Martin Klebba is speaking out about this weekend’s premiere of Snow White.
The 55-year-old actor is set to voice the character of Grumpy, who is one of the seven dwarfs, in the upcoming Disney live-action adaptation of the company’s first ever animated feature.
Earlier this week, it was announced that the movie’s Los Angeles premiere event on Saturday (March 15) will be a more intimate affair. Disney apparently did not invite typical media outlets to interview the cast and creatives on the red carpet, but instead, there will just be a pre-party, a screening, photographers, and a house crew.
In a new interview, Martin shared how he feels about the studio’s decision to scale back the premiere event.
Keep reading to find out more…
“It really isn’t going to be a red carpet,” he told THR. “It’s going to be at the El Capitan [Theatre], which is cool. But it’s basically going to be a pre-party, watch the movie, and that’s it. There’s not going to be this whole hoopla of, ‘Disney’s first fucking movie they ever made.’ Because of all this controversy, they’re afraid of the blowback from different people in society.”
While Disney didn’t provide a reason for the premiere change, Martin seemingly confirms speculation, saying it was due to “the controversy with Rachel [Zegler],” but notes he hasn’t been given any direct information.
Martin also reacted to the movie initially changing the dwarf characters to “seven magical creatures,” but then going back to having them as the seven dwarves, but still CGI-animated.
“I don’t usually get into the political stuff, but I [felt], ‘Dwarfs aren’t going to go away just because you can’t imagine that they’re there,’” he said. “We’re still going to be walking around. So I didn’t get the whole stuff about not doing the dwarfs. The story’s been around forever, and it’s a classic.”
“If you guys go this route, it just makes sense to be able to draw them the way you want,” Martin added of using VFX for the dwarves. “This way, they’re all the same size. And to find seven little people actors to pull it off, that’s not an easy thing either.”
Snow White is set to hit theaters NEXT Friday (March 21).
If you didn’t know, you can also catch Martin in the new movie The Electric State, which is out now on Netflix!
