'Finding Dory' director Andrew Stanton talks about the sequel's 13-year wait

FINDING DORY director/co-screenwriter Andrew Stanton wants to make it clear that the idea for the long-in-coming sequel to 2003's smash Finding Nemo was his and his alone - and that Disney (formerly Pixar's distributor and now its owner) never pressured him to make one.

"There's a myth out there that I'm trying to dispel," Stanton told Tattle correspondent Jerome Maida in a recent interview in Los Angeles.

"We've always worked to the beat of our own drum at Pixar. We had a way of working and thinking and Disney would just wait and see what we would want to do. Then, it would be whether they agreed with that! But we were never dictated or told, 'This is what we need you to do.'

"That was even part of the deal when we were bought by them," Stanton said. "We would come up with sequels on our own schedule and we would only come up with sequels if the filmmakers who were a part of the originals either had an idea or endorsed an idea - and we've kept to that, which is why it's been kind of erratic how they've come out, when they've come out - or even if they're going to come out."

Stanton said that waiting for the perfect idea is why Dory is coming out 13 years after Nemo.

"I had no intention to make a sequel," he said. "I hadn't watched the film in eight years and then, suddenly, I watched it in 2011 and walked away feeling very unsettled about Dory.

"I've never given this answer, but it might be that I've gotten much more experienced in 13 years about storytelling ... and looking at myself as a writer back then and realizing, 'Oh, my gosh! I would have closed that issue with her [in] that film. I would have been more aware of it.'

"But I left that door open - and it bothered me!" he concluded. "She's so beloved, by not only everybody [in real life], but in the movie itself. She deserved to be - she deserved to love herself the way everybody else loved her."

If you've been eagerly anticipating a movie version of "Wicked," you can finally look to the western sky.

E! News reports that a movie version of the smash musical will land in theaters Dec. 20, 2019.

Stephen Daldry (Billy Elliot) will direct. Penn alum Marc Platt (Into the Woods, Legally Blonde) will produce.

No word on casting yet. Could Kristin Chenoweth and Idina Menzel reprise their stage roles? Or are we looking at a green Lady Gaga?

* Speaking of Gaga, she's getting closer to starring in the umpteenth remake of A Star is Born, with former Daily News intern Bradley Cooper poised to star and make his directing debut.

* In other Penn/Hollywood news, the Hollywood Reporter says alum Stacey Snider will become the film boss at 20th Century Fox.

Snider previously oversaw Dreamworks and Universal.

On Monday June 27, from 8-9:30 p.m., a group of Philadelphia media personalities will take to the stage at the new Punch Line Philly (1004 Canal St.) and attempt to tell jokes in order to raise money for the Philadelphia Police FOP Survivors Fund.

Defending the Caveman's Vince Valentine will host with Jeff Pirrami (a/k/a "The Fat Rat Bastard") headlining.

Confirmed participants include Mike Jerrick (Fox 29's Good Day Philadelphia), Jason Lee (PHL17 Morning News), Patty Jackson (WDAS), Stu Bykofsky (Philadelphia Daily News columnist), Chuck Darrow (WWDB), Dawn Stensland (WPHT), Ed Condran (entertainment writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Calkins Newspapers), Larry Nichols (Philadelphia Gay News), Karen Scioli ("Stella" of Saturday Night Dead), Tony Luke Jr. (restaurateur and actor) and Hardly Dangerous (Rodney Dangerfield impersonator).

Tickets available through Punch Line. Admission: $10.

"It's awesome to see so many of our media friends come out of the comedy closet for our fallen heroes," said Jason Bray, Live Nation's general manager for theaters and clubs in Philadelphia. "They're gonna look ridiculous and have fun doing it while they're breaking in the city's newest comedy club in 10 years."

* Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have plenty of money and they're free to spend it however they wish. That said, Life & Style reported that the couple spends nearly $5,000 per week on a glam squad to keep their 3-year-old North West looking her best.

"North has a wardrobe stylist, hairstylist and manicurist to doll her up every day," an unnamed source said. "North is one of the most photographed children in the world. She loves having her hair and nails done, so it also keeps her happy."

So glad she's happy: $5,000 per week would sure make Tattle happy.

The article also says that North's wardrobe is worth around $1 million.

She's 3 years old.

* The funniest thing we saw Thursday:

London's Daily Mirror wrote: "Taylor Swift's relationship with Tom Hiddleston could end up being the best thing for her career."

For her career?

- Daily News wire services contributed to this report.

gensleh@phillynews.com

215-854-5678 @DNTattle