Latest news with #RoaldDahlStoryCompany
Telegraph
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Roald Dahl would be cancelled ‘immediately' today, says John Lithgow
Roald Dahl would be 'immediately' cancelled in today's world, the Hollywood actor portraying him in the West End has said. John Lithgow, who has won plaudits for his portrayal of the Charlie and the Chocolate Factory author, said that Dahl would be 'in very, very hot water' in today's censorious age. The actor portrays Dahl in the play Giant, in which the author grapples with the dilemma of whether to make a public apology to avoid the risk of being cancelled amid an anti-Semitism row. The play, set in 1983, imagines an emergency meeting between Dahl, his Jewish publisher and an American sales director following the publication of an article by the children's author containing anti-Israeli and anti-Jewish sentiment. With the threat of a boycott of his forthcoming novel The Witches, Dahl must decide whether or not to apologise for the comments. In an interview with Sky News, Lithgow said Dahl would 'immediately' be cancelled if such a scandal broke out today. He also bemoaned the pressure on artists and writers to conform and self-censor their statements for fear of being victims of cancel culture. 'You can get misrepresented' 'It's terrible to be so careful about what you say, how it goes into the world and you can get misconstrued, misrepresented and cancelled just like that,' Lithgow. The Telegraph revealed in 2023 that Puffin Books had made hundreds of changes to the author's original texts, with the approval of the Roald Dahl Story Company. References to weight, height, mental health, gender and colour have been removed, and new passages added by the publishers to minimise offence. In recent years Dahl has been criticised for anti-Semitism, misogyny and racism. In an interview with the New Statesman magazine in 1983, he had said: 'There is a trait in the Jewish character that does provoke animosity, maybe it's a kind of lack of generosity towards non-Jews. I mean, there's always a reason why anti-anything crops up anywhere.' He added: 'Even a stinker like Hitler didn't just pick on them for no reason.' Dahl acknowledged he was anti-Semitic and went on to add in an article in The Independent in 1990 that Jews 'control the media' and that it was 'a jolly clever thing to do'. In 2020, the Dahl family and Roald Dahl Story Company apologised for his anti-Semitic views. They said: 'Those prejudiced remarks are incomprehensible to us and stand in marked contrast to the man we knew and to the values at the heart of Roald Dahl's stories, which have positively impacted young people for generations.' Many authors have come to the defence of Dahl's work, including Sir Salman Rushdie, who said that despite being 'a self confessed anti-Semite, with pronounced racist leanings' it was 'absurd' to rewrite his children's books. Following the controversy over changes to his work, Puffin announced that it would produce uncensored versions of Dahl's stories.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix Opens Casting Call for Willy Wonka Competition Show
The post Netflix Opens Casting Call for Willy Wonka Competition Show appeared first on Consequence. With its new competition series, The Golden Ticket, Netflix is looking to appeal to Willy Wonka and reality show fans alike. The reality competition, which offers the opportunity to enter 'Wonka's Chocolate Factory,' is now open for casting to US residents 18 and older. Sign up here for your chance to compete in the series. 'Only players who find a coveted golden ticket will gain entry to the factory,' reads the official description. 'But a golden ticket doesn't guarantee a sweet ride once the gates open; only those who can adapt, strategize, and withstand the unknown will make it through. Set inside a retro-futuristic dreamscape, this high-stakes social experiment will challenge players not just physically, but mentally as they navigate games, tests, and temptations designed to probe their instincts, resilience, and ability to thrive in chaos.' The filming location and release date for The Golden Ticket will be announced at a later date. News of an upcoming Willy Wonka competition series first broke in May 2024, when Netflix was said to be taking pitches for ideas. It's the latest project to emerge from the streamer's acquisition of the Roald Dahl Story Company in 2021, following the Oscar-winning Wes Anderson short film The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Matilda the Musical. For the contestants' sake, let's hope The Golden Ticket turns out better than the infamous bait-and-switch 'immersive' Willy Wonka experience that went viral for all the wrong reasons last year. Netflix Opens Casting Call for Willy Wonka Competition Show Eddie Fu Popular Posts JD Vance Booed at Kennedy Center Dropkick Murphys Make On-Stage Wager with Trump Supporter Over Where His Shirt Was Made Documentary Claims Jim Morrison Is Alive, Living in Syracuse In 2025, Lollapalooza Has Shed Its Rock Past for Good j-hope of BTS Makes Triumphant Return with Solo Tour "Hope on the Stage": Review American Pie Actress Jasmine Mooney Spends Two Weeks in ICE Detention Facility Subscribe to Consequence's email digest and get the latest breaking news in music, film, and television, tour updates, access to exclusive giveaways, and more straight to your inbox.
