go make this movie, for us to honor Marquis, Corey and Will because they’re not here. So, I think all of that affected me as I was reading the script and, ultimately, wanted me to sign on.
(L to R) Quentin Plair, errence Terrell, Zachary Levi and Marshall Cook in ‘Not Without Hope’. Photo: Inaugural Entertainment.
MF: Quentin, can you talk about the friendship that these four men had together and what it was like for you creating that on screen with your fellow actors?
Quentin Plair: Well, Marshall and I live very close to each other. So, we were in the same gym and this guy just walks up to me and he’s like, “Hey, are you Quentin Plair?” I’m like, “Yeah, who are you?” He’s like, “Hey, I shouldn’t say this, but I just got this ‘Not Without Hope’ and I know you got it as well.” I was like, “Oh man, that’s awesome.” So, during the prep process, I think that was probably maybe two months or so before we were going to film. The two of us exchanged information, and we pushed each other because we were swimming and working out in preparation for it. Then we get out there and the way that we did the shooting, we did the water stuff before we did the out of the water stuff. So, all of us were just going through this thing together. To be a survival movie, it’s an intimate look at it. It’s a up close and personal look at it. You kind of feel like you’re out there with us. There were so many times, where Zach had to literally pull me onto the boat, pull me through the water, lift me up himself, hold me, and cradle me in his arms. I’m dead weight at that point because I’m being overtaken by hypothermia. What I call my last present moments are just his eyes looking down at me, my eyes looking back at him, and just having this intense, organic, genuine connection through all these tough external things, the water, the wind machines, the rain, the cold of the water, the waves, and just the relentless night after night of these night shoots. Then we get on land and it’s kind of like, we just get to have fun. We just get to have this connection. We get to joke around, and we get to laugh. That felt like such a relief that like, “Oh, no, we don’t have to go through this pain”. We’re on a regular sleep cycle. We’re on all these things, and we had built such a bond through going through that, that once we got to those scenes, I think it was just palpable. People that watched it, I think, saw that and I saw it myself and it just really all worked out.
(L to R) Zachary Levi and Marshall Cook in ‘Not Without Hope’. Photo: Inaugural Entertainment.
MF: Marshall, can you talk about the challenges of shooting in water and acting in those harsh conditions?
Marshall Cook: Well, there’s two different ways of looking at it. I mean, the one challenge is, obviously, you can’t really plan anything because you’re just constantly off balance. I mean, it was hard to just stay on the boat. There’s a lot that you don’t expect that Joe is doing behind the scenes. He’s queuing water cannons to go off when you’re not expecting them and there’s just a lot of chaos. So, there’s no real rhythm and you must do more reacting, which is the other way of looking at it is that you can just kind of be, and it requires less acting sometimes. So, I think not overthinking it and just saying, “Am I this person in this scenario? Is that convincing to the audience?” You can just kind of let go, and there’s certain beats and things you must do in a scene, but you get away from overthinking or pre-planning. I mean, to me, I think it was a gift. I think the biggest challenge was just navigating the cold.
Director Joe Carnahan on the set of ‘Shadow Force’. Photo: Courtesy of Lionsgate.
MF: Terrence, what was your experience like working with director Joe Carnahan on this project?
Terrence Terrell: Joe has so much energy and so many surprises. He’ll say the tank’s going to go off just twice, and it went off 15 times just to get you. Then the other cool thing about it was freezing in that water. I remember a couple of times; Joe went in the water with us. So, he was on the side with no wetsuit on or anything, with the camera and in the water with us. So, that was cool to let us know that not only was he directing us in this chaos, but he also didn’t mind jumping in the chaos with us. So, I love Joe. He’s so cool.
Zachary Levi in ‘Not Without Hope’. Photo: Inaugural Entertainment.
MF: Finally, Zachary, can you talk about the research you did for this role and how it helped inform your performance? Also, did Nick have “survivor’s guilt” and how did he overcome that?
ZL: I mean, I talked to Nick quite a few times just trying to get into his head and understand his journey through all of this. As you can imagine, it was quite a traumatic experience. With trauma, a lot of memory can get repressed. But I know that Nick is a strong man, and he continues to live his life. It’s like when Tom Hanks looks at Matt Damon in ‘Saving Private Ryan’. He says, “Earn it.” Because all these guys, this whole platoon, basically, lost their lives for you to go and be with your family and live a life beyond this. I think that Nick really does step up to live his life to be an honorable man and to honor these friends of his that were lost. Survivor’s guilt is real. We nod at that in the end of the film. Nick’s still having these images of his friends and their experience together. I think we try to layer as much of that in there without being too heavy-handed. I mean, there’s so much that you could unpack in all of it psychologically. But I think Joe did a really good job of telling the story that needed to be told, honoring the gentlemen in that story, and that’s what we’ve got. That’s what’s on the screen.
