Showing posts with label movie. Show all posts
Showing posts with label movie. Show all posts

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Burton to Tackle Disney's Next Live Action "Fairy Tale" Dumbo ("Dumbo" is a fairy tale now?)

FTNH: *Answers incessantly ringing phone* Hello?

Chirpy PR Person: *yelling*"The famous flying elephant fairy tale is coming to the big screen - as live action!"

FTNH: *winces* Um, Dumbo isn't a fairy tale.

Chirpy PR Person: "But it's Disney and Tim Burton is directing it!"

FTNH: Those are not the criteria for a fairy tale.

Chirpy PR Person: "Oh pshaw - it'll be BIG! Bigger than BIG! It'll be..."
Buddhist Folktale - The Elephant Girly-Face

FTNH: A circus.

Chirpy PR Person: "Well, yes!"

FTNH: -sigh-

Chirpy PR Person: "Doesn't it at least qualify as some sort of folktale? Or urban legend?"

FTNH: Can you think of one?

Chirpy PR Person: "Er, well how about that line "have you ever seen an elephant fly?" and the horse fly, house fly stuff? Isn't that some sort of folklore-y thing?"

FTNH: You're going to make me do the Grumpy Cat face.

Chirpy PR Person: "You mean.. flying elephants have NOTHING to do with fairy tales and folklore?"

FTNH: Well, if you must tie something in, it would probably be regarding the Indian legend of the origin of elephants.

Chirpy PR Person: "And how does that go exactly?"

FTNH: Well, one version says, that after the sun had been hatched out of some giant cosmic egg-thingy, Brahma (supernatural head honcho, god-style) picked up the left over shells and started chanting, only to have an amazing white creature emerge (aka the original elephant), followed by a couple of dozen-plus cloud elephants. These elephants and their elephant-kids could fly around...
Airavata-the elephant by Yuti
Chirpy PR Person: *interrupts* "Did they have huge ears?"

FTNH: *glares at phone*... and even change shape when they wanted to, but their partying disturbed some old grumpy dude who decided enough was enough, cursed them and clipped their wings - in some versions they have actual wings. Basically, they lost all their flying abilities and were stuck on the ground forever. ‡

Chirpy PR Person: "Harsh."

FTNH: *shrugs* Stuff like that happened a lot way back when, apparently.

Chirpy PR Person: "Soooo... *brightens* elephants have been part of circuses for a long time then!"

FTNH: What? No! They were free, not in cages performing... look, it's a legend and has nothing to do with circuses.

Chirpy PR Person: "But this will!"

FTNH: We're back to that, are we?

Chirpy PR Person: "'Cause it's going to be BIG!"

FTNH: Alright - make your announcement thingy and then we can call it quits because there are lots of elephants folktales and fables but they're a long way from anything remotely like Dumbo.
Chirpy PR Person: "Except for the cloud elephants."

FTNH: *Grumpy Cat face*

Chirpy PR Person: *Hurriedly pulls out press report and reads*:
"Disney is betting that the man to make you believe an elephant can fly is Tim Burton. The filmmaker behind “Pee Wee’s Big Adventure,” “Batman,” “Big Eyes” and “Alice in Wonderland” will direct Disney’s coming live-action remake of “Dumbo,” Walt Disney Pictures president of production Sean Bailey said. ... The film is expected to be a mixture of computer generated effects and live actors, although details on the project are still scarce at this early stage of development. Mr. Bailey would only say of the plans for a new “Dumbo” story that “It’s a big world,” indicating that the story will be broader than the original tale of a circus elephant with large ears who learns to fly."
FTNH: By "big world" you mean the movie will be longer than the lovely concise 64 minute classic storytelling Dumbo is.

Chirpy PR Person: *ignores comment* "And it will be Circus-Circus! Burton loves a good circus motif so this is going to be..."

FTNH: *interrupts* A 90 minute version of Pink Elephants on Parade, Burton style? *shudders*

by Ruth Sanderson
Chirpy PR Person: "Can't you give me one thing to hang this on? I mean, Disney is going to be all: "This is our new live action fairy tale" about it, and people are going to call it that too, so can't you think of some reason to get excited about it?"

