Disney Caves in LA Times Critic Ban: 'We've Agreed to Restore Access'

The Walt Disney Company has blinked in its standoff with the Los Angeles Times, caving to immense criticism after the studio denied critics and reporters from the publication access to advance film screenings.

“We’ve had productive discussions with the newly installed leadership at The Los Angeles Times regarding our specific concerns, and as a result, we’ve agreed to restore access to advance screenings for their film critics,” Disney said in a statement to the New York Times.

“The Los Angeles Times has covered the Walt Disney Company since its founding, here in Los Angeles, in 1923,” the paper told TheWrap in a statement. “We look forward to reporting on Disney well into the future.”

On Friday, the L.A. Times reported that Disney had blocked its writers and editors from previews in retaliation for the paper’s reporting on Disney’s business dealings with the city of Anaheim.

Also Read: TV Critics Association Condemns Disney for LA Times Blackout

A wave of media outlets and critics expressed solidarity with the LAT in the following days. On Monday, the A.V. Club website and Washington Post critic at large Alyssa= Rosenberg announced they would boycott Disney screenings until the L.A. Times was allowed to attend them as well.

The National Society of Film Critics, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle and the Boston Society of Film Critics denounced the studio’s media blackout on Tuesday.

The studio’s own talent like Ava DuVernay, the Academy Award-nominated director of the upcoming Disney film “A Wrinkle in Time,” stood firm with the press over the matter.

“Saluting the film journalists standing up for one another. Standing with you,” DuVernay tweeted late Monday.

Disney and the LAT would likely have little to squabble about on the film side — the studio’s Marvel property “Thor” is a massive box office success and one of the few bright spots in a dismal theatrical year.

The dominating movie company is on the verge of releasing Pixar’s latest animated film, “Coco,” over Thanksgiving and at Christmas will usher in the latest installment of the “Star Wars” saga, subtitled “The Last Jedi.”

16 Disney Live-Action Remakes of Animated Hits in the Works (Photos)

Disney will be pumping out live-action versions of their animated classics for a long time time to come. Here's a list of titles in the works, including the release date of the original.
"Jungle Cruise"

Okay, okay, "Jungle Cruise" might not count as live-action film based on a previously animated classic, but it is based on a ride at Disneyland, so we're going to include it. Plus, we'll take any chance to talk about Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt in the same sentence. It will hit theaters July 24, 2020.
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"The Little Mermaid"
So now we're getting into films that are in some stage of development but haven't necessarily been slated for release. After all, Disney has so many untitled films slated, it's hard to count. But a live-action version of "The Little Mermaid" has been long discussed, as it is arguably one of the most popular and profitable movies in Disney's vault. Rob Marshall is on board direct, with Halle Bailey set to star as Ariel and Melissa McCarthy as Ursula.
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"Pinocchio"

"Pinocchio" is also in the works, with Tom Hanks playing Geppetto.
Getty Images/Disney
"Snow White"
Forget her sister -- the original baddest chick in the Disney animated kingdom is coming back for her own standalone film. It was announced at the end of October 2016.
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"The Jungle Book 2"
This is a no-brainer follow-up to Favreau's hit from spring 2016, based on the animated classic released in 1967.
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"Snow White"
Forget her sister -- the original baddest chick in the Disney animated kingdom is coming back for her own standalone film. It was announced at the end of October 2016.
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"Aladdin"
"Hercules"
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"Peter Pan"
Neverland will get a practical set if Disney has its way updating the 1953 animated film.
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"James and the Giant Peach"
In one of the more interesting adaptations, this beloved Roald Dahl book became a quirky claymation hit for Disney in 1996 with director Henry Selick. Heavy dramatist director Sam Mendes was attached to take a stab at it, but he has since dropped out.
YouTube
"Hunchback"

In early 2019, a live-action film based on 1996's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" was announced. Tony-winning playwright David Henry Hwang was tapped to pen the script, with Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz handling the music.
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"Tinker Bell"

This movie has also been in the works for quite some time, with Reese Witherspoon attached as the cute little fairy from "Peter Pan."
Disney
"Bambi"

In January 2020, Disney hired Geneva Robertson-Dworet (“Captain Marvel") and Lindsey Beer (“Sierra Burgess Is a Loser”) to write the script for the live-action remake of the 1942 animated classic.
"Oliver Twist"
While Disney never formally made a direct animated take on Charles Dickens' beloved orphan, the studio did release the adorable 1988 "Oliver and Company," inspired by Dickens' tale but told with animals. The studio also made a small-screen live-action version in 1997 with Richard Dreyfuss.
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"Lilo & Stitch"

This project was announced in October 2018 with Mike Van Waes attached to pen the script. Dan Lin and Jonathan Eirich of Rideback are producing. In November of last year, it was announced that Jon M. Chu was in early talks to direct.
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"The Lion King" Sequel

In September, it was announced that Barry Jenkins would direct the follow-up to Jon Favreau's 2019 hit. The logline is being kept under wraps, but Deadline reported that the film will explore the mythology of the other characters in Pride Rock, including Mufasa’s origin story.

No release date for the next film has been set, and it’s unclear when production would begin. No cast has been set either.

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The studio is raiding its vault to remake classics including ”The Little Mermaid“

Disney will be pumping out live-action versions of their animated classics for a long time time to come. Here's a list of titles in the works, including the release date of the original.

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16 Disney Live-Action Remakes of Animated Hits in the Works (Photos)

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