Sir Elton John has blasted Disney over their apparent lack of support for his film Gnomeo & Juliet in the US, says The Hollywood Reporter.
The musician, who is an executive producer on the animated movie through his company Rocket Pictures, hit out at the company on The Marilyn Dennis Show for not congratulating him on the 3D film’s box office success.
“We fought resistance from the studio for so long, and to be honest with you, the film has taken $75 million in America, and we haven’t had a message of congratulations from anyone within the studio,” he said.
“Gnomeo & Juliet took us 11 years to make. We defied all the odds and all of the people at Disney who said this wouldn’t be a hit. And it’s the biggest hit, but it could have been a bigger hit if Disney got behind it more.”
John also criticised John Lasseter, Walt Disney Animation Studios and Pixar’s chief creative officer, saying that he didn’t want the family movie to get made.
“They’re so ashamed, and they should be ashamed of themselves – they’re so afraid to congratulate us because John Lasseter of Pixar did not want us to make this movie that we still haven’t had a message of congratulations or well done,” he commented.
Gnomeo & Juliet is currently sitting atop the UK box office and rose to pole position in the US over the weekend.