‘Not Without Hope’ opens in theaters on December 12th.
What is the plot of ‘Not Without Hope’?
A group of friends’ fishing boat capsizes off the coast of Mexico and they’re left alone stranded at sea and struggling for survival.
(Left) Scarlett Johansson in ‘My Mother’s Wedding’. Photo: Vertical. (Right) Donna Murphy as Mother Gothel in ‘Tangled’. Photo: Walt Disney Animation Studios.
Preview:
Disney is putting a live-action ‘Tangled’ back into development.
Scarlett Johansson is circling the role of Mother Gothel.
‘The Greatest Showman’s Michael Gracey remains attached to direct.
What a difference a hit makes.
While Disney had been looking to add ‘Tangled’ to its roster of animated-to-live-action conversion movies, development on the film was paused back in April when ‘Snow White’ failed to be the fairest (or most successful) of them all at the box office.
But now, in the wake of ‘Lilo & Stitch’ making more than $1.3 billion, it is back on track, though without a formal greenlight.
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And it also appears to represent a thawing of relations between Scarlett Johansson and the studio, who despite suing over earnings from ‘Black Widow’, has remained attached via a producing deal and now, via Deadline, is circling the role of Mother Gothel.
Directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, the original ‘Tangled’ starred Mandy Moore as Rapunzel, a spirited young princess with magical, golden hair who escapes from her isolated tower for the first time to experience the world, embarking on an adventure with a charming thief (Zachary Levi), only to discover her true identity and face the dangerous truth about the woman called Mother Gothel (Donna Murphy) who kept her captive.
The 50th film released by Disney’s feature animated arm, it had a script from Dan Fogelman, who would go on to create TV hit ‘This is Us.’
The movie was a huge success with both critics and audiences, grossed over $590 million worldwide, scored an Oscar nomination for original song “I See the Light,” and was among the films revitalizing Disney’s princess genre for a new generation.
Who is working on the ‘Tangled’ live-action movie?
(L to R) Hugh Jackman and director Michael Gracey on the set of ‘The Greatest Showman’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
While casting is still at a very early stage, the movie has ‘The Greatest Showman’ and ‘Better Man’ director Michael Gracey still attached to call the shots, working from a script by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson based on the animated version.
Where else can we see Scarlett Johansson?
(L to R) Scarlett Johansson and June Squibb on the set of ‘Eleanor the Great’ Image: Anne Joyce. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.
Disney is adding ‘Tangled’ to its animated-to-live-action conversion catalogue.
‘The Greatest Showman’ director Michael Gracey is in talks to handle the movie.
Jennifer Kaytin Robinson is writing the script.
Having enjoyed a fair amount of success turning its animated back catalogue into live-action movies, Disney is looking to turn that cash geyser on once more.
At least, according to Deadline, which reports that the studio is now putting a live-action version of 2010’s ‘Tangled’ into development.
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The original animated adventure, which adapts the classic Brothers Grimm tale about the young woman with the long flowing locks whose hair helps her escape imprisonment in a tower, is just the latest film making the move from animation to live-action (or at least live-action with some CG).
And director Michael Gracey is the man in talks to make it all happen.
What’s the story of ‘Tangled’?
2010’s ‘Tangled’. Photo: Walt Disney Studios.
Directed by Nathan Greno and Byron Howard, the original ‘Tangled’ starred Mandy Moore as Rapunzel, a spirited young princess with magical, golden hair who escapes from her isolated tower for the first time to experience the world, embarking on an adventure with a charming thief (Zachary Levi), only to discover her true identity and face the dangerous truth about the woman (Donna Murphy) who kept her captive.
The 50th film released by Disney’s feature animated arm, it had a script from Dan Fogelman, who would go on to create TV hit ‘This is Us.’
The movie was a huge success with both critics and audiences, grossed over $590 million worldwide, scored an Oscar nomination for original song “I See the Light,” and was among the films revitalizing Disney’s princess genre for a new generation.
Composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater were behind the film’s music.
Despite its big impact, the film has yet to spur a sequel. According to producer Ray Conli, it wasn’t for want of pressure from the studio.
“There was a desire to somehow take it into a filmic sequel. But the directors weren’t really interested in doing that. Her hair was gone! There you go!”
Still, there was ‘Tangled Ever After,’ a short that played before a 3D theatrical re-release of ‘Beauty and the Beast ‘and on the Disney Channel, and the Disney Channel animated series ‘Rapunzel’s Tangled Adventure.’
The new movie has seemingly been in development for a while, as Deadline’s report mentions that Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who contributed to the script for ‘Thor: Love & Thunder’ and wrote/directed Netflix’s ‘Do Revenge,’ wrote the most recent draft of the new ‘Tangled’s script.
