[News Figures] Black 'In-eo Gongju' Already Earns 245 Billion Won... Director is 'Rob Marshall'

Controversy Over 'Black' Casting for The Little Mermaid Lead
Box Office Sailing Smoothly... $185.8 Million Revenue Recorded
Director Is Musical Dancer Turned 'Rob Marshall'

The Disney live-action film 'The Little Mermaid,' starring a Black actor as the protagonist, is sailing smoothly.

According to Box Office Mojo, a movie box office revenue tracking site, since its release on the 26th, the film has recorded ticket sales of $117.5 million (approximately 156 billion KRW) in the United States alone, and has earned $185.8 million (approximately 246 billion KRW) worldwide.

The film sparked controversy over 'political correctness' (PC) when Disney cast Halle Bailey, a Black singer and actress, as Ariel for the first time. The controversy was labeled as 'black washing.' 'Black washing' is a sarcastic term referring to the Western mainstream film industry's practice of always casting white actors, known as 'white washing.' It mocks the trend of forcibly including Black and other people of color in works under the guise of pursuing racial diversity.

Movie 'The Little Mermaid'. Photo by Walt Disney Korea

Regarding this controversy, director Rob Marshall explained, "It makes no sense to say she was cast because she is a person of color."

In an exclusive interview with the U.S. media outlet Deadline on the 17th (local time), Rob Marshall said, "I started casting and first saw Halle Bailey at the Grammy Awards. From the beginning, I had no intention of casting a person of color. I just wanted to find the best Ariel, and I saw Halle Bailey singing like an angel at the Grammys. That’s how I brought her on board. At the time, I didn’t know if she could act well, but when Halle Bailey sang 'Part of Your World,' I unknowingly shed tears by the end of the song. She had a natural depth."

Movie 'The Little Mermaid' Director, Rob Marshall. Photo by The Little Mermaid Trailer Capture

Who is Rob Marshall? From 'Musical Dancer' to Film Director

According to the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) and other sources, Rob Marshall, director of 'The Little Mermaid,' was born in 1960 in Wisconsin, USA. Due to his professor father's job transfer, he moved to Pittsburgh and, after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University, entered the Pittsburgh theater scene.

He performed as a dancer in theater companies and was active in musicals such as 'Cats,' but due to worsening herniated discs, he transitioned to choreography and directing. His film debut was the TV movie 'Annie' (1999), for which he won an Emmy and a Peabody Award.

Building on this success, he made his film directing debut in 2002 with 'Chicago.' The film was praised for combining the charm of musicals with cinematic advantages, receiving enthusiastic responses from critics and audiences alike. This work earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Director. In 2005, he won three Academy Awards with 'Memoirs of a Geisha,' starring Zhang Ziyi. In 2011, he directed 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,' and in 2014 and 2018, he directed the musical films 'Into the Woods' and 'Mary Poppins Returns,' respectively.