Enchanted director says ‘Hollywood politics’ was why he wasn’t invited back for sequel
‘It was a very, very sad turn,’ says Kevin Lima
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Your support makes all the difference.The director of Enchanted has said that “Hollywood politics” meant he was “uninvited” to take part in the sequel.
Kevin Lima’s musical romcom, starring Amy Adams and Patrick Dempsey, was released in 2007 to box office success and praise from critics
The film’s sequel, titled Disenchanted, in which Adams and Dempsey reprise their roles, was released in November this year. The follow-up was directed by Adam Shankman instead of Lima.
In a new interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lima opened up about not being asked to direct the new film.
Lima told the publication that he was “shocked” to not be asked to be involved in the movie, which has received less than favourable reviews from critics and fans.
He said: “A perfect storm of a change of executives and Hollywood politics made it so that I was uninvited to the party, unfortunately.
“It was a very, very sad turn. I haven’t seen the movie. I haven’t read the script. So I’m going to experience the characters that I helped create, grow, and live on as the audience does.”
The Independent has contacted a representative of Disney for comment.
Reflecting on the success of Enchanted, Lima said that he had been “quite nervous” about the film after the marketing department at Disney expressed concerns that it would only appeal to girls.
The marketing department didn’t have faith that the movie was worth making,” he claimed.
“They didn’t think boys would go to see this movie, and the marketing department did their best to shut down the movie a couple of times while we were in pre-production. But I was really lucky that [Disney execs] Nina Jacobson and Dick Cook believed in the film and kept pushing us forward.”
Enchanted has a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 93 per cent. The film grossed $340m (£286m) worldwide, which equates to $471m (£396m) today.
The film earned three original song Oscar nominations for songs by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz.
Disenchanted has a current rating of 40 per cent. You can read The Independent’s two-star rating of the film here.
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