Disney has naturally not commented on the new movie, so casting is likely a ways off. But with Gracey closing in on a deal, we’d expect announcements to come soon.
While neither Moore nor Levi (he especially given his political views) are likely to return for much more than cameos, some (including Levi) have suggested ‘Dune’ and ‘A Complete Unknown’s Timothée Chalamet as a potential Flynn.
That said, he seems unlikely to tackle the job.
Fans, meanwhile, have been talking up the combo of Disney channel veteran (and current pop star) Sabrina Carpenter as Rapunzel and ‘Red White and Royal Blue’s Taylor Zakhar Perez.
We’ll have to wait and see who ends up in the key roles.
Much more important in our opinion is finding the right horse (real or CG) to play Maximus, the stubborn, sarcastic horse who steals the movie from under the main characters.
(L to R) Hugh Jackman and director Michael Gracey on the set of ‘The Greatest Showman’. Photo: 20th Century Fox.
Gracey right now is best known for his zeitgeisty directorial debut, ‘The Greatest Showman,’ one of the highest grossing live-action musicals of all time, starring Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum, which took in more than $435 million worldwide and earned a number of major accolades, including a Grammy and a Golden Globe.
The film’s soundtrack in particular became a big sensations, with the likes of “The Greatest Show” and “This Is Me” –– co-written by ‘La La Land’ Oscar winners Benj Pasek and Justin Paul –– turning into crossover pop hits.
Gracey co-wrote, directed and produced ‘Better Man,’ a semi-autobiographical musical about British pop icon Robbie Williams, in which he’s portrayed as a chimpanzee through some impressive visual effects.
What other animated-to-live-action conversions does Disney have on the way?
‘Shazam! Fury Of The Gods’ star Zachary Levi attends Canadian red carpet screening proudly co-hosted by Audi Canada. Photo: George Pimentel/Shutterstock for Warner Bros.
Preview:
Zachary Levi will star in a new thriller called ‘Free Fall’.
Stunt coordinator Zöe Bell is directing.
The movie will see a father and daughter trapped after an accident.
While Zachary Levi has spent the last few years flying around as the titular comical DC hero ‘Shazam!’, he’ll be worried about gravity in a different way for a new thriller.
He’s now attached to the lead role in ‘Free Fall’, which will focus on a rock climber who gets into trouble many feet in the air.
It’s just the latest movie to focus on daring climbers who end up trapped, following 2002 thriller ‘Fall’, which saw two young women trapped on a radio tower. We doubt there will be quite as many strange/dangerous interactions with vultures in this one, though we’d like to see the birds cross over to this new movie.
(L to R) Zoë Bell and Brad Pitt on the set of ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’. Photo: Sony Pictures.
The new film will mark the directorial debut of Zöe Bell, a stunt performer and coordinator who got her start on the likes of ‘Xena: Warrior Princess’.
‘Free Fall’ would mark her directorial debut after acting as Second Unit Director on some of her movies.
What’s the story of ‘Free Fall’?
Zachary Levi stars in ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods.’
The movie, written by Sean Finegan and Gregg Maxwell Parker, tells the story of a father’s attempt to reconcile with his estranged daughter on a rock-climbing trip that turns deadly as an accident leaves them stranded hundreds of feet in the air.
Bell aims to have the movie shooting later this year in New Zealand.
‘Free Fall’: the filmmakers speak
(L to R) Rosario Dawson, Tracie Thoms, Zoë Bell and Mary Elizabeth Winstead in ‘Death Proof.’ Photo: Dimension Films.
Here’s what Bell said about the new movie in a statement:
“This script is the perfect combo of heartfelt and heart-stopping. Between the producing team, the cast and the New Zealand crews, words don’t do justice to how thrilled I am to be bringing this film home.”
And here’s executive producers Navid McIlhargey and Erik Olsen:
“We’re very excited to embark on this film with so many longtime friends. Sean wrote the script after working with us as an executive on the Warner Bros. lot. And that’s where we met Zac while he was shooting ‘Chuck’ on Stage 4 and befriended Zoë after seeing her brilliant stunt work in ‘Kill Bill.’”
When will ‘Free Fall’ be in theaters?
‘Free Fall’, as in indie production, hasn’t kicked off shooting yet and doesn’t have a confirmed release date.
In select theaters now and on Netflix on December 15th, ‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’ is British animation experts Aardman finally revisiting a story they first put on screens back in 2000, a time when a sizeable portion of its target audience wasn’t even born yet.
That doesn’t hold it back, though; a little like Pixar, Aardman’s work has always been entertaining the whole family, or indeed anyone who likes well-crafted entertainment.
A confusing casting choice aside, this return to the story is every bit as fun as the original.
Is ‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’ worth breaking into?
