We are just over a month into the new Disney/Fox status quo. The Mouse House has become the industry’s first mega-studio by absorbing one of its biggest competitors in a deal that has had massive repercussions, already, with thousands losing jobs and films suddenly finding themselves without a studio. But there is a lot more at play in the merger than what many were probably considering, such as Disney’s morals.
Everyone knows that Disney doesn’t make films the same way that everyone else does. The films under the Disney banner have a certain limit on how far they can go. Basically, you’re not going to see some hard-R films coming from the studio. About as far as it has previously gone is with Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm, who both push the limit of PG-13.
But with a new slate of Fox projects, Disney has to decide just how far the studio is willing to go. And while the mega-studio is going to use Fox as it’s own production studio and label, there are still some standards that will have to be maintained. And according to THR, one of the films that is finding that out is Steven Speilberg’s “West Side Story.”
The report says that the folks at Disney, particularly executive Alan Horn, is concerned about releasing a film that includes young people smoking cigarettes, and is questioning if that’s appropriate for a Disney film, no matter if it’s based on a classic play and directed by Spielberg. There’s no resolution that has been mentioned yet.
In a previous interview with the outlet, Horn talked about this sort of issue, saying, “With Fox, we can make movies that right now I say no to … We always have to think about the smoking policy. The audience for a Disney movie may not know what they are going to see, but they know what they aren’t going to see. There are certain things we just can’t include because we’ll get letters.”
READ MORE: Ansel Elgort To Lead The Jets In Steven Spielberg’s ‘West Side Story’ Remake
They could end up releasing “West Side Story” under the Fox banner, which is run by Fox film president Emma Watts and THR says will cater towards the PG-13 and R-rated films. Or, as it appears might be the plan, eliminate the smoking and whatever other questionable material might be in the film, and release it as part of Disney. We’ll just have to wait and see.
But needless to say, Disney isn’t willing to bend its moral code just to cater to Fox films. At least, not yet.