Disney has issued a response over its upcoming live-action Snow White remake following criticisms made by Peter Dinklage. The Game of Thrones star blasted the Disney remake during an interview on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast, calling out the fairytale’s “f**king backwards” depictions of dwarfs.

A spokesperson for Disney said in a statement to Variety, “To avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community. We look forward to sharing more as the film heads into production after a lengthy development period.”

The statement came in response to Dinklage’s criticism that he made during the interview. “Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me,” Dinklage said. “You’re progressive in one way but then you’re still making that f**k*ng backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the fuck are you doing, man?”

Dinklage continued, “Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soap box? I guess I’m not loud enough. I don’t know which studio that is but they were so proud of it. All love and respect to the actress and all the people who thought they were doing the right thing. But I’m just like, what are you doing?”

Dinklage said he was “a little taken aback” when the studio celebrated casting “a Latina actress as Snow White” despite telling a story with a problematic representation of dwarfs.

The live-action Snow White film is being directed by Marc Webb, best known for helming 500 Days ofSummer and the Andrew Garfield-starring Amazing Spider-Man movies. West Side Story breakout actor Rachel Zegler is starring in the title role, with Gal Gadot also on board as the villainous Evil Queen.

Disney will begin production on the film this year. The studio has not yet announced a release date.

Also Read: Peter Dinklage condemns Disney’s Snow White remake, calls it a ‘backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together’

Former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh and his actor-model wife Hazel Keech have welcomed their first child on January 25. The couple took to their respective social media handles to inform their followers that they are now parents to a baby boy.

The statement was posted on January 26 post-midnight which read, “To all our fans, family and friends, We are elated to share that today god blessed us with a baby boy. We thank god for this blessing and wish you to respect our privacy as we welcome the little one into the world. Love, Hazel and Yuvraj."

 

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Hazel Keech and Yuvraj Singh dated for several years before getting married in November 2016. Hazel is of British−Mauritian origins. She has worked on several projects including Salman Khan starrer Bodyguard.

The Government of India released a list of the Padma awardees ahead of the 73rd Republic Day on Tuesday. Many big names are on the list including singer Sonu Nigam and filmmaker Chandraprakash Dwivedi, veteran Bengali actor Victor Banerjee are among 35 personalities who will be felicitated with Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan Awards, respectively.

Under the Arts category, Bengali actor Victor Banerjee, Ustad Rashid Khan and late singer Gurmeet Bawa will be receiving the Padma Bhushan this year. Musician Ballesh Bhajantri, singer Madhuri Barthwal, filmmaker Chandraprakash Dwivedi, singer Sonu Nigam will be awarded Padma Shri.

Indian classical vocalist Prabha Atre, from the Kirana gharana, will be conferred with the Padma Vibhushan.

ALSO READ: Akshay Kumar congratulates Prithviraj director Chandraprakash Dwivedi on being felicitated with Padma Shri

Percy Jackson and the Olympians series has officially been picked up at Disney+. The series adaptation of the Rick Riordan book series was first reported as being in the works at the streamer back in May 2020. The casting is currently underway. The series pickup news was announced by Rick Riordan in a video message.

According to Variety, the live-action Percy Jackson series tells the fantastical story of the titular 12-year-old modern demigod, who’s just coming to terms with his newfound supernatural powers when the sky god Zeus accuses him of stealing his master lightning bolt. Now, Percy must trek across America to find it and restore order to Olympus.

Percy Jackson book series is comprised of The Lightning Thief, The Sea of Monsters, The Titan’sCurse, The Battle of the Labyrinth, and The Last Olympian. Riordan has also published the companion book The Demigod Files as well as The Demigod Diaries.

Both Lightning Thief and Sea of Monsters were previously adapted into feature films. Logan Lerman starred as Jackson. The first filmed was released in 2010 while the second was released in 2013. The two films received mixed reviews from critics but grossed over $425 million combined worldwide.

Percy Jackson and the Olympians will be directed by James Bobin. Jon Steinberg will be writing the pilot with Rioodan. Steinberg is currently under an overall deal with Disney’s 20th Television, while Bobin recently directed and executive produced Disney Plus’ Mysterious Benedict Society series and the film Dora and the Lost City of Gold.

Steinberg and his producing partner Dan Shotz serve as executive producers alongside Bobin, Rick Riordan, Rebecca Riordan, Bert Salke, Monica Owusu-Breen, Jim Rowe, and Gotham Group’s Ellen Goldsmith-Vein, Jeremy Bell, D.J. Goldberg. 20th Television is the studio. Salke was formerly the president of Touchstone Television and originally put the show into development.

Last year, Balika Vadhu actor Sidharth Shukla passed away. His untimely death caused a huge stir. Now, his family issued a statement for the late actor, urging everyone to consult with them before announcing any projects using Shukla's name. Sidharth Shukla's close friend and actor Shehnaaz Gill shared the statement on Tuesday.