2000’s ‘Chicken Run’ was a witty, wonderful combination of World War II prison camp escape spoof and meet-cute, opposites-attract romantic comedy. It showed that Aardman could bring its subversive, funny style to theaters.
It never quite reaches the heights of, say, the company’s ‘Wallace & Gromit’ output, but it’s still a family-friendly caper.
‘Dawn of the Nugget’ replicates that feeling, albeit with some new CG-assisted tricks that more modern cinematic technology allows. Don’t go assuming it loses any of the hand-crafted charm of Aardman’s output, though –– you can still see the fingerprints in the clay, and the heart is very much intact.
‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’: Script and Direction
Karey Kirkpatrick, John O’Farrell and Rachel Tunnard are responsible for the movie’s screenplay (Kirkpatrick and O’Farrell both contributed to the original), and they maintain the high joke ratio and warmly-created characters, while adding to it in interesting ways. Moving Rocky and Ginger’s story ahead to the next generation keeps things interesting and Molly is a great foil for her parents.
On the visual side of things, Sam Fell (who started his career at Aardman before heading off to work for other companies such as fellow stop-motion team Laika), brings a similar style to the original, while updating it.
As opposed to the World War II trappings of the original, ‘Dawn of the Nugget’ has a lot more in common with the likes of Bond movies (the new nugget factory pulls double duty as a villain’s laser, complete with exploding duck mines in the moat) and the ‘Mission: Impossible’ franchise (you’ll be able to spot a couple of riffs to the latter’s famous theme tune mixed into the score).
It has plenty of fun sending up both while combining that with the character comedy for which Aardman has also become famous. You don’t have to have seen the original to pick up the story here; some handy flashbacks fill in the details, but if you do watch it (we recommend it), you’ll catch more of the in-jokes and call-backs.
The first movie had the voices of Mel Gibson and British sitcom actor Julia Sawalha (she’s perhaps best known for playing Jennifer Saunders’ put-upon daughter in ‘Absolutely Fabulous’) as Rocky and Ginger.
Swapping out the seriously problematic Gibson for Levi (not completely without issue himself, but far less toxic at least) feels like a smart move, but the confusion is replacing Sawalha with Thandiwe Newton. Not that Newton isn’t great as Ginger, channeling enough of the original voice while bringing her own spin to it, but Sawalha has said that she was available to work and happy to return, so the choice is an odd one.
Still, much of the rest of the original cast is back, voicing a variety of funny foul characters. Jane Horrocks is never less than funny as the endlessly ditzy Babs, and it’s great to have the likes of Imelda Staunton and Lynn Ferguson back on vocal duty.
The new recruits fit in seamlessly, including ‘Harry Potter’s David Bradley as Fowler, a confused veteran who can still show some impressive logistical and espionage skills and Romesh Ranganathan as Nick, a crafty rat who helps the main characters.
And Bella Ramsey, who has been so impressive in the likes of ‘Game of Thrones’ and particularly ‘The Last of Us’, brings a real spirit of adventure and rebelliousness to Molly. It would have been easy to make her just be a copy of her mother but Ramsey’s work, combined with the script, means it’s never that.
If you’re a die-hard (yes, that Bruce Willis classic is also referenced) fan of the original, ‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’ is a more than fitting follow-up, which boasts a similar spirit and updates the aesthetic, and you’ll find yourself rooting for the feathery heroes all over again.
Oh, while the trailer somewhat gives it away, there is a great surprise return for one of the best characters of the original. We won’t spoil that here for you.
‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’ receives 8 out of 10 stars.
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What’s the story of ‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’?
Having pulled off a death-defying escape from Tweedy’s farm, Ginger (Thandiwe Newton) has finally found her dream — a peaceful island sanctuary for the whole flock, far from the dangers of the human world.
When she and Rocky (Zachary Levi) hatch a little girl called Molly, Ginger’s happy ending seems complete. But back on the mainland the whole of chicken-kind faces a new and terrible threat. For Ginger and her team, even if it means putting their own hard-won freedom at risk — this time, they’re breaking in!
Who else is in ‘Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget’?
The voices outside of the leads include David Bradley, Lynn Ferguson, Imelda Staunton, Daniel Mays, Bella Ramsey, Romesh Ranganathan and Nick Mohammed.
Opening in North America theaters on December 1st is the English-dubbed version of Andrea Eckerbom’s hit Norwegian CGI-live action hybrid movie ‘Teddy’s Christmas,’ which features the voice of Zachary Levi (‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’) in the title role.
Zachary Levi stars in ‘Teddy’s Christmas,’ which opens in U.S. theaters on December 1st.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Zachary Levi about his work on ‘Teddy’s Christmas,’ how he got involved in the project, dubbing another actor’s performance, working with the director, playing a different type of character, and making a Christmas movie, as well as his opinion on the state of Superhero movies today.
