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'The Little Mermaid' Cast Interview With Halle Bailey, Jonah Hauer-king And More
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8/17/2023
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00:00
- Khaled, I'll start with you first.
00:01
So we've been through so much
00:03
since you were first cast in this film.
00:05
I was speaking with Yara Shahidi the other day
00:07
about what it means to be, you know,
00:09
Wendy in "Peter Pan and Wendy."
00:11
And she was saying how, you know,
00:12
so much has happened in the way it was filmed
00:14
and then COVID, the pandemic, everything.
00:16
She hasn't really been able to like sit in the meaning
00:19
of what all of her casting means
00:21
and what, you know, to actually be in this moment
00:23
until right now.
00:24
So I wanna know, what has this journey been like for you
00:26
from start to finish, from, you know,
00:28
coming off of y'all's album to diving into this,
00:32
I guess, literally, I figured,
00:33
I didn't mean to say diving into it, it's a pun,
00:35
but diving into all of this,
00:38
how has this journey been like?
00:40
- Yes, well, this journey has been
00:42
such a beautiful experience for me,
00:45
a transformative experience for me, honestly,
00:47
because I auditioned for this film when I was 18
00:50
and I just turned 23 this year.
00:54
So it's been five years of my life
00:56
of just intense amazingness
00:59
and I've just had such gratitude
01:01
to be a part of a project like this
01:03
with such talented people like Jonah
01:06
and being a part of this film meant the world to me
01:09
because not only do I get to take on a role
01:12
that I've known and loved since I was a little girl,
01:15
which is honestly healing to the inner child within me,
01:19
but I get to reinvent this version of the Ariel
01:22
that we all know and show these children,
01:25
particularly these brown and black children,
01:28
that they deserve to be in these spaces
01:30
and that they deserve to see themselves on screen.
01:32
So honestly, it's just been a whirlwind of gratitude
01:36
and I'm just so grateful to be a part of it.
01:38
- Yes, yes, absolutely.
01:40
And Jonah, for you, in this version of Eric
01:44
that we made in this film, there's so much curiosity.
01:47
I think that drives so much of what he does in this movie.
01:50
For you, what was it like adding different dimensions
01:53
to the character that we may not have seen necessarily
01:55
in the animated classic?
01:57
- So fun.
01:59
We had a three-month rehearsal stage
02:01
where we talked so much about the script
02:03
and about the characters,
02:04
and that was a big thing for David McGee, our writer,
02:07
and Rob, our director, of really trying to evolve
02:11
who he was and try to get to know him better.
02:15
And you're right about the curiosities.
02:16
I think that was a really surprising thing
02:18
about the story that I loved,
02:19
which is that Ariel teaches him so much
02:22
and he teaches her too.
02:24
They both have this shared fascination
02:25
of the above world and the underworld.
02:28
That was something that was sort of there a little bit
02:31
in the original, but I think was properly dug into on this.
02:35
And I think it really enriched their relationship as well
02:40
because they were kindred spirits.
02:43
- Yes, yes.
02:44
And Halle, as far as the music in this film,
02:47
how do you think the song selections
02:49
both honor these original classic songs that everyone knows
02:53
but also add a modern twist to them as well?
02:56
- Yes, so these songs mean so much to all of us.
03:01
I mean, ever since we were children,
03:03
it's such a nostalgic feeling to be able to recreate
03:07
the songs that we've known and loved for so long.
03:09
And I think there's something to be said about Jodie Benson,
03:13
who was an icon, who was a legend,
03:15
whose work can never be touched ever.
03:18
And I just am filled with such gratitude
03:22
that she was so kind to me
03:23
and kind of passed me the baton in this way.
03:26
And I was grateful to Rob Marshall and everyone as well
03:29
for allowing me to have creative freedom.
03:33
I am a singer and I kind of go all over the place
03:36
and like to riff and be me.
03:38
And they just honestly let me be me
03:40
when it came to the recording of these songs for the film.
03:43
And that was the most freeing experience.