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Netflix announces Willy Wonka-inspired reality show where contestants must 'thrive in chaos'
Did you watch Charlie and the Chocolate Factory as a child and think, 'Oh, I would've totally breezed past all those bratty kids and won a lifetime supply of chocolate easily?' Well, now you have the chance to prove it. Netflix has announced that they are in the process of casting for The Golden Ticket, a reality survival competition that will see its candy-loving contestants use their less-than-pure imagination to fight for a chance to enter Wonka's legendary chocolate factory. However, what's waiting for them inside the candy kingdom might not be such a sweet treat. 'We are thrilled to bring the magic of The Chocolate Factory to life like never before,' Jeff Gaspin, Vice President of Unscripted at Netflix said in a press release. 'This one-of-a-kind reality competition blends adventure, strategy, and social dynamics, creating an experience that is as captivating as it is unpredictable. For the first time, a lucky few won't just have to imagine the experience — they'll get to step inside the factory and live it.' Related: Yes, there's already a Willy Wonka Glasgow experience parody — and John Stamos stars in the music video The series, which is described as a 'high-stakes social experiment,' is based on Roald Dahl's titular 1964 novel will challenge participants to 'adapt, strategize, and withstand the unknown' in order to win themselves an unspecified prize. The premise feels like a spiritual successor to that strange, slightly terrifying Willy Wonka-themed experience that took place in Glasgow last year, which even featured a random character named the Unknown. Along the way, its participants will face a collection of both physical and mental games that are set to challenge their 'instincts, resilience, and ability to thrive in chaos.' Losers, we assume, will be thrown into a chocolate river or turned into human blueberries. While a host for the series has not been announced just yet, we've got our fingers crossed that either a member of the Wonka cast (Timothée Chalamet? Hugh Grant?) or one of the Glasgow experience actors will step in to lead the scrumdiddlyumptious social experiment. Related: Freddie Highmore serves 'yummy methamphetamine' in spoof of infamous Willy Wonka fan experience How is all of this happening? Well, Netflix secured the rights to all of Dahl's IP when they acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company in 2021. In the years since, the company has teamed up with Wes Anderson to release his 2023 short film anthology, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Three More. Chocolate connoisseurs eager to prove themselves can apply for the series here, with the show's filming location and premiere set to be announced at a later date. For now, watch the trailer above. Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly
Yahoo
20-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Willy Wonka-Inspired Competition Series The Golden Ticket Set at Netflix
Calling all gum chewers, TV addicts and previously bedridden grandparents: Now's your time to shine. Netflix has ordered The Golden Ticket, an upcoming competition series inspired by Roald Dahl's novel Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and the 'beloved and unpredictable universe' of Willy Wonka, the streamer announced Thursday. More from TVLine Power Rangers Update: Percy Jackson Bosses in Talks to Pen a Live-Action Series for Disney+ Save the Dates: Julianne Moore and Meghann Fahy's Sirens Premiere, Solar Opposites' Final Season and More Will Smith Eyed for Netflix's Next Live Roast - Should He Do It? Much like in Dahl's source material, only contestants who find a coveted golden ticket will gain entry to Wonka's Chocolate Factory in the unscripted series. Still, 'a golden ticket doesn't guarantee a sweet ride once the gates open; only those who can adapt, strategize and withstand the unknown will make it through,' the logline reads. 'Set inside a retro-futuristic dreamscape, this high-stakes social experiment will challenge players not just physically, but mentally as they navigate games, tests and temptations designed to probe their instincts, resilience and ability to thrive in chaos.' Casting for the series is now underway; interested readers can go here for more details. 'We are thrilled to bring the magic of The Chocolate Factory to life like never before,' said Jeff Gaspin, Netflix's vice president of unscripted programming, in a statement. 'This one-of-a-kind reality competition blends adventure, strategy and social dynamics, creating an experience that is as captivating as it is unpredictable. For the first time, a lucky few won't just have to imagine the experience — they'll get to step inside the factory and live it.' Netflix previously acquired the Roald Dahl Story Company in a blockbuster 2021 deal, allowing for the creation of what the streamer called 'a unique universe across animated and live-action films and TV, publishing, games, immersive experiences, live theatre, consumer products and more.' Prior to that acquisition, Netflix in 2018 struck a deal with the Roald Dahl Story Company that intended to turn several of Dahl's published works into a slate of animated event series. First published in 1964, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory tells the story of young boy Charlie Bucket, who, alongside his Grandpa Joe, gets a chance to tour the eccentric Willy Wonka's chocolate factory (with some surprising outcomes). The novel has gotten two film adaptations — one starring Gene Wilder as Wonka in 1971, and another starring Johnny Depp in that role in 2005 — while Timothée Chalamet played a younger version of the oddball candymaker in 2023's Wonka. Best of TVLine Yellowjackets Mysteries: An Up-to-Date List of the Series' Biggest Questions (and Answers?) The Emmys' Most Memorable Moments: Laughter, Tears, Historical Wins, 'The Big One' and More 'Missing' Shows, Found! The Latest on Severance, Holey Moley, Poker Face, YOU, Primo, Transplant and 25+ Others
The Independent
29-01-2025
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Roald Dahl's The BFG to be adapted for Royal Shakespeare Company festive show
A new adaptation of Roald Dahl's beloved children's novel The BFG is set to delight families over the festive period this year as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2025/26 programme. Playwright Tom Wells will adapt the story about the Big Friendly Giant who captures an orphan named Sophie and brings her back to his home in Giant Country. The production will have a 10-week run at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon from November 25 to January 31, before it moves to the Chichester Festival Theatre from March 16 to April 12. The story from the 1982 children's novel by British author Dahl follows the kind-hearted and big-eared BFG, who kidnaps young Sophie from an orphanage. While the BFG is a gentle soul, his home in Giant Country is full of much bigger giants including Fleshlumpeater and Meatdripper, who pick on the BFG and feast on humans. Sophie and the BFG team up on an unlikely adventure in a bid to save children everywhere. The Roald Dahl Story Company has collaborated with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and the Chichester Festival Theatre on the adaptation. It will directed by RSC co-artistic director Daniel Evans, marking his directorial debut with the company. Evans and and his RSC co-artistic director Tamara Harvey said: 'This inspiring story – about an unlikely alliance between an orphan, a giant and a queen – tells us that when we have the courage to make our dreams a reality, we can change the world. 'To be adapting Roald Dahl's much-loved children's novel for the stage in collaboration with the Roald Dahl Story Company and Chichester Festival Theatre is a dream come true for us. 'Tom Wells' magical new adaptation builds upon the RSC's longstanding commitment to make spectacular and moving theatre for family audiences – and we're thrilled to be collaborating with an exceptional creative team to dream up an unforgettable theatrical experience which promises to be larger-than-life.' The book has previously been adapted for the 2016 fantasy adventure film which was directed and co-produced by Steven Spielberg and starred Sir Mark Rylance as the BFG and Ruby Barnhill as Sophie. This inspiring story tells us that when we have the courage to make our dreams a reality, we can change the world RSC co-artistic directors Daniel Evans and Tamara Harvey Other popular Dahl books have also been adapted for the stage, with The Witches previously showing at the National Theatre, while a production of The Enormous Crocodile was staged at Leeds Playhouse. Roald Dahl Story Company artistic director Jenny Worton said The BFG 'opens a magical new chapter' for the company following the success of the previous shows. 'Our dream is to bring mischievous joy to audiences of all ages through our growing family of live shows,' she said. 'After years of delicious inventing with Tom Wells, Daniel Evans, and the wider creative team, we are excited to share our passion for this iconic story with the rest of the world. 'Alongside Chichester Festival Theatre, we've created something full of imagination and heart, just as you'd expect from the world of Roald Dahl.' Priority booking for the show at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre opens from 10am on Friday January 31, with public booking opening at 10am on February 12. Tickets for the Chichester Festival Theatre will open in September.