Zachary Levi attends the World Premiere of ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ in Westwood, CA. Photo: Eric Charbonneau.
You can read the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
Moviefone: To begin with, how did you get involved with ‘Teddy’s Christmas,’ and what was it like dubbing over another actor’s performance?
Zachary Levi: I got involved because they came with an offer. They said, “Hey. We made this delightful little movie, ‘Teddy’s Christmas,’ in a very different language, and we’d like to bring it to the American market. We think Zach would be the perfect English voice to be Teddy.” I thought, like I said, it was a delightful project. It was already really a wonderful little film that they had made, and I’d never voiced a teddy bear before. You got to do that once in your life. But also, I had never dubbed anything. I had been dubbed, but I was never the dubber. I was like, “This could be a really interesting challenge. I’ve never done that.” That’s honestly a lot of what I try to do when I’m picking roles, is there a challenge in there somewhere? Is there something I’ve never done? Is it a skill I need to learn, or an emotional place I’ve never been to, or a character I’ve never really put on? In this case, it was a little bit of all that in that I’d never played this exact type of character, but also, I had never dubbed anything. I thought that would be an interesting experience, and it was, by the way. It’s an interesting challenge, because you must do it, obviously, in sync. I mean, fortunately, Teddy doesn’t have lips, so it’s more of an open and shut case, if you will. But still, you got to kind of line it up to that, and then, also, there’s a certain amount of time Teddy’s talking. So, whatever you’re saying must fit into that time, whereas if we’re doing an original piece, the lines can be kind of as long or short or whatever. You’re creating it in the moment. But with this role with Teddy, it was a different type of challenge, but a fun one.
‘Teddy’s Christmas’ opens in U.S. theaters on December 1st.
MF: There is a lot of Norwegian humor in the movie. Did you watch the original Norwegian film first, and did any of the jokes go over your head?
ZL: I didn’t get all the jokes until later when we were recording. You’re basically going scene by scene, line by line. But it was interesting because I understood. Not only did I understand the script and the story better doing that, but also, we were able to adjust. Because there were certain references that were very Norwegian and there was no translational equal in English. So, we were kind of having to figure that out, like, “Oh yeah. What would we say here?” Also, “What do we say here that matches Teddy’s mouth that is this long of a sentence or a time?” So yes and no. Watching it, you don’t really understand all of it, because again, there’s some inside baseball stuff for those guys. But then, that also made it more challenging and therefore more enjoyable in some ways.
Zachary Levi stars in ‘Teddy’s Christmas,’ which opens in U.S. theaters on December 1st.
MF: What was the recording process like, and did you find Teddy’s voice right away?
ZL: Well, the voice was me, basically. Listen, I do all kinds of different voices, dialects, accents and stuff, but I don’t get hired for that as much. I think also, part of getting hired was that they’re looking for an actor of some repute, of some kind of name or marquee value, because they’re bringing this movie to the U.S. So in that case, they’re banking on your voice, because nobody can see your face. So, if I change my voice too much, then it’s like, “Why did we hire that guy? We didn’t need that guy. We could go get somebody else.” So, the voice was pretty much still my voice, but obviously, the character of Teddy is not exactly my character. It’s interesting, because he’s kind of very naive to most things in the world. He’s this stuffed animal come to life with all his little toy friends, and so they’re very ignorant about a lot of things. But also, he’s already got all these big dreams. He’s like, “I want to go travel, and see this, and do that,” and this ego that’s in him of like, ” I can’t do that with a kid. I need an adult. I need an adult that’s got money, baby.” So, it was fun getting to hold those two things, those seemingly very paradoxical things, this naivete, but also this almost jaded ego. The director for my sessions was a wonderful dude who was not in the booth with me. I think he was in Germany, and he gets hired to do a lot of these foreign language projects because he speaks multiple languages. So, what he’ll do is he’ll watch the foreign language version and get the translation of that. Then, he’s looking at Teddy and all the human’s mouths and everything, and he’s trying to rewrite the exact sentiment, but in different wording so that it matches the way the lips would move if you’re saying it in English because obviously, languages transpose a lot of different things and whatnot. So, it’s really a fascinating job, and because I had never dubbed anything, I had never really met anyone like him. So that’s how the process was. It was a couple different sessions, and we just, very systematically, thoroughly made our way through and made sure that it was all there, that the tone was all there, that it matched with the rest of what the movie is and what everybody else was doing, and that all the lips were synced, and that was that.
‘Teddy’s Christmas’ opens in U.S. theaters on December 1st.
MF: Teddy is a different type of character than we’ve seen you play in the past. Can you talk about the challenges of playing this role, and since this is a Christmas movie, do you hope that the film will become a holiday tradition for families to watch?