03:45
- You've taught so much to yourself throughout there.
03:47
- Thank you.
03:48
- You really did.
03:49
- Thanks.
03:50
But that was like, you know, really freeing for me.
03:51
So the fact that now with these new songs,
03:55
like Jonah has this amazing song
03:57
called "Wild Uncharted Waters"
03:58
and Scuttle has a song, like it's really cool.
04:02
But the fact that they were composed by Alan Menken still,
04:06
and he was still very much in the process
04:09
with him and Lin-Manuel.
04:10
It feels like we're honoring this film in the right way
04:14
by having the original composers create to it.
04:18
So, yeah.
04:19
- Alan was amazing for this whole process,
04:23
not just because of the fact that he was working on it again
04:25
but it felt like having his blessing
04:28
was really important for us.
04:29
And on our first day of rehearsals,
04:31
we had this big lunch for the cast, a lot of the crew
04:34
and Alan stood up and he said,
04:36
"I didn't think I would be here 30 years on,
04:39
but here I am and I'm so happy it's happening.
04:42
It's in safe hands."
04:43
Howard Ashman would be happy.
04:45
He's looking down on us
04:46
and it was this really moving moment.
04:48
And I think at that point we thought,
04:50
okay, we have the blessing
04:51
of some of the original filmmakers,
04:54
Jodie, like you mentioned.
04:55
So, yeah, that was a really nice platform for us.
04:59
- Yeah.
04:59
- I can't wait to see how fans reacted to the music
05:01
'cause I know for a while,
05:03
we only had like those few seconds
05:05
of "Hallelujah" reedition of "Far Your World"
05:07
and like, that's what everybody's done,
05:09
posting on social media with all their TikTok.
05:11
And then finally, when we had more,
05:13
the internet was like,
05:14
"Yes, I can't wait to see more of this."
05:15
So I feel like it's gonna be the same reaction
05:17
when everyone hears all this great new music
05:20
and just also see the film
05:21
because it's just that good.
05:23
But thank you both so, so much for your time.
05:26
I can't wait for everyone to see this movie
05:28
and I hope you both enjoy the rest of your day.
05:30
- Thank you. - Thank you so much.
05:31
Nice to meet you.
05:32
- Davina, I'll start with you first.
05:33
What was it like striking a chord
05:35
between the seriousness of Sebastian,
05:38
like he wants to be taken seriously by the king.
05:40
He has this virtue of himself
05:42
that he thinks of himself as,
05:43
but there's also the playful nature
05:45
of the character as well.
05:46
And I feel like this version of the film
05:48
kind of does a good balance
05:50
between both of these versions of Sebastian.
05:54
So what was it like for you
05:55
when you were diving into the character?
05:57
- Oh, good.
05:57
I'm glad you think the balance is right.
05:59
I think that's exactly right,
06:00
but I think the things that are funniest about Sebastian
06:03
are how serious he takes himself.
06:05
So kind of as we kept working on it,
06:08
like the more I leaned into that,
06:10
the funnier it seemed to be to me.
06:12
So even when he plays, he's playing very seriously.
06:16
- Yes, yes.
06:19
And Jacob, for you,
06:21
of course you're no stranger to animated films.
06:23
You know, "Luca" a few years back,
06:26
"My Heart is a Dragon" just last year.
06:28
How do you think preparing for this film
06:30
was different from the previous animated films
06:32
that you've been a part of?
06:34
- Well, actually, the deal was like,
06:38
it was still very, very different.
06:41
For doing "Luca" and "My Heart is a Dragon"
06:42
is it was, I was in like a booth
06:45
with like a microphone, just like pretty much by myself.
06:48
But what was different about this
06:51
is that we actually were all together
06:52
and they almost set it up like a stage pretty much.
06:55
So we recorded our lines for the movie
06:57
and also so that they would have it for Halle
06:59
when she was doing her scenes with us.
07:02
And what was funny is that
07:04
since I was so used to doing it the other way,
07:05
I didn't know that we were actually recording.
