A Walt Disney Studios star imperils the marketplace reception of a reported $270 million film by taking a strong anti-Trump stand. It’s the worst nightmare of every film distributor, having the personal, off-camera conduct of talent ignite an extraneous controversy.
“’May Trump supporters and Trump voters and Trump himself never know peace,” posted actress Rachel Zegler. “’There is a deep sickness in this country … shown in the sheer amount of people who showed up for this man who threatens our democracy.”
The 23-year-old actress and political pundit is star of Disney’s upcoming live-action “Snow White,” whose budget has ballooned to the $270 million, in part because of reshoots when consumers reacted negatively to the weird look of dwarfs in the film revealed a year ago. “Snow White,” which originally cost about $200 million and reportedly climbed with the dwarf reshoots, is scheduled for theatrical release March 21.
The U.S. website of the UK’s Daily Mail reports that “Disney is under mounting press to dump” Zegler from the movie, wrote journalist Brittany Chain. Zegler is an accomplished actress with starring roles in “Hunger Games” and Steven Spielberg’s “West Side Story” remake. She has 2.3 million followers on X/Twitter.
Media commentator Megyn Kelly said during her SiriusXM show: “Hello, Disney! You’re gonna have to redo your film again, because this woman is a pig.”
Zegler has apologized for the uproar in another post, saying, “I let my emotions get the best of me. Hatred and anger have caused us to move further and further away from peace and understanding.” She may ask for understanding, but expect her revealing original post to follow her around and “Snow White” too. Zegler only apologized for the reaction to her post, not her message.
A “Snow White” teaser trailer from three months back incorporating the new dwarfs seemed appealing. The film tries to break new ground because, instead of a young white female in the lead role, Zegler is clearly a Latina. Recall last year a negative buzz erupted with the casting of black actress Halle Bailey in the title role of live-action “The Little Mermaid” as inappropriate given the character’s history. But that negative buzz faded as “Little Mermaid” had a fine theatrical run.
The unnecessary Trump bashing by Zegler risks motivating a big chunk of the public to ignore the new “Snow White.” Trump won 50.1% of the presidential count (his rival corralled 48.3%), or 76.4 million votes at present; the United States is divided country and injecting partisan politics in either direction alienates half the potential audience.
The New York Post said in an article by Emily Crane that Zegler’s political comments are “the latest controversy surrounding the ‘Snow White’ film. In her first interviews for the film, Zegler dissed the original [“Snow White” movie from 1937], saying the prince is ‘a guy who literally stalks her.’ She suggested Prince Charming could be cut from the new version.” (Oh dear!)
This publicity controversy is still playing out and the film may be pulled from its theatrical premiere next year for some other distribution. It’s the worst nightmare for film distributors to have a movie engulfed by an unexpected and unwanted controversy connected to one of its elements. Zegler also ripped famed businessman and Trump supporter Elon Musk, and supports the Hamas side of the war in Gaza-Israel.
“Publicists constantly struggle with handling bad press that results from the questionable behavior of talent” unrelated to the film itself, notes the third edition of academic/business book “Marketing to Moviegoers.” Examples over the years are Brad Pitt denigrating his ex-wife in 2011 that sucked some of the air out of the publicity campaign for his “Moneyball,” Mel Gibson getting busted in 2006 for drunk driving adjacent to the release of his “Apocalypto” and Robin Williams playfully mocking pedophile clergy during an interview promoting “License to Wed” in 2007.
Disney created this Snow White property to join its legion of film, TV, theme park, merchandise and other incarnations to maintain its informal bear-hug on the pretty girl facing peril. The Snow White yarn is based on an old German fairy tale, and thus is in the public domain and is not copyrighted by anyone.
For example, in 1916, when founder Walt was just a teenager and years away from his Hollywood career, a silent “Snow White” film came out. Disney’s bear-hug dates to the beloved 1937 musical animated film “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”
As for the current hoo-ha, Zegler apparently sees herself on the vanguard of political change. “I am here with you,” she posted, “to cry, to yell, to wax poetic on how The Left continues to fail us in forging a new path forward.”
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