FTNH: Well, there are a lot of fairy tales about magic feathers...

Chirpy PR Person: *even chirpier* "There you go! Disney's newest live action fairy tale project doesn't have a release date yet, nor do we know what kind of "magic" Burton will use to make this classic story a reality but you'll believe..."

FTNH: *interrupts* I know, I know: anything is possible - even ruining one of the best films ever made.

Chirpy PR Person: "That's not what.."

FTNH: *Presses END CALL* - HEADDESK -
by  Larry T. Quach
Source: HERE

Note: This better not be why Ringling is taking another two years to finally stop using elephants in their circuses.

‡ See another folktale about flying elephants from Soara, India, HERE.

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Casting: Disney's Live Action "Beauty and the Beast" Closes In On Finalizing Mains

Fan art poster for the upcoming movie by Prateek Mathur
(lovely speed-motion "making of" video at link)
The Downtown Abbey cast must be on high alert for Disney reps, now that a second cast member of theirs, Dan Stevens, has nabbed a starring role in a Disney live action fairy tale. Stevens will be Emma Watson's Beast (confirmed by both Disney and Stevens less than 24 hours ago).

His nemesis, Gaston, will (likely) be played by Luke Evans, star of Dracula Untold and also from The Hobbit. (Evans is in talks but as yet unconfirmed.)

Here's a little extra from Screenrant on the actors just cast and where you might have seen them before:
Stevens, in the years since he played would-be Downton Abbey heir Matthew Crawley, has found his niche as a character actor. His resume now including solid supporting turns in such films as The Fifth Estate and A Walk Among the Tombstones, as well as a memorable lead performance as a mysterious military vet in last year’s action/thriller throwback The Guest – and, most recently, a scene-stealing comedic appearance as Sir Lancelot in Night at the Museum: Tomb of the Emperor. 
...Evans is up to play the film’s villain Gaston: a brawny and vain hunter who, concerned solely with her attractive appearance, becomes determined to make Belle his wife. The most recent script draft for the Beauty and the Beast live-action feature was penned by Stephen Chbosky, who also directed Watson in the film adaptation of his own novel,The Perks of Being a Wallflower. Calling the shots here, however, is one Oscar-winner Bill Condon (Dreamgirls) – who, as it were, previously teamed with Stevens on Fifth Estate (the 2013 Julian Assange memoir). 
Condon wins Best Adapted Screenplay for
"God and Monsters"
Both Condon and Watson previously indicated that the plan is to carry over Howard Ashman and Alan Menken’s songs from the 1991 Disney animated Beauty and the Beast feature into the live-action version – with Condon having told EW that modern filmmaking tech will allow them “to bring that brilliant, amazing score and beautiful story into three dimensions.” One just wonders if any of the original tunes from the Broadway musical adaptation will also make the cut. It could be fun to watch Stevens perform a number like “If I Can’t Love Her”, after all.

So, at a glance, the movie cast will look a little like this (though it should be remembered that Beast is a beast for most of the film - at least, in the animated one and there's no news yet on just how that will be handled):

 Belle: Emma Watson - confirmed
 The Beast: Dan Stevens - confirmed
 Gaston: Luke Evans - in talks (TBC)
 Mrs. Potts: Emma Thompson - in talks (TBC)
Quite the gorgeous British collection so far, don't you think?

Beauty and the Beast begins filming later in 2015 with the vague chance of a late 2016 release, but more likely to hit theaters in 2017.

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"Cymbeline" Trailer

Some of the Snow White-like motifs will be clear. All of Shakespeare's Cymbeline should be obvious, what with the script pretty much following the Bard's (and they do it a LOT better than I expected). Not really my type of movie but I will be watching what people say about it and how it's discussed.

Fairy tales seem to get related to everything these days/weeks (and with no additional help from me!). In Cymbeline they wouldn't be stretching the idea too far, of course, but I'm curious to see just which ones they cite as having parallels. If Snow White doesn't come up you can then assume fairy tales are just the current hot-button-scapegoat for unveiling the darkness in us all... (insert ridiculous evil laugh here). But hey - at least they're open to discussing our favorite subject!