ZL: I mean, nail on the head in that that’s so much of what you hope for. I mean, listen, every time I take on a job, anytime I go do a movie or a TV show or whatever it is that I’m doing, my initial hope is, “I hope this blesses people. I hope that this brings joy, love, peace, and hope.” Or with dramatic roles, “Does it shine a light on something important? Does it stir something in their soul? Does it make them angry about something?” Sometimes, you need to get people to say, “What’s going on in the world? Let’s go make a change. Let’s do something about it.” So that’s the initial hope, that whoever sees it, whenever they see it, that they’re positively affected by the piece. Holiday movies are, more than any other season or other holiday, Christmas holiday movies have a season, and they come through. They’re on, and you want to watch them, because they keep you in that same festive, holiday kind of vibe, which is the best part about the holidays. All the running around and the stress of getting all the gifts and doing all the things, we should all be generous, but we should be generous all year long. It’s one of the things about the holidays that’s always kind of bugged me. I feel like everybody waits for Thanksgiving to be thankful, and they wait for Christmas to be generous. It’s like, how about you just do that all year long? Why do we need a day to remind us? Because we’ve lost our way. So, it’s great to be a part of that ethos with holiday films, and I’ve gotten to do a couple of them now at this point. I love it. Also, I love being able to make movies that, while Teddy isn’t exactly a character I’ve ever played before, the four-quadrant family entertainment of it all is something I’m very well familiar with, versed in, and blessed by, and I’ve been blessed by for many years. I love that I’ve been doing this for 25 years as an actor professionally, which is crazy. So, it’s amazing. But I’ve been doing this for this long, and I’ve gotten to do, essentially, family entertainment since the beginning of my career. So, there are kids that watched ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Squeakquel’ and ‘Chuck’. Right? That was back in 2007. Those children are adults now. They’re adults, and I’ll meet them, and they go, “I loved you in ‘Alvin and the Chipmunks,’” or “I loved you in ‘Chuck,’” or ‘Tangled,’ or ‘Shazam!’ or the various things I’ve gotten to do. So, I hope that this is one of those things, too. I hope that there are kids years from now that go, “Were you the voice of Teddy in ‘Teddy’s Christmas?’ I loved that movie when I was a kid,” or even adults that I’ll meet now, and hopefully they enjoy it just as much.
MF: Finally, as you are probably aware, there has been a lot of online chatter recently that the superhero genre is dying because both Marvel and DC have had a difficult time at the box office this year. You’ve appeared in both Marvel movies (‘Thor: The Dark World’ and ‘Thor: Ragnarok’) and DC films (‘Shazam!’ and ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’), so you are uniquely qualified to answer this question. In your opinion, what do you think is the future of superhero movies? Are audiences tired of the genre or do you think it will make a comeback?
ZL: Well, listen, I’m not the authority on the matter in that I’m sure the people at the top of Marvel and DC, they’re all having conversations, possibly even with each other, commiserating about these various things. So, 15 years ago, that was really the beginning with ‘Iron Man.’ Not that there weren’t other superhero movies prior to that. Obviously, Michael Keaton‘s ‘Batman’ and ‘Superman,’ things that were still very powerful. It was like, “Now, we have the special effects. We have CG, and it’s ready.” Because there were some movies that could have been pretty good, but the CG wasn’t great yet, and ‘Iron Man,’ from soup to nuts, Robert Downey Jr. and Jon Favreau created something very special. Then, the computer graphics were there, and that really led the charge into, I think, the modern era of these last 15 years of superhero movies. There have been so many great ones, I think in both universes. But listen, the state of it all right now, I think that there are things going on internally, I’m sure, at each company. There are things unique to those companies that they are navigating, they are trying to figure out and bring audiences the best movies that they can, I hope. It’s all above my pay grade, but I will concur that I think it’s obvious that too much of a good thing is too much. Also, maybe it’s not even just too much of a good thing. Maybe it was a good thing for a while, and now it is losing. It’s not just people burning out on the genre, but also studios and filmmakers having a harder and harder time reinventing the genre. The formula starts looking old, and you’re like, “Do we do the formula? Because the formula worked.” Sometimes people really want that. They really want the formula, audiences, but then, also, they don’t. You know? I think a great example of something like that, in fact, it’s a perfect example, is ‘Joker.’ While not a superhero movie, obviously, it’s a supervillain movie, but a super comic movie, nonetheless. What they did with that film was a reinvention on the genre. Right? It was the same genre, essentially, I mean the same universe, but kind of a different genre, because it was like ‘Taxi Driver.’ It was like this exploration of mental health and illness, which I thought was incredible, and it won so big, and deservedly so. Because it wasn’t just making a Joker movie that would somehow fit into the same slipstream as everything else. So, I think that’s what it’s going to take. I think it’s going to take not just, hopefully, people being less fatigued, but I think the fatigue is directly connected to the fact that they’re tired of the same thing. If we can give them even variations on the theme, like, “Well, here’s what we were doing, and here, we’re going to do this.” Maybe that can even fit into this universe? I like that finally, both universes are claiming a multiverse, because a multiverse essentially allows you to not have to connect everything. Everything can kind of exist in its own thing, and if you want to, you can connect a character, but it’s played by a different actor. Because it’s that human playing that character in that part of the multiverse. So, I think the more that we can think outside the box into those worlds, and making movies that are even more specific to that character in that universe, I think will be cool. I think that will help.
