LOS ANGELES: Actress Emma Watson brings an innate intelligence to live-action movie "Beauty and the Beast", says director Bill Condon.
"Beauty and the Beast" is a story of how a simple girl Belle from a village makes a cursed prince realise the value of inner beauty and helps him break the curse. Condon is bringing it back on the silver screen in a live-action format.
"Belle is someone who doesn't really care about becoming a princess. She's more interested in seeing the world and figuring out who she is than in finding a man and getting married," Condon said in a statement.
He added: "We all know how intelligent and worldly and sophisticated Emma is, and while that doesn't describe Belle, it is what Belle aspires to be, and it is the innate intelligence that Emma brings to the role that is such a crucial element when you're doing a live-action film."
Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" -- a live-action adaptation of the studio's animated classic -- also features Dan Stevens, Luke Evans, Kevin Kline, Josh Gad, Ewan McGregor, Stanley Tucci, Audra McDonald, GuguMbatha-Raw, Hattie Morahan, Nathan Mack, Ian McKellen and Emma Thompson.
The film is set to release on March 17.