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Producers Of 'Aladdin' Remake Say They Can't Find Middle Eastern Actors For Roles

In 1992, Disney released the film "Aladdin," based on a series of short stories from the Middle East and South Asia. The cartoons reflected the Middle-Eastern background of the characters, but the voice actors did not.

These days, though, filmgoers are more sensitive to how race is being portrayed on the screen. And Disney film producers, who are now working on a live-action remake of "Aladdin," say they can’t find actors who can act, sing and have Middle Eastern backgrounds.

To talk about the lack of diversity in film productions, we’re on the line with Michael Bennett. He’s a research professor at the Center for Science and Imagination at Arizona State University.

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Jorge Valencia was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2016 to 2019.