If you're interested in Shakespeare, seeing his work translated into modern  or are curious about the Snow White motifs in the play (which will have to be there in the movie to some extent since they're following the book so closely) then you might want to keep your eye on this film too.

Take a look at the trailer. It looks better than the poster implies and we might even be getting a glimpse of Imogen's death-like sleep. Or is it sleep-like death? Depends on the story you're telling I suppose... :

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Firebird Ash Shoes

Firebird ash shoes - holy..!
These pumps, crafted by Mexican designer Lucita Abarca, caused quite a stir at a recent Sixth Borough fashion show. These crystalline high-heels were grown by Wyrm’s Pass artisans, deep below the Rocky Mountains, using a mixture of firebird ash, waters from the springs at Paradiso, and a variety of secret ingredients, rumored to include Australian fire opals and powdered moonstone. The result of using the firebird ash become immediately recognizable when the heel of the shoe is dragged backward across any dry surface, as it creates an impressive streak of magical fire which can be accurately aimed with a little effort. Ms. Abarca said she wanted a shoe that made a statement, and that statement was “Any bastardo brujo catcalling me on La Plaza de Sangre better be ready to dose his huevos, you know?”  
from Ekaterina and the Firebird,* illustration by Anna & Elena Balbusso
I so much *heart* these shoes. And the statement.

But I can't just leave thisfor you all to wonder. This is what could be termed a "Tumblr Tall Tale". There is no Mexican designer named Lucita Abarca (and the name can be roughly translated as "lit shoe" or "shoe of light"). The truth is there truly are so many ingenious inventions and incredible fashion creations out there, this could be a real thing. (Except for perhaps the Firebird ash - I would happily travel the world over to go see a real Firebird!) This wonderfully done GIF doesn't appear to have a "true" source and if you do a little investigating you keep getting sent back to American Wizarding (if you like fantasy storytelling and reference to tales in news, you'll probably enjoy the Tumblr site too - it's wonderfully creative). Despite Vogue-desire being cited as the source, as far as I can tell this is just a wonderful story many of us wish were true. I mean, can you imagine? I immediately think of the possibilities in a flamenco performance, immediately followed by the flammable possibilities in the same flamenco performance! (And if I were still working in ballet I'd be rushing to the Director and asking if we could figure out how to create something like this for a pointe shoes for a new Firebird performance!)


The Firebird illustrated by Luděk Maňásek (FB)
While I couldn't resist posting a Firebird related "product" anyway, it occurred to me that we've never really discussed the tales that circulate the internet via memes and gifs. They're like urban legend wildfire, the way things spread virally these days. I'm not just talking about misconceptions, poor journalism and rumors (which abound and has us constantly checking Snopes.com to see if they're true) but about that heightened-portrayal of reality. It reminds me of Big Fish (the book, though the movie was pretty good up till the end), and the way the father told his son all these slightly left-of-center stories in which it was difficult to tell the real from the unreal.

We do the same all the time with children and it's perpetuated through their own expressions - something we now see vivid evidence of on Tumblr and other teen-driven social media. 

More than ever, fashion sells itself via tales these days - and not just fairy tale fantasy like it used to. Runway shows are now theatrical performances and people are sold the story as much as the look. The look by itself just doesn't grab as much as being able to be part of a story as well. Fashion has always sold an altered reality but these days we see even more effort put into the stories between the seams. The designers and seamsters talk continuously now of what this stitch means, what this "petal" represents etc - something that harks back to traditional folk artisans and the care with which they create things and infuse them with stories.


I think stories that use images like this to grab our attention have made a difference too, like when Katniss "becomes the Mockingjay" in the second Hunger Games movie. I'm talking about the movie specifically because of the visual effects which turn Katniss' false wedding dress into a fiery one, to reveal a dark, winged, Mockingjay dress. The themes of phoenix and hope rising are all over this story and the movie gave us some very strong visuals it's difficult to forget. (You can see a clip from the movie which shows the wonderfully done dress transformation and illustrates the rising rebellion against the system HERE.)

I have to say, I really like seeing this return to Story.

