The Business
Bill Condon on the challenges of adapting a 'tale as old as time'
Beauty and the Beast director Bill Condon is no stranger to musicals -- he wrote the screenplay for movie versions of Chicago and Dreamgirls -- the latter of which he directed as well. But when Disney approached him about making a live-action adaptation of its famous animated classic he was initially hesitant to take it on. He talks about what changed his mind and how he set about making the movie his own.
By Kim Masters • • 28m ListenReports of a "gay moment" in Disney's live-action Beauty and the Beast made noise around the world before the film even opened. Director Bill Condon swears he wasn't trying to create an international incident. Any blowback was inconsequential, to put it mildly: the movie broke box office records in its first weekend. Condon talks about overcoming his misgivings about taking on a classic and explains what his earlier Twilight movies have in common with Beauty and the Beast.
Photo: Beauty and the Beast director Bill Condon
In this episode
2 storiesHollywood news banter
Matt Belloni, editorial director of the Hollywood Reporter, joins Kim Masters to discuss top entertainment news stories of the week.
Read the story7 min'Beauty and the Beast' director Bill Condon
From the opening notes of the new live-action Beauty and the Beast , it's clear that Disney was not going for understatement with this one.
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