Jon Favreau Discusses THE LION KING and Living Up to What The Fans Want
I am a huge fan of what Jon Favreau and Disney did with The Jungle Book. It was a spectacular film that captured all of the things that we loved about the original animated film. When the director jumped on board to develop a new version of The Lion King, I was excited to see what he would do with it. Everyone seems to be calling the film a live-action adaptation, but the thing is Favreau will be using the same, yet updated technology, used to bring the animals to life in The Jungle Book in CG form.
Favreau recently appeared at New York City’s School of Visual Arts Theatre with Scarlett Johansson for the latest entry in the Tribeca Talks. It was there he talked about getting into the zone when directing a film saying:
"When you’re directing, you have to love [what you’re making]. You have to love it to the point of obsession. I have to live, breathe, sleep it, dream it. If I’m going to do my best work, I need to be completely immersed… you look at the material and you get inspired, and then try to update it for our time."
He then goes on to discuss The Lion King, how he's approaching it, and living up to what the fans want:
"With the Disney stuff, people know even more… With Lion King, people really know [the original], and they grew up with it and it has emotional impact. I think about what I remember about The Lion King? I did it with Jungle Book [too]. [I asked myself], ‘What do I remember about [the 1967 version of] The Jungle Book? I remember Mowgli and the snake. I remember the snake’s eyes. I remember Baloo going down the river and Mowgli riding on him like a raft. I made a big list, and those are the images we definitely needed… and you have more latitude to shift and change those things.
"The Jungle Book was 50 years ago, Lion King was 20, and people grew up with it in an age of video where they watched it over and over again. So, I have to really examine all of those plot points. Also, the myths are very strong in it, so you’re hitting something even deeper than the movie sometimes. What I’m trying to do is honor what was there… There are certain expectations people have."
Favreau is a great filmmaker and I trust that he's going to give us an amazing adaptation of The Lion King that fans will embrace. I can't wait to see his vision for this story come to life, and I'm especially stoked to see what it will look like visually.
Via: EW