I'll leave you with another Firebird story, also from American Wizarding:
An early morning palm tree fire on Christmas day in Los Angeles 
"Reports are currently coming in from downtown Los Angeles, where a firebird, escaped from a reserve just north of the Mexican city of Tecate, has started its regenerative process within the full sight of Muggle onlookers and authorities. Agents of the Department of Secrecy and Obfuscation (DSO) and the Bureau of Conservation and Magical Resources (CMR) are already on the scene, and spreading the story of a lightning strike and a brittle palm tree. Representatives from both agencies claim that they are empowered by law to practice temporary memory charms on Muggle witnesses to prevent a potential breach of the Statute of Secrecy, and that warrants will later be sought to make the charms permanent. Once the firebird has burned itself out, the agents will collect the remains and repair to a secure facility to allow the creature to regenerate safely before being returned to its normal nesting grounds."  
Report by Donna Maria Garcia, The Antigua Finca Times: February 4, 2015
* If you like Russian tales or the concept of The Firebird I strongly suggest going and reading the short story this illustration was created for at tor.com. The story is lovely and there are some nice insights in the comments below too. Go have a lovely read HERE.

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Shakespeare's (Modern) "Cymbeline" Heading To Theaters in March

A poster was just revealed for the upcoming movie release Cymbeline. (This movie was originally planned to be released in 2014 so there have been some delays and reworkings.) It's a modern (and very violent, it would seem) adaptation of Shakespeare's Cymbeline (which was also violent but had clearer fairy tale elements).

For those wondering why I'm putting something Shakespeare-related on the blog, Cymbeline is often regarded as "Shakespeare's Snow White" as it has so many of the key motifs and elements of the tale in a specific combination the parallel can easily be made. 

Did Shakespeare know the Snow White story or one of the many variants? Although it seems unlikely that he did, considering the timeline of certain collections with regard to Shakespeare's own dates, the Decameron is listed among his sources when creating the play and may have been one of those texts also seen by the Grimm Brothers in their studies (I haven't looked at this very much in depth but this discussion was started long ago on the SurLaLune boards HERE).

With regard to the upcoming movie, will any Snow White variant be detectable? Beyond the basic set-up of jealous "queen", huntsman and the girl finding her way through grit and wit and possibly a death-like sleep, I'd be surprised if the usual Snow White parallels remain, though you never know. If they stuck closely to Shakespeare's Cymbeline, there will be more classic fairy tale elements there than you'd ever think from the poster above. (You can read a break down of the similarities between Cymbeline, Snow White, Othello and King Lear by Quill and Qwerty HERE.) An interesting note is that the film was titled Anarchy for a short while but is back to being Cymbeline. That should give a few clues about the film right there.
Ethan Hawke (Edit FTNH: who did the modern day New York update of Hamlet with the same director) co-stars with Ed Harris as two players caught up in the middle of a war between dirty cops and an outlaw biker gang which forces a drug kingpin (Harris) to desperate measures. The ensemble cast includes Milla Jovovich (“Resident Evil” films), John Leguizamo, Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey), Penn Badgley, Anton Yelchin, Bill Pullman and Delroy Lindo. 
Cymbeline will be released in select cities on March13, 2015, and will be rated R.

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Fifty Shades Is Just Beauty & the Beast?! (No, no, no, no, no..!)

CONTROVERSIAL SUBJECT ALERT:
But I guess this was an inevitable comparison. 

I just didn't quite expect the write-up to read quite like this:
It seemed to many E.L. James, America’s new softcore sweetheart, was working some kind of magic on jaded American consumers, and had stumbled on the one choice of subject matter that could get people reading again. Yet the roots of its popularity stretched much deeper than its author’s source material, and what a Newsweek cover story dubbed “The Fantasy Life of Working Women.” At its most basic, Fifty Shades of Grey—like Twilight,and like so many bestsellers that have come before—appealed not just to suburban housewives, but to the little girls they had once been. The story is less a booster for bondage... than a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. At the end of her saga, when all the whips have been sheathed and the harnesses have been unstrung, Anastasia Steele has tamed and wedded her beast, given birth to one of his children, and conceived another. In its final lines, the narrative appears less a celebration of sexual transgression than of the nuclear family. ...The beast, vanquished, has transformed into a prince, and she has become his princess. 
(There's more. You can read the whole, huge article, titled 50 Shades Is Just 'Beauty and the Beast' with Handcuffs and Sex Toys, with all its reasonings HERE.)

