According to reports, there was a dispute over who should play lead character Ariel, the mermaid who wanted legs so bad she forgot how to pick up a fucking pen.
Coppola wanted Maya Thurman (daughter of Ethan Hawke and Uma Thurman), and studios Universal and Working Title did not.
LITTLE MERMAID: Sofia Coppola wanted Maya Thurman-Hawke, as noted elsewhere. Universal wanted established star like Chloe M or Hailee S.
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) June 1, 2015
FYI this is Maya Thurman:
Let’s remember that Coppola gave us Kirsten Dunst in ‘The Virgin Suicides’ and Emma Watson in ‘The Bling Ring’, and trust in the casting directions of Coppola, hmmm?
Sad that Sofia Coppola’s LITTLE MERMAID is no more. Funny that female lead was the sticking point – if there’s one thing I’d trust her on…
— Guy Lodge (@GuyLodge) June 1, 2015
Producers Tim Bevan (Universal) and Eric Fellner (Working Title) are still going ahead with the project, so you can add it to your list of Disney remakes hitting the big screens (‘Pan‘, ‘Beauty and the Beast‘ etc).
But… ugh. Coppola directing ‘The Little Mermaid’ would have been nothing short of magical, and now we’ll never get to see it.
Meanwhile, she’s just finished directing the Netflix special “A Very Murray Christmas”, starring Bill Murray and a ridiculous cast of Amy Poehler (who ICYMI is COMING TO AUSTRALIA THIS YEAR), George Clooney, Rashida Jones, Chris Rock, Miley Cyrus, Danny McBride, Maya Rudolph, Rick Rock, Julian Casablancas, Jason Schwartzman, Paul Schaffer, Jenny Lewis, Lilly Burns and Buster Pointdexter.
So, you know, there’s that.
Image: Dimitrios Kambouris via Getty Images