07:08
I thought it was just a rehearsal,
07:09
but thankfully because everyone was there
07:11
and there obviously was still like a lot of pressure,
07:13
I decided just to give it my 100,
07:15
like give it my all, just like how I do it on the day,
07:18
just because everyone was there, you know,
07:19
you weren't pressed, but.
07:20
(all laughing)
07:22
Thankfully, that's the way I think and yeah, so yeah.
07:26
- Yeah, yeah.
07:27
And Awkwafina for you,
07:29
scuttled in this version of the film,
07:32
performs on "Kiss the Girl."
07:34
There's also a new song that you and Davide perform as well.
07:38
So how was it like having this musical element
07:40
for the character kind of more so in this film
07:43
than the animated classic?
07:46
- I mean, it's so cool.
07:47
I think scuttled, but was a surprise.
07:52
I didn't know that we were,
07:53
going in I thought that maybe they just needed to know
07:55
that like I could do my part in like "Kiss the Girl,"
07:59
which is definitely like, you know,
08:01
supporting this awesome Marvel,
08:04
but like, but yeah, when I heard that
08:06
and then also knowing that Lynn was in the process
08:09
of writing it and then getting it,
08:10
I think it was truly an honor to perform a song
08:14
that was written by someone that I admire so much
08:16
and it totally is in that style.
08:19
So it was a really cool element of the character.
08:21
Yeah, and I think in this one,
08:23
it definitely expands scuttle a little bit.
08:26
So that's, I'm very grateful for that.
08:28
- Yes, yes.
08:29
And for all of you, you know,
08:30
this is such a big, massive project.
08:33
I mean, you know, all eyes on "Little Mermaid"
08:36
because it's such a classic and people want to see,
08:38
you know, how it, you know, translates to this new version.
08:41
When taking on, you know, roles like this
08:44
and stepping into big shoes, you know,
08:47
do you ever think, you know,
08:49
are we going to get it right?
08:50
Are we going to get it wrong?
08:50
What do you think is the thoughts that you have
08:53
when, you know, taking on roles like this
08:55
that have already been inhabited before,
08:57
but you think more about like making your own
09:00
or do you think more about, you know,
09:02
sticking to what fans know?
09:04
- I think, you know, one thing you have to have,
09:07
you have control of,
09:08
'cause sometimes you don't know, right?
09:09
You don't know how something
09:10
is ultimately going to be received,
09:12
but you can know what the character is,
09:15
who's behind it, you know, who else is leading it.
09:19
And if you can trust those components,
09:21
I think that that's enough to make you feel
09:23
like you can trust it,
09:24
but then also like feel really good about it.
09:26
And, you know, to know that like,
09:28
I pride myself on those instincts, you know,
09:31
'cause I definitely felt that about this movie.
09:34
- Yeah.
09:35
- I had a lot of faith in Rob.
09:36
I mean, as soon as I went on set,
09:37
I knew exactly what they were doing.
09:39
And when I saw the screener,
09:41
or not screener, I kind of just saw it
09:42
on my own with my family.
09:44
I was like, yeah, they definitely nailed it.
09:46
So, no, it was really cool to be a part of it.
09:50
- Yeah, I think Rob and the whole production
09:52
did such a great job of letting us play,
09:56
of like, you know, setting up the boundaries of the world
09:59
where it was just like, oh yeah,
10:00
we get to come here and do the thing that we do.
10:03
And yeah, so it was, yeah, it was awesome.
10:08
And it took, whether I can't remember,
10:10
I'm sure I was stressed about it before
10:12
because I'm stressed about everything.
10:14
That's the kind of person I am.
10:15
But by the time we started working,
10:17
it was just show up, have fun.
10:20
- Yeah.
10:21
- Say things, sing songs.
10:23
- Yeah.
10:25
- Awesome, awesome.
10:26
Well, thank you three so, so much.
10:28
I enjoyed this chat.
10:28
I can't wait for everyone to see this film.
10:30
- Thank you.
10:31
- Thank you.
10:32
- Thank you, have a good one.
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