So basically Twilight & Fifty Shades of Grey = Beauty & the Beast?

Only if the message in the fairy tale is "transform your man", "tame your Beast", "give in to your Savior complex" or "stand by your nightmare until he becomes a Prince"!

Please tell me this is not really the "fairy tale" (colloquial use of the term) that people truly want?


See this is where I think Disney needs to seriously overhaul the Beast's character at the beginning of their movie. There needs to be another way for he and Belle to be in conflict, because the resulting message, no matter how it was originally intended, is a recipe for abuse (and possibly Stockholm syndrome), and we've ended up with a lot of confused "little girls" out there...

*DELETES EVERYTHING ELSE I JUST WROTE*

Why am I bothering with this here? Because no matter how bad this film is purported to be, the book was (is?) a scary cultural phenomenon, which is how this it came to be made into a movie at all, and you know there are people you know that will see this. And when it gets talked about in conjunction with a fairy tale which is held as a favorite (for good reasons) by many enlightened people I know... well I think you should know and be prepared for it in case you get asked about it.

Ima jus' gonna leave thisnow and move on...

UPDATE, LATER THE SAME EVENING AS WRITING THE ABOVE:
I just skimmed the article in Entertainment Weekly called Sex, Lies & Fifty Shades, because right there, smack in the middle of the article are pictures of Disney's Snow White (The Prince Paradigm) and Cinderella (The Cinderella Complex). Sleeping Beauty and Beauty and the Beast are also referenced in the article as are fairy tale and feminist issues in general, but not in the way I expected after the last article. The interesting thing about this use, is that the author/magazine used the images to draw you (me) in, to say "that's not what it's really about at all".
The real reasons for the popularity of Fifty Shades, and for the persistent role of domination and submission in women's sexual imaginations, are rooted in what it actually means to live life in a female body - and the truth about that is so dark it makes Christian Grey's Red Room of Pain seem as innocuous as a backyard sandbox. (Leslie Bennetts for Entertainment Weekly. A longtime writer for Vanity Fair, she is the author of The Feminine Mistake: Are We Giving Up Too Much?)
While I don't agree with the whole article I think this makes a good and resonating point: one which, should you find yourself discussing fairy tales and feminism and the mixed up signals pop culture is sending us, that is worth keeping in mind.

You can currently read the EW article online HERE. You may want to note it starts provocatively, stating much about sex lives and the popularity of the books and coming movie, but this is only really the introduction to illustrate the baffling phenomena of this series that has bright minds having many arguments as to 'why?'. The quoted paragraph is the last one from that section and then it gets into a discussion that better suited to the question of "why are so many modern women consumed by this Fifty Shades fascination?" It may indeed have something to do with fairy tales, but not in the way that most people might think.

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Exclusive Cinderella Merchandise Now Available for Pre-Order At Hot Topic


For my fashion conscious readers, Hot Topic has announced a pre-order sale of their new Disney Designer Collection based on the upcoming live action Cinderella movie. At least some of the pieces will be available in stores come February 24th, but like their Maleficent collection, probably not all. (You can look at the pieces in detail and order HERE.)

Though I'm not a fan of what I've seen of the movie to date (apart from Cate Blanchett), I would agree that sometimes the best things to come out of these large productions can be the limited-availability merchandise.
I have to say that lined coat did catch my eye, but what I'd really love is just some of those buttons...

There's a lot of clothing and accessories coming out for this movie, it would seem, so if this is your thing, keep your eyes peeled.

While everything shownis from Hot Topic, Kohl's will have a line of casual summer dresses for Cinderella too (which might be a little more budget friendly).

You know what I haven't really seen yet, though? Special Cinderella shoes. Maybe they're being saved for an exclusive release later (or will be exclusive to some wedding line somewhere).

Happy hunting fashionistas!

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Discussing the "Pan" Teaser Trailer: Are Our Children's Stories Adaptations Getting Too Grown Up?

