ROME – Film-maker, actress, singer, song-writer, philanthropist and raconteur, Asia Argento, is in talks to play the lead role in Paolo Sorrentino’s upcoming remake of The Little Mermaid.
“I identify with Ariel. She likes the sea, I like the sea. She is woman, I am woman.”, said Argento.
The script has been in development hell for over thirty years and Drew Barrymore was once the front-runner to play the lead role with Steven Spielberg on directorial duties. But Argento insists that this version will differ from that original screenplay:
I read that script. It was like death. It hurt me as an artist to see those words on the page. Words are like magic, they can kill or they can cure, they inspire, or they dissuade. Yesterday I spent two hours staring at a full stop. It was so heartbreakingly final. I want to live in a world without full stops. Blissful infinity. No tears, just stars.
Tom Hiddleston is rumoured to be circling the role of Prince Eric and Zach Galifianakis has beaten off stiff competition to snag the coveted role of Sebastian the crab:
“This won’t be the first time I’ve played this character.”, said Galifianakis:
Back in 1995 I did a benefit gig in Harlem in a Sebastian costume and sang ‘Under the Sea’. I say costume, I just blacked myself up with shoe polish but it was probably the best gig I’ve ever played. The crowed went absolutely wild and I’m only glad the security guards held them back otherwise I’d have been signing a lot of autographs that night.
The Little Mermaid is due in 2016