Beckham gets on his high horse for Disney campaign
Ben Hoyle





David Beckham’s latest advertising campaign suggests that he will have little difficulty fitting in with the Hollywood crowd when he joins his new club, LA Galaxy, this summer.



Two weeks after announcing his record-breaking £128 million deal with the US football club, Beckham was revealed yesterday to be one of three celebrities who are promoting Disney theme parks.

The other two are Beyoncé Knowles, the pop singer and star of the Oscar-nominated film Dreamgirls, and the actress Scarlett Johansson.

Knowles, 25, is featured as Alice in Wonderland, sitting in a whirling teacup. Johansson, 22, appears as Cinderella, wearing a custom-designed Nicoletta Santoro gown and a 62-carat diamond tiara by Harry Winston worth £165,000.

Beckham is the heroic Prince Phillip, from Sleeping Beauty. Annie Leibovitz, who took the portaits, described him as “a very determined actor”.

Beckham, 31, said during the shoot, at the Spanish resort of Burguillo Lake, near Madrid: “There were many Disney characters I liked as a kid. Now my sons love the Disney characters and it’s a big part of their lives, a big part of many children’s lives around the world. So to be part of that is an honour and very exciting.”

The campaign is promoting Disneyland and the Year of a Million Dreams campaign by Walt Disney World, in which the resorts are giving away a million prizes.

Beckham, who has sponsorship deals worth an estimated £10 million with Gillette, Pepsi, adidas, Motorola and Volkswa-gen, will have no shortage of celebrity friends in California. He said that he had taken advice from the actor Tom Cruise before agreeing the move to Los Angeles.

British soccer player David Beckham was given the part of one of Disney’s most recognizable characters, Prince Phillip from "Sleeping Beauty."

A new Disney campaign featuring celebrities depicts David Beckham, who recently announced his move to Los Angeles, as a dragon-slaying prince in a series of photos taken by acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz.

"I'm really delighted to be part of the 'Where Dreams Come True' campaign," said Leibovitz. "We live in difficult times and I feel, especially as a parent, that keeping dreams alive is one of the most important things we can do."

The international football star, marketing giant and fashion icon was photographed at a lake near Madrid riding a white horse and fighting a fire-breathing dragon.

"There were many Disney characters I liked as a kid," Beckham said in a statement released by Disney.

“I'm the prince, and I'm sort of slaying a dragon, which is something I've never done before, obviously. When I was called about it and asked to do it, I was very honored and really looking forward to it, especially with Annie doing the pictures... The role's reversed now. It's my sons that love the Disney characters and, you know, it's a big part of their lives; a big part of many children's lives around the world," justjared.com quoted him, as saying.

The shots are part of Disney’s advertising campaign for its theme parks, “Year of a million Dreams,” and include other stars like Scarlett Johansson as Cinderella, Beyoncé taking a spin in a giant teacup as Alice from "Alice in Wonderland," singer Lyle Lovett as the March Hare and actor Oliver Platt as the Mad Hatter.

The pictures will be published in magazines such as Vanity Fair, Vogue, GQ, W, The New Yorker, Conde Nast Traveler and Cookie, in March.

Annie Leibovitz revealed that Beckham had been the perfect choice for once he got on the steed, he "became the Prince".

"It seemed perfect for David Beckham, who is a very masculine hero. Saving Sleeping Beauty came natural to him. He's a determined actor, and he became the Prince when he got on that white horse," she said.

"I think he would like to act... he was a great actor. He took it very seriously... and I love that," Leibovitz added.

In the Leibovitz photos, taken in December, 22-year-old Scarlett Johansson can be seen running down a flight of stairs as the clock strikes midnight with her glass slipper unknowingly left behind. The tagline reads, "Where every Cinderella story comes true."

Beyonce appears in a spinning teacup alongside Oliver Platt as the Mad Hatter and Lyle Lovett as the March Hare. The tagline reads, "Where Wonderland is your destiny."

"It's two great imaginations coming together – Disney and Annie Leibovitz," said Lovett. "To be along for the ride really is quite something, just knowing that you're going to be part of a great Disney character. And then when you step into the imagination of Annie Leibovitz, you know you're in another world."
B

David Beckham eye reality TV
January 27, 2007 12:00am
Article from: Font size: + -
Send this article: Print Email
SOCCER star David Beckham and his wife Victoria are considering their own reality TV show chronicling their new life in America.

Beckham recently signed a $320 million, five-year deal to play for the Los Angeles Galaxy.
Fox network, which hosts the country's most popular reality TV show American Idol, has reportedly offered the glamour couple a prime-time spot.