A few months ago I wrote a blog post defending Rachel Zegler. Recently I have seen calls for her to be replaced as Snow White in Disney’s Snow White live-action remake. I think this would be a big mistake. Zegler is a very talented young actor, who showed her ability to sing and dance in West Side Story. She is starring in the upcoming Hunger Games movie, which looks to be a hit. As of this posting, it has a 67% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
She has talent and star power. The only reason to remove her from the movie would be due to some statements she made over a year ago when she was talking about playing Snow White and promoting the movie. These comments rubbed certain people the wrong way, but the statements were far from controversial. For those who feel Cancel Culture is taking over Hollywood, the last thing we want to see is a talented rising star cancelled because of something so minor.
She is not the first actor to be critical of the material she’s working with. Actors in Hollywood have been critical of their parts for years. Harrison Ford is famous for disliking Han Solo. It’s well known that Ford wanted Solo killed off in Return of the Jedi because he was sick of playing the character. That didn’t dampen the excitement of seeing him reprise the role in The Force Awakens. Richard Dreyfus famously bashed Jaws before its release, apologizing for how horrible it was. Marlon Brando was notorious for clashing with directors and mailing in performances. For decades fans have forgiven actors for their comments and critiques off screen.
And Zegler isn’t even critical of the new movie. She’s merely explaining why the new movie differs in some ways from the original Disney version, which was released over 85 years ago. Let’s not forget there have been several recent remakes of the Snow White story. Snow White and the Huntsman and Mirror, Mirror were both re-imaginings of the Snow White story, both released in 2012, and were far more different versions of the story that this new Disney version will be. Despite this, Snow White and the Huntsman was successful enough that it spawned a sequel/spinoff, The Huntsman: Winter’s War.
There still seems to be some anger aimed at Zegler for understanding why these new versions have changed some elements of the Disney original from 1937. But I don’t agree that her observations are so terrible that she should be replaced. Any new actress that comes in will also have to embrace this new version of the story, even if she won’t say it out loud.
That’s all for now, and see you at the movies.
She has talent and star power. The only reason to remove her from the movie would be due to some statements she made over a year ago when she was talking about playing Snow White and promoting the movie. These comments rubbed certain people the wrong way, but the statements were far from controversial. For those who feel Cancel Culture is taking over Hollywood, the last thing we want to see is a talented rising star cancelled because of something so minor.
She is not the first actor to be critical of the material she’s working with. Actors in Hollywood have been critical of their parts for years. Harrison Ford is famous for disliking Han Solo. It’s well known that Ford wanted Solo killed off in Return of the Jedi because he was sick of playing the character. That didn’t dampen the excitement of seeing him reprise the role in The Force Awakens. Richard Dreyfus famously bashed Jaws before its release, apologizing for how horrible it was. Marlon Brando was notorious for clashing with directors and mailing in performances. For decades fans have forgiven actors for their comments and critiques off screen.
And Zegler isn’t even critical of the new movie. She’s merely explaining why the new movie differs in some ways from the original Disney version, which was released over 85 years ago. Let’s not forget there have been several recent remakes of the Snow White story. Snow White and the Huntsman and Mirror, Mirror were both re-imaginings of the Snow White story, both released in 2012, and were far more different versions of the story that this new Disney version will be. Despite this, Snow White and the Huntsman was successful enough that it spawned a sequel/spinoff, The Huntsman: Winter’s War.
There still seems to be some anger aimed at Zegler for understanding why these new versions have changed some elements of the Disney original from 1937. But I don’t agree that her observations are so terrible that she should be replaced. Any new actress that comes in will also have to embrace this new version of the story, even if she won’t say it out loud.
That’s all for now, and see you at the movies.