This trailer has been out for a while. I just never got the chance to post it (or discuss it). There haven't been any new ones yet that I've seen, despite the release date closing in. I have to wonder if they're not rethinking a few things...

Before I discuss, here's the trailer:
I'm not sure how I feel about this adaptation, and I'm not talking about the casting, (cough-Rooney Mara as Tiger Lily??-cough).

In my mind neither Pan nor Tink are exactly sweet (they're actually a little frightening in some ways) but the rest of Neverland and the surrounding story by Barry are more "light-childhood magic" than using dark, looming adolescent themes. I think that's an important aspect of the Peter Pan story, particularly as it deals with the joys of childhood (which might be nice to see an example of, since that's barely acknowledged anymore in any child shown in the media that's over five years old, though true childhood extends far longer) and why you might not want to grow up.

In case you're not aware, this is a prequel to Barry's classic, how Peter became Pan, so you'd think it would be focused on the POV of a child, but this trailer isn't telling me that at all.

I think this is perhaps my main problem with making all adaptations "dark". Mostly, they're not truly adult versions but instead they teeter on that YA/New Adult precipice where everything is uncertain and generally not quite as straightforwardly free and joyful as children's storytelling and tales, yet these versions also aren't layered enough to properly explore the raised issues.

There's no doubt our culture is youth-skewed, but with a specific YA focus still being dominant in both TV series and novels, children aren't getting much of a chance to be "real and as naive as they should be children" either. Children's entertainment these days seems largely to talk down to children, or is so filled with "educational value" so that there isn't that escape into the imagination that children need and crave, where they can explore and learn on their own. Instead, ironically in this case of a Peter Pan interpretation, they're encouraged to "grow up".

As a parent whose son is just the right age to introduce to wonderful worlds of live action fantasy and imagination with a little (but not too much) danger, I'm finding a lot of modern movies just aren't up to the task and I'm having to hunt down DVD transfers of much older classics. What's missing in children's movies at the moment is straight forward (fairy) tales that allow the child/person to enjoy and take them at face value but also have enough layering (yet not too much explanation and detail to make it so specific) that allows a stretching of the imagination and new understandings of themes when the child is ready to go there.

One thing is certain: this version of Peter Pan isn't going to address that issue at all. It's going for that elusive pre-teen male demographic that's so hard to attract. But I'm not certain it's hitting the mark there either. Just look at the posters. Not a single smile or overall joyful palette of color. Where is the humor, the sense of fun, the role play? The magicis "serious" and Neverland does't really look like somewhere a kid would want to stay...

Thoughts?

Note: Pan is set to open in theaters on July 24th.

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Gans' "La Belle et La Bête" With English Subtitles/Dubbing? Yes Please!

It still doesn't look like the US or UK have a version we can easily watch (yet!)  BUT Amazon Canada finally has a French version with English subtitles available for pre-order! Yay! (Thank you Anonymous for the tip!)

Before you rush to order though, remember that there will likely be regional restrictions, so unless your player can handle all regions, triple check before spending your hard-earned money.

For those lucky individuals who are fluent in French there are many more choices available:
1) DVD and Blu-ray French only track and subtitles
and
2) this amazing, limited edition and very gorgeous looking package show at the head of the post and more details below:


Blu-Ray + DVD + Bonus BluRay72 page book of unpublished concept artCommentary by Christophe Gans (Director)Commentary by Louis Morin (Visual Effects Supervisor)Multi-angle feature - Raw film without VFX, storyboards, rough VFX, final movie83 minute making of documentaryDeleted scenes with introduction from Christophe GansYoann Fréget 'Sauras-tu m'aimer' music video
Yep. I want it. I don't care if my French is so rusty I can barely ask for directions anymore - I would dearly love to have this special edition in my library!

The US Amazon site has a lovely packaging picture but a prominent, in red. "Currently unavailable" with no information about a release yet.

One very good sign, however, is that this English-subtitled trailer was released just a week ago. Although it may not be the best looking English subtitling, it's still a big step in an encouraging direction for English-only speakers who have been dying to see this (and actually understand what's being said).

And then this has surfaced as well (get ready Belle et la Bete fans - this is very likely what it will look like when we finally get to see it);

If I get any more tips on a version of this movie being released thats' English audience friendly (with English subtitles at least), I'll be sure to pass them along.