"We, as a family, come with a request, which we hope everyone will respect. Sidharth has moved on and no longer can he make decisions for himself, but he's still an integral part of our lives and our memories and we are there to protect his wishes. We request everyone who wants to use Sidharth's name and/or face in any project, please reach out to us. Please take a moment to ask us," read the statement.

"We knew Sidharth's choices, we knew what he would have wanted and our decisions for him would be keeping all this in mind. And if there were projects that he wasn't happy with, we are sure he wouldn't want them released. Anything that did not release when he was with us, did not have his consent or intent for release," continued the statement.

"So please let's keep his wishes in mind and let's remember him with love, with respect, with fond memories, the ones he left us with," the statement concluded.

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— Shehnaaz Gill (@ishehnaaz_gill) January 25, 2022

Meanwhile, Shehnaaz Gill will pay tribute to Sidharth Shukla on Bigg Boss 15 finale episode. In the latest promo released of the reality show, the makers have revealed that Shehnaaz will grace the finale and will be paying tribute to Sidharth Shukla. Sidharth and Shehnaaz, fondly known as SidNaaz, were one of the most popular contestants on Bigg Boss 13. Sidharth succeeded in the 13th edition of Bigg Boss as the winner.

 

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Colors shared the video on Instagram with the caption, “Grand finale hoga aur bhi special jab Shehnaaz aayegi #SidNaaz ke rishtey ko dene ek heart-warming tribute ❤Don’t miss out the #BB15GrandFinale this weekend, 29th & 30th January, Sat -Sun at 8:00 PM. Dekhiye #BiggBoss15 tonight at 10.30 PM only on #Colors. Catch it before TV on @vootselect #BB15 #BiggBoss @voot.”

Meanwhile, on the work front, Shehnaaz Gill was recently seen in Yashraj Mukhate’s video 'Boring Day' where he created a track from Shehnaaz’s lines from inside the Bigg Boss house. He had previously created a track using Shehnaaz’s dialogue “Sada Kutta Tommy” which went viral on the internet.

Also Read: Bigg Boss 15: Shehnaaz Gill to pay a special tribute to Sidharth Shukla in Grand Finale

Emmy award winner Peter Dinklage has criticized the Snow White remake that is under development at Disney. The actor made his statement on Marc Maron’s WTF podcast where he was guested this week.

Peter Dinklage did not liked the idea of the remake because of the fairytale’s backwards depiction of dwarfs. He said, “There’s a lot of hypocrisy going on. Literally no offense to anyone, but I was a little taken aback when they were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White. But you’re still telling the story of ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.’ Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there. It makes no sense to me.”

Dinklage continued, “You’re progressive in one way but then you’re still making that f**k*ng backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the fuck are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soap box? I guess I’m not loud enough. I don’t know which studio that is but they were so proud of it. All love and respect to the actress and all the people who thought they were doing the right thing. But I’m just like, what are you doing?”

Disney is yet to announce its plans for the dwarfs in its Snow White remake. Peter Dinklage noted that he would be excited if one were to retell the fairytale with “a f**ked up, cool or progressive spin on it,” but he remains baffled over just re-telling the traditional Snow White story in live-action form.

Disney’s live-action Snow White will begin production this year and will be helmed by Marb Webb, whose credits includes 500 Days of Summer and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Man films. The film will star West Side Story breakout star Rachel Zegler in the title role and Gal Gadot as the villainous Evil Queen. The studio has not yet announced a release date.

Also Read: Game of Thrones actors Jason Momoa and Peter Dinklage in talks for vampire movie, Good Bad & Undead

Hollywood actress Ivory Aquino has been officially roped in to play Alysia Yeoh in the upcoming Batgirl movie, playing the first openly transgender character in a live-action DC Comics film.

According to Deadline, the Filipina-American actress will join the previously announced cast members of Batgirl including Leslie Grace, essaying the lead role of Barbara Gordon/Batgirl, J.K. Simmons, Brendan Fraser, Michael Keaton and Jacob Scipio. Ivory Aquino will appear as Alysia Yeoh, the best friend of titular superhero Barbara Gordon (Batgirl).

Both Ivory Aquino and her Batgirl character Alysia Yeoh are transgender, marking the first time a live-action feature film adaptation of a DC Comics title will feature an openly trans character.

The upcoming superhero film is being directed by Adil El Arbi and Bilall Fallah from a screenplay by Christina Hodson and is slated to debut on HBO Max. The film also features Brendan Fraser as villain Firefly with Michael Keaton reprising his role of Batman, the hero he first played more than 30 years ago in Tim Burton’s Batman.

Ivory Aquino is best known for turns in the Netflix series When They See Us, Tales of the City, and in 2017 mini-series When We Rise where she portrayed a transgender activist, Cecilia Chung.