Actors, Tribute Band Cast as Beatles in Zemeckis’ “Yellow Submarine” Remake
Director Robert Zemeckis‘ 3-D update of the Beatles‘ animated Yellow Submarine has found its crew of actors to voice the Fab Four, with The Princess Bride star Cary Elwes leading the cast as the voice behind George Harrison. According to The Hollywood Reporter‘s Heat Vision blog, Dean Lennox Kelly will voice the John Lennon character, Peter Serafinowicz will play Paul McCartney and Adam Campbell will portray Ringo Starr, and all four actors are reportedly negotiating their deals to appear in the Disney film.
Look back at classic shots of the Beatles.
For the performance footage in Zemeckis’ motion-capture take on Yellow Submarine, the Back to the Future director has recruited “The Ultimate Beatles Band,” the Fab Four. Producers for Yellow Submarine have secured the rights to the Beatles’ music, so the songs in the film will come courtesy of the real Fab Four and not the tribute band. By hiring actors to portray the Beatles, Zemeckis is keeping in tradition of the original film, which also employed voice actors in place of the actual band. The Beatles themselves only appeared in the film’s live-action epilogue.
As Rolling Stone previously reported, Zemeckis was interested in bringing in the two surviving Beatles, Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr, to contribute to the Yellow Submarine remake. With actors being cast in their roles, it’s unclear whether Zemeckis still has plans for the pair, but considering new Spock Zachary Quinto interacted with old Spock Leonard Nimoy in the Star Trek reboot, Zemeckis — who is writing the screenplay — can surely construct a subplot where the faux Macca and Starr meet the real Paul and Ringo.
The Beatles’ complete album guide.
Aside from his performance in the cult classic Princess Bride, Elwes is also known for his starring roles in Saw and Robin Hood: Men in Tights. Lennox Kelly also starred in the role of Robin Hood in a BBC series based on the famed archer. Comedy fans know Serafinowicz as the yuppie roommate from Shaun of the Dead and the guy who stole Simon Pegg’s girlfriend in Spaced. Campbell appeared in Epic Movie and Date Movie.
Zemeckis reportedly hopes that the cinematic release of Yellow Submarine will coincide with the London Olympics in 2012. A stage musical version of the new film is also rumored to be in the works.
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