This week’s guest on the WTF podcast was Peter Dinklage, who was ostensibly there to promote his new movie, Cyrano, which opens in theaters this weekend. But the remarks that are getting attention were Dinklage’s comments about a film he’s not in: Disney’s upcoming live-action remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, which Dinklage called a “f—ing backwards story.”
The film, based on Disney’s first animated feature from 1937, has been in development for a number of years. It will star West Side Story’s Rachel Zegler in the lead role, with brand new songs by the composers behind La La Land and The Greatest Showman. Despite the impressive creative talent involved, Dinklage took issue with the subject matter, and with Disney promoting the film’s diverse casting while still featuring what Dinklage views as negative stereotypes about little people. Here was the Game of Thrones star’s full quote about the project to Marc Maron:
You’re progressive in one way, but then you’re still making that f—ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f— 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?
While Disney’s Snow White remains a beloved animated feature, this is not the first time a new version of the material has garnered controversy. When 2012’s Snow White and the Huntsman cast full-sized actors as the dwarfs and then scaled their images down with digital effects, one lobbying group compared that decision to the use of blackface and threatened to protest the movie. Dinklage did say that despite his criticism, if Disney told the story of Snow White with “the most f—ed up, cool, or progressive spin on it“ he would be “all in” for it.
As yet, Disney has not responded to Dinklage’s comments. Its new Snow White does not have a release date yet; the film is expected to go into production later this spring. You can listen to Dinklage’s full interview at WTFPod.com or wherever you get your podcasts.
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