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What is the plot of ‘Teddy’s Christmas?’
While visiting a Christmas market in her Norwegian town, eight-year-old Mariann (Marte Klerck-Nilssen) suddenly sees an unbelievable sight: on the top shelf of a carnival game booth, the most adorable stuffed teddy bear (Zachary Levi) has just moved his head and sneezed. Feeling an instant connection with the living stuffed-animal, Mariann can’t think of any better Christmas wish than to win him as a prize. But when someone else wins Teddy, it’s up to him and his new hedgehog friend, Bolla (Lene Kongsvik Johansen), to reconnect with Mariann and discover the true importance of family and friendship.
Zachary Levi continues to be one of the more outspoken actors, especially at a time when performers and writers can’t talk up their work given the strikes.
In fact, he broached that very subject recently, receiving backlash for seemingly speaking out against the strikes.
Levi recently clarified his comments on striking.
“I fully support my union, the WGA, and the strike. I remain an outspoken critic of the exploitative system that us artists are subject to work in since I started my journey in this business 25 years ago. This strike is necessary to protect ourselves, our writers, and all those working in production who make the industry move.”
“I personally feel like the amount of content that comes out of Hollywood that is garbage — they don’t care enough to actually make it great for you guys. They don’t. How many times do you watch a trailer and go, ‘Oh my god, this looks so cool!’ Then you go to the movie and it’s like, ‘This was what I get?’ They know that once you’ve already bought the ticket and you’re in the seat, they’ve got your money. And the only way for us to change any of it is to not go to the garbage. We have to actively not choose the garbage. It’ll help. It’ll help a lot.”
It’s a matter of some irony that audiences rejected Levi’s latest output, as superhero sequel ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ flopped at the box office earlier this year, making $133.8 million worldwide (not great given its estimated $125 million budget and unknown marketing costs).
Yet Levi wasn’t alone in his comments. Charlie Kaufman, the writer/director behind ‘Synecdoche, New York’ and 2020’s ‘I’m Thinking of Ending Things’ was leading a masterclass at the Sarajevo Film Festival and urged filmmakers to find a new way to create work outside of the studio system.
“At this point, the only thing that makes money is garbage. It’s just fascinating. It makes a fortune, and that’s the bottom line. It’s very seductive to the studios but also to the people who engage and become the makers of that garbage, especially if they’re lauded for the garbage because they don’t have to look inward or think long about what they’re doing.”
He also touched on the subject of A.I. –– which has been a hot-button topic, especially between writers and the studios as the strikes rumble on.
This was his comment:
“Once you give that up and allow the studios to use AI to write their screenplay, there’s no going back. Then there’s no hope because AI can’t create a moment of humanity. As long as people are doing it and there’s that struggle, then there’s always a chance that something will come out of it that will be worth something to human beings.”
Zachary Levi attends the World Premiere of ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ in Westwood, CA. Photo: Eric Charbonneau.
Zachary Levi opens up about the superhero film ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ and his future with the franchise. In an interview with The FilmUp Podcast, the actor acknowledges the criticism from movie critics, “I don’t know what the future holds for it all because, unfortunately, the second movie was not well received,” Levi says of the low critics’ score, “The audience score is still quite good, but the critics’ score was very oddly and perplexingly low, and people were insanely unkind.”
Currently, ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ stands at 49% from critics on Rotten Tomoates and an audience score of 86%. For comparison, the 2019 ‘Shazam!’ is certified Fresh on the aggregator site, with a 90% critics’ score and 82% audience score. The film became available on digital less than a month after its theatrical release, grossing $133 million worldwide. The production budget for ‘ Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ was $125 million.
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The actor eludes to reasons why the sequel did not perform as well as its predecessor:
“I think even just the world, from the first movie to the second movie, the world has shifted so much. Social media has shifted so much. Hate, online hate and haters and trolls, and factions and all that has just gotten more galvanized in its toxicity. I think there are people who genuinely, unfortunately, want to destroy certain projects because they don’t like them, or they don’t like me, or they don’t like other people involved in them or whatever.”
Levi questions whether or not he’ll be able to return as Shazam in the new DCU but remains hopeful, “I have no idea where we go from here. I just hope that or believe that history will show… it will be one of those things that people will go back, people will watch ‘Fury of the Gods’ on home streaming or on a plane or whatever, and it will be this movie that they heard so much s**t about and then they will be like, ‘Well, wait a minute.’ ”
Zachary Levi is not the only actor with an uncertain future in the DCU. Fellow actors who held titular characters such as Henry Cavill, Gal Gadot, and Dwayne Johnson are unlikely to return to reprise their roles. While certain superheroes have made cameo appearances in recent films such as ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ and ‘The Flash’ it doesn’t cement their return to the DCU since its revamp. We have yet to see a brand-new movie released under the reign of James Gunn and Peter Safran, other than what has been laid out in the initial roadmap promising ‘Superman: Legacy,’ ‘Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow,’ ‘Brave and the Bold,’ ‘Swamp Thing,’ and ‘The Authority.’
The DC comic-book sequel is coming to Max faster than you can say Shazam! Follow the Shazam family along on their next adventure and their battle with the daughters of Atlas.
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Following the events of 2019’s Shazam! Billy Baxton and his foster siblings continue to be heroes for the people of Philadelphia, now with a better understanding of their newfound powers. But a new threat arrives that proves to be much more powerful than anything they have ever faced.
“Bestowed with the powers of the gods, Billy Batson and his fellow foster kids are still learning how to juggle teenage life with their adult superhero alter egos. When a vengeful trio of ancient gods arrives on Earth in search of the magic stolen from them long ago, Shazam and his allies get thrust into a battle for their superpowers, their lives, and the fate of the world.”
‘Shazam Fury of the Gods’ opened to $30.1 million, $23.3 million less than the first film despite it being number one in the box office for its opening weekend. The sequel has grossed $132.1 million worldwide since its release.
Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu Faces Off Against The Shazam Family
On top of juggling their superpowers and their normal lives, Billy and his siblings faces a new threat in the Daughters of Atlas. Helen Mirren and Lucy Liu play sisters Hespera and Kalypso, arriving on Earth seeking revenge from those who took their powers. They go head-to-head with the Shazam family, stripping some of them of their powers, rendering Billy to face them alone.
The chemistry between Mirren and Liu is undeniable, and some of the best moments in the film were when both were on screen together. The addition of Rachel Zegler (‘West Side Story‘) as the third sister Anthea created a fantastic dynamic as she struggled with how far her sisters are willing to go to regain their magic.
Each sister possessed a different type of magic. Hespera has the power to manipulate the elements, giving her the ability to control air, water, fire, and earth. Kalypso has the power of chaos and can cause widespread panic and hysteria just by a whisper in one’s ear. Anthea has the ability to manipulate reality, giving her the control to wrap and shift her surroundings.
The threat doesn’t stop there. This film is also filled with fantastical creatures from Greek mythology such as Ladon the Dragon, chimeras, minotaurs, harpies, and cyclops. The creatures were born out of the Tree of Life planted by Kalypso, wreaking havoc on Fawcett City. While not tied to the Greek mythology, unicorns also played a part in the movie serving as steeds for the Shazam fam.
The Wonderous Cameo
Gal Gadot as Diana Prince/Wonder Woman in ‘Wonder Woman 1984.’
In the 2019 ‘Shazam!’ film, there was plenty of mention of other DC superheroes such as Batman, Wonder Woman, Aquaman, and Superman. In fact, Superman (sort of) made a cameo towards the end of the film, though not played by Henry Cavill as he was only seen from the chin down. This was again mentioned in ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’, acknowledging that Shazam is not the only superhero in this universe.
Audiences were quite surprised to see a full-on cameo of Wonder Woman, played by Gal Gadot. Wonder Woman appears during the film in Billy’s dream but her face was not revealed as the dream was interrupted by the Wizard Shazam in order to communicate with the teen. However, toward the end of the film, the Amazonian warrior appears again and as the camera continues to pan up it is revealed that it is Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman, complete with her iconic theme music.
Since James Gunn and Peter Safran took over as co-chairmen of DC Studios, it was revealed that they’re resetting the DC Universe after ‘The Flash’. It is uncertain whether we’ll see the likes of Gal Gadot and other DC superhero actors such as Jason Momoa or even Zachary Levi appear in future DC films as their characters. Regardless of the future, it was a treat for DC fans to see Gadot’s Wonder Woman make her appearance in ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’.
The film premiered on March 14, 2023. You can still experience the superhero action-comedy in theaters. Be sure to check your local listings and Moviefone for showtimes below. ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ has a total runtime of 2 hour and 10 minutes.
Watch the official trailers for ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ below:
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Prefer to watch experience the movie from your home? ‘Shazam! Fury of the Gods’ will be arriving on HBO Max (soon to be renamed to Max) on May 23, 2023. If you’re not a subscribed to the streaming service, you have the option to purchase the movie or rent on VOD.
