Following the release of the first teaser for Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of Aladdin, Terry Rossio, one of the animated film’s original screenwriters, has addressed why he’s not happy with the remake’s recent teaser.
In a series of tweets, Rossio explained that, although the trailer used a line originally written by him and his “writing partner,” the studio has offered “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.”
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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
Rossio followed his original tweet up with one explaining the rights surrounding many of the Disney movies currently receiving live-action remakes. “The studio owns the content on an animated feature,” he wrote. “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.”
The original Aladdin premiered in 1992. Rossio has a writing credit on the film alongside Ted Elliott and directors Ron Clements and John Musker. The film earned over $500 million upon its release and is well-loved among many fans of Disney’s animated films.
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Directed by Guy Ritchie, Aladdin stars Mena Massoud in the title role, with Naomi Scott as Princess Jasmine, Will Smith as Genie, Marwan Kenzari as Jafar, Navid Negahban as The Sultan, Nasim Pedrad as Dalia, Billy Magnussen as Prince Anders, and Numan Acar as Hakim. The film arrives May 24, 2019.