London likely location for Disney’s Cruella

11/05/2016
News
by Nia Daniels

Emma Stone

Disney’s forthcoming film Cruella, a punk-era re-imagining of the classic tale, is set to star Emma Stone as the wicked Cruella de Vil. The feature’s producer, the Canadian Andrew Gunn, is currently in London to scout potential locations.

Seasoned UK playwright and screenwriter Jez Butterworth (Jerusalem), has been brought in to carry out a few tweaks on the screenplay. The blueprint of the script comes from Kelly Marcel, well known for Fifty Shades of Grey and Saving Mr Banks.

Marcel – along with Steve Zissis – worked on the original story concept, which re-imagines the iconic Cruella, in the words of Gunn, “as a kind of Vivienne Westwood - if Vivienne was really, really mean - meets John Galliano, meets Alexander McQueen”.

The producer is currently in the UK’s capital to scout potential locations for the film, which is set in 1979 when the punk era was in full swing.

Talking to The Knowledge, Gunn said: “Butterworth is ideal for the job, not just for ironing out the screenplay, but also for suggesting possible filming spots in London, particularly as he knew personally some of the punk crowd including Malcolm McLaren.”

He agreed that the writer’s knowledge of the capital was key, adding: “It’s great, as we didn’t really yet have a sense of place, and Jez has been giving us ideas of locations, such as where Cruella’s apartment could be, where her warehouse may be etc.”

Gunn also said the UK provides a great pool of talented crew.

There is no director on board yet, but there is a shortlist with an appointment likely to be made very soon. The window for filming is fairly tight due to Emma Stone’s availability: shooting would have to slot in between October and January with pre-production getting underway this summer.

More details will be available on Production Intelligence once specifics are confirmed in terms of UK hires, dates and locations so subscribers should keep their eyes peeled for more over the coming weeks.