Fairy tale bonus of the day:
Here's an image collection of all the various international posters Pathé films have produced for the movie. The one English one has a date of October 2, though I don't know what that means, or what region/country it's for. It may just take a while to get proper international distribution across the globe, so with an official English poster out there, it does send hope that there will be an English-friendly version available at some point.
This is a really large image - click to see full size!

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Emily Blunt To Become (Villainous) "Snow Queen"?

Do you remember all the talks about Snow White and the Huntsman getting a sequel, but that there would be no Snow White.. etc etc? Well there have been other developments in the past couple of days, one in particular I didn't expect at all.

Emily Blunt, the amazing actress who played The Baker's Wife in Into The Woods, is looking to get involved in another fairy tale franchise (or two - more on that later*) and is officially "in talks" (negotiating a possible contract) to play the villain in the new movie The Huntsman (previously known as Snow White and the Huntsman 2). It's a character we already know and have seen a few different version of recently, both nice and not-so-nice. I have a feeling Ms. Blunt would have no trouble in making us shiver.

The sequel sends the Huntsman on a quest to find the magic mirror (which has been stolen), forcing him to face not only his past but the evil Snow Queen who’s set on avenging her sister Ravenna’s death. 

The Snow Queen is the role that Blunt is in talks to take, and Charlize Theron IS expected to return as Ravenna. Darabont actually wrote the current draft of the screenplay, but whether or not that will now go through any changes remains to be seen. (source)
 So the Snow White story will be dovetailing into a Snow Queen story, except that this queen isn't (and isn't related to) Snow White herself. And it now looks like this WILL be a sequel, not a prequel as it's been called for the past year+.

It's not the first time I've thought one could make a connection between the two stories but normally it would involve the Snow White character fairly centrally. This new movie/sequel looks to be working on a new fairy tale altogether. They're just setting in a world we already associate with Snow White. Unless there is some very interesting writing, there is the high probability that "a strong male protagonist will beat the evil woman", to much predictable criticism, but I hold out hope that people have their Bechdel tests handy to check the script against and maybe (maybe!) even consider looking at Andersen's original Snow Queen to consider balancing out the negative feminine energy with one or more of those other beloved characters (Little Robber Girl please!). The fact that Blunt is looking at the role at all, gives me optimism. She seems very particular in choosing smart roles that will reflect well on her and women in general.

Don't worry, my skepticism about this film-to-be is alive and well (why do I feel like we should be expecting a "Snow Trilogy"?), but after being impressed, despite myself, with what Kitsis and Horowitz (and the amazing Elizabeth Mitchell) did with the character of the OUAT's Snow Queen last year (right in the middle of possibly the worst storyline/arc/set-up to date), anything seems possible!  (We'll have to write about OUAT and Frozen another time...)

As an added hurdle for the film, The Huntsman (no Snow White in this film's title), has just lost their director due to creative differences but the film is still going full steam ahead in pre-production, aiming to hit the release date scheduled (April 22, 2016). A new director will apparently be announced next week.

I look forward to seeing their new director/direction and if Ms. Blunt will be part of it.



* Emily Blunt has also expressed interest in being involved in Frozen 2 - the Disney animated sequel movie currently in development.

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"The Tale of The Princess Kaguya" and "Song of the Sea" Are Going to the Oscars!

The nominations are in for the Oscars and two animated films are fairy tales!

Here's what they're competing against:
Animated Feature Film Nominations for 2014 Oscars  
“Big Hero 6”  
“The Boxtrolls”  
“How to Train Your Dragon 2”  
“Song of the Sea”  
“The Tale of the Princess Kaguya” (source)
Notably missing is The Lego Movie, and it appears everyone is surprised since it's been considered THE film to beat - all year. (The Lego Movie has been considered one of the best movies of 2014, not just a good animated film, and I'd have to agree. It, too, has classic fairy tale elements, [anyone up to doing a fairy tale elements in The Lego Movie guest post?], though they're far less obvious shown in lego form, but that's part of it's genius. It's one of the reasons I think it resonated so well.)

But