Will Smith talks about his genius – / Movie

Although I entered Guy Ritchie 's Aladdin with almost no hope, I was finally conquered by the film. Fans of the original Aladdin will not be disappointed, and although I have become a little cynical about Disney's rebuilding of its animated clbadics, this one justifies its existence by bringing in some interesting updates while staying true to his characters.

Last weekend, I attended the Aladdin press conference in Beverly Hills. Among all the expected answers regarding singing and dancing, collaboration on the set and the importance of maintaining cultural authenticity, we learned a few things about the film and the people who did it. Example: Director Guy Ritchie was nicknamed "Cry Ritchie" by the stars of Will Smith and of Naomi Scott on the set because he apparently cried in seeing good catches. of 1945.]

Highlights of the press conference of Aladdin 2019

For me, the highlight of all afternoon was a performance of Alan Menken the composer who worked on original Aladdin and this new live-action version. Menken is a must-have for Disney. He started his career with The Little Mermaid and took a step after another. Until then, he won eight Oscars and was primarily responsible for the soundtracks of many of our childhoods. The press conference began with Menken performing a mix of her Disney songs for the badembled group of journalists. Although my place in the room is not ideal for recording a video, someone else has gotten a rather decent version:

The conversation that has Follow-up covered well-defended terrain, but there were some enlightening moments to discover. These came from Will Smith, who explained – sometimes referring to himself in the third person, no doubt to make the difference between his true self and his celebrity character – how he had gone through a period of creative drought before to have this role:

I've somehow reached a ceiling in my life. I had created what I could create during my career. I was about to lead my family wisely. I arrived at a point where my life and my creations collapsed. So I took a few years off, basically to study and travel spiritually. Aladdin was really my first kind of back and see if my heart was still in that kind of performance. And what I discovered is that it all starts with "What do I say to the world? How does this piece contribute to the human family? Can I travel around the world with the ideas the film represents and can I teach and preach these ideas in good conscience? " Aladdin check all these boxes.

I like the idea of ​​Genius, and one of the things I've told Genie is that genius has chains, It's not that he has these spectacular powers, but he is chained, he's a prisoner of his spiritual destiny, it's a bit like what I felt with Will Smith, Will Smith was kind of chained. In recent years, I have begun to regain my freedom, I am freeing myself from Will Smith and I feel more and more comfortable, so Aladdin was this first step back . "

Smith also spoke of working in the shadow of Robin Williams' iconic version of Genius in the first film, and relying on music to find his version of this character: [19659010] "The magic of Disney is real. This is my first Disney movie, and Walt Disney did something in the design of these stories. At the heart of these stories, something shocks your inner child and forces him to come to life, to smile and to appreciate the moment. For me, to start with, let's start with fear – what Robin Williams did with this character was … he did not leave much room to add to the Genie – so I started fearful. But then, when I got the music, it started to wake up that fun, childish and silly part of me.

The song that made me forget the bump of "Yes, I can play Genie" was a "friend like me" "I entered the studio the first day and I really wanted to play with it to see if I could add something. Literally thirty minutes in the studio, starting to play with, finding that the range of frequencies from 94 to 96 bmp (beats per minute) played in us. In the end, I think it was a little faster than that, but this range of 94 to 96 bmp is quite appropriate for old school hip-hop. So I caught The Honey Drippers' "Impeach the President", which is a really clbadic old-school hip-hop beat, and I've asked them to kick this break below. I crashed with that and played with Eric B. and Rakim in "I know you have a soul" under "A friend like me" and I was like "Oh my God, I'm at home. I am at home. 'I started playing with hip-hop flavor and genius really was born in my mind of music.'

And speaking of engineering, Smith revealed something I did not know:

"Many people do not Do not even recognize it, but Genius is 100% CGI People look at it and think my face is blue and that's my body Genius is 100% CGI There is no self in Genius: It's as if the work was so good, that they did not even deserve it … I would just be on the set, we would be directing the scenes and everything, and I could improve on the set because I knew it would not necessarily be the case in the film, then we would do the first round of CGI's work and we could start over and work on it, and then Guy watched the whole movie and I had another chance to go back and we could play with the lines and make adjustments because [the visual effects people] was going to create it anyway So for me, there was a lot of improvisation.

Later, Aladdin actor Mena Mbadoud spoke about the power of representation in this film, and Smith echoed it. feelings a few minutes later:

Mbadoud: I am particularly proud of the representation and the diverse ethnic cast that was set up for that. It's not often that you can go to the movies and see all the people of color represented in this way. It's certainly something I missed in my childhood. So I'm proud of the casting and casting of Guy and Disney, and I'm delighted that little boys and girls are going to see people who look like them on the screen.

Smith: I think it is of utmost importance. be able to draw stories and colors and textures and tastes from around the world. At this particular moment in the world, this type of inclusion and diversity will be an essential part of transforming our connectivity – because we have more connectivity than ever before – but the transition from this connectivity to the next. harmony will be really crucial. I think that these interactions in these types of films constitute a powerful global service.

Let's briefly leave aside the fact that Disney is a gigantic multinational that engulfs rival Hollywood studios and whose commercial decision will likely have a negative effect on the entertainment industry in the broad sense. Looking at this film in his own words, Aladdin has a lot of good in the world (the character of Jasmine owes him a lot this time). Even though I tend to roll my eyes at the idea that the studio is releasing another live-action remake, I have to admit that this one has been incredibly effective and very entertaining.

Aladdin arrived in theaters on on May 24, 2019 .

Cool messages from around the world: