Ian McKellen News

BEAUTY & THE BEAST is coming to the big screen again in a whole new way, with brand new songs!

On Twitter Watch, Josh Gad wrote ' that stage veteran and film star Ian McKellen has joined Disney's upcoming live-action adaptation of BEAUTY AND THE BEAST as 'Cogsworth'. Set for a release on March 17, 2017, the beloved tale will be retold for the big screen with a modern live-action lens and the help of transformative CG magic. As BroadwayWorld previously reported, Emma Watson and Dan Stevens will star as Belle and the Beast/Prince respectively, and Luke Evans will play the role of Gaston. Emma Thompson has joined the cast as Mrs. Potts and Kevin Kline as Belle's father, Maurice. As BWW announced previously, Josh Gad will reportedly take on the role of Le Fou, with six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald playing Garderobe. Eight-time Oscar-winner Alan Menken, who won two Academy Awards for the 1991 animated classic, will score the new BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, which will feature new recordings of the original songs in addition to several new songs written by Menken and Sir Tim Rice. Bill Condon will direct from a script by Stephen Chbosky, and the film will be produced by Mandeville Films' David Hoberman and Todd Lieberman. Production begins in May at Shepperton Studios in London. Disney also recently announced it will be creating live-action versions of MULAN and PINOCCHIO, joining reboots of THE JUNGLE BOOK, PETE'S DRAGON and WINNIE THE POOH. The live-action adaptation of CINDERELLA, starring Lily James, just hit the big screen this winter. McKellen was last seen on the big screen as 'Gandalf' in THE HOBBIT: THE BATTLE OF THE FIVE ARMIES (a role he originated in THE LORD OF THE RINGS trilogy) and will soon appear in MR. HOLMES and THE DRESSER. He is also well known for his role as 'Magneto' in the X-MEN movies. The Olivier-winning, classically trained actor last starred on Broadway in NO MAN'S LAND and WAITING FOR GODOT opposite Patrick Stewart. Before that, he appeared in DANCE OF DEATH, IAN MCKELLEN: A KNIGHT OUT AT THE LYCEUM, WILD HONEY, IAN MCKELLEN: ACTING SHAKESPEARE, AMADEUS -- which earned him a Tony Award in 1981 -- and THE PROMISE. McKellen was a member of the Old Vic and has performed at the Chichester Festival, in the West End, and with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal National Theatre and more. 1991's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was an animated musical romantic fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. Based on the traditional French fairy tale of the same name by Jeanne-Marie Le Prince de Beaumont,Beauty and the Beast is the 30th film in the Walt Disney Animated Classics series. Additionally, it is third in the Disney Renaissance period. Starring Paige O'Hara and Robby Benson, Beauty and the Beast focuses on the relationship between the Beast (Benson), a prince who is magically transformed into a monster as punishment for his arrogance, and Belle (O'Hara), a young woman who he imprisons in his castle. The film also features the voices of Richard White, Jerry Orbach, David Ogden Stiers, and Angela Lansbury, who occupy supporting roles. The film was a box office success, and has since garnered over $424 million worldwide. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST was nominated for several awards, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture - Musical or Comedy. Beauty and the Beast became the first animated film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture; it also received five additional Academy Award nominations, including Best Original Score, Best Sound, and three separate nominations for Best Original Song. Ultimately, the film won Best Original Score, while Best Original Song was awarded to its title song. In 2002, Beauty and the Beast was deemed 'culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant' by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. In April 1994, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST became Disney's first animated film to be adapted into a Broadway musical. '

More than 25 nominations of outstanding actors, directors, designers and ensembles were announced today by The Boston Theater Critics Association (BTCA), with winners to be revealed at the 33nd Annual Elliot Norton Awards on Monday, May 11, 2015 at 7 PM, at Boston's Citi Performing Arts Center Shubert Theatre.

Psylocke will soon be joining the X-Men on the big screen.

Good morning, BroadwayWorld! Because we know all our readers eat, sleep and breathe Broadway, what could be better than waking up to it? Today's big news: 39 STEPS brings madcap adventure off-Broadway, THE 24 HOUR MUSICALS returns to NYC, and Lane, Hall & Groff are among tonight's gala honorees!

Among this year's nominees for Outstanding Musical Production is the American Repertory Theater's FINDING NEVERLAND, now in previews at Broadway's Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. The production's Laura Michelle Kelly also received a nod in the category of Outstanding Musical Performance by an Actress.

The Drama League has announced that Tony Award Winners Cherry Jones and Denis O'Hare will announce the 2015 Drama League Awards Nominees for Outstanding Production of a Play, Outstanding Production of a Musical, Outstanding Revival of a Play, Outstanding Revival of a Musical, and the much-coveted Distinguished Performance Award on Tuesday morning, April 21, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. at Sardi's (234 West 44th Street, 2nd Floor).

Casting has been announced for the Washington engagement of Disney's NEWSIES. The Tony Award-winning smash hit musical will play an exclusive two-week engagement at National Theatre. The production will begin performances June 9 for a limited two-week engagement through June 21.

Fathom Events, in partnership with National Theatre Live and BY Experience, are pleased to present 'NT Live: Hamlet' on October 15, 2015 at 7:00 p.m. local time. Academy Award nominee Benedict Cumberbatch (The Imitation Game) takes on the title role of William Shakespeare's great tragedy directed by Lyndsey Turner and produced by Sonia Friedman Productions. Captured live earlier the same day, the event will be broadcast from London's Barbican Theatre to select U.S. cinemas.

The Drama League will recognize three outstanding stage luminaries at this year's 81st Annual Drama League Awards, set for Friday afternoon, May 15, 2015 at the Marriott Marquis Times Square (1535 Broadway).

Jennifer Lawrence will soon be leaving the X-Men behind.

The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures (MGM), arrives on Blu-ray 3D Combo Pack, Blu-ray Combo Pack, DVD and Digital HD today, March 24 from Warner Bros. Home Entertainment.

Following the internationally acclaimed production with sold-out engagements on Broadway and London's West End, television legend, Oscar recipient and five-time Tony Award-winner Angela Lansburyreturns to the stage in an exciting North American tour of Noel Coward's smash-hit comedic play, BLITHE SPIRIT. The tour makes its Washington premiere tonight, March 17 through Sunday, March 29 at the National Theatre, where Ms. Lansbury made her first pre-Broadway stage debut nearly 58 years ago to the day in Hotel Paradiso.

Bucks County Playhouse (BCP) As the bats crack for the start of the baseball season next month, BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE begins its season with NATIONAL PASTIME, a new musical comedy about baseball and romance, playing April 2 to 19 at Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, PA.

As the bats crack for the start of the baseball season next month, BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE begins its season with NATIONAL PASTIME, a new musical comedy about baseball and romance, playing April 2 to 19 at Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, PA.

El Rey Network and Miramax announced today that Danny Trejo (Machete, Machete Kills) has joined the sophomore season of Robert Rodriguez's 'From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series.'

The Guthrie Theater today announced that its outgoing Director Joe Dowling, the longest tenured artistic director in Guthrie history, will appear for an In Conversation moderated by New York Post theater columnist Michael Riedel on Tuesday, April 21 at 7:30 p.m. on the Wurtele Thrust Stage.

Acclaimed actress and comedian Lea DeLaria will be the Guest of Honor at the 33rd annual Elliot Norton Awards on Monday, May 11, 2015 at 7 PM, at Boston's Citi Performing Arts Center Shubert Theatre.

Academy Award winner Helen Mirren will return to Broadway this spring as Elizabeth II in Peter Morgan's The Audience, directed by two-time Tony Award winner Stephen Daldry. Opening Night is tonight, March 8, 2015; the limited engagement runs through June 28, 2015 at Broadway's Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre. Scroll down to learn more about the company!

Miramax Films and Roadside Attractions has shared a teaser trailer for Bill Condon's MR. HOLMES, starring Ian McKellen, Laura Linney, and Milo Parker. Check it out below!