Creative differences have led to Sofia Coppola departing the planned live action take on The Little Mermaid...
NewsJust over a year ago, we learned that Universal was looking to bring a live action take on Hans Christian Andersen's The Little Mermaid to the big screen. This is independent of Disney's crusade to bring lots of animated films to the screen in live action.
Sofia Coppola was the director that Universal had attracted to the project, and Caroline Thompson (Edward Scissorhands) penned the last known draft of the screenplay.
However, while the project is still very much active, Sofia Coppola is no longer involved. Deadline reports that she's left the film over "creative differences," with the key area of contention appearing to be the casting of Ariel. Coppola was after Maya Thurman Hawke for the role (the daughter of Uma Thurman and Ethan Hawke), but that choice didn't quite marry up with the Universal hierarchy. The studio and Coppola thus have gone separate ways.
Universal is now hunting for a fresh director for The Little Mermaid - and presumably hoping that Disney doesn't announce its own version anytime soon...
