On Monday, Sept. 10, Disney began to film its latest live-action remake, “Lady and the Tramp” in Savannah’s Wright and Johnson Squares.
When casting began mid-August for background actors, the title of the movie was unspecified, referred to simply as a film “distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures,” according to Island Packet. However, after many members of the cast were revealed, the studio unveiled the identity of the project.
The remake is expected to follow a similar story to the 1955 animated original, following Lady, a female Cocker Spaniel, whose upper-class family sets her astray with the new arrival of a baby. As she wanders throughout the city, she encounters a scrappy mongrel called the Tramp, and the pair’s romance culminates in one of Disney’s most iconic scenes: the spaghetti kiss.
The movie will follow “The Jungle Book” and “Beauty and the Beast” as the studio’s next live-action CGI hybrid. Justin Theroux (“The Spy Who Dumped Me”) will voice the Tramp, and Tessa Thompson (“Thor: Ragnarok”) will voice Lady. Ashley Jenson (“Extras”) will voice Jackie, the female adaption of Jock, Lady’s Scottish Terrier friend. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Kiersey Clemons (“Dope”) is the only live-action star announced by the studio so far and is in talks to play Lady’s owner, Darling.
Despite the fact that it takes place in a small Mid-Western town, the movie has joined the many to be filmed in the growing cinematic hub of Savannah, such as Will Smith’s “Gemini Man,” Morgan Freeman’s “The Poison Rose,” Dayo Okeniyi’s “Emperor” and Sylvester Stallone’s “Backtrace.”
According to People, the film will be “the first of its kind to be streamed on Disney’s new unnamed digital service, which will debut in 2019,” instead of making a release in theaters. According to CEO Bob Iger, the company will begin pulling all Disney content from Netflix as well.
“Lady and the Tramp” will continue filming in Savannah through Nov. 7 and will be released sometime next year.
Elena Burnett is the Editor-in-Chief of District. She’s a writing major who will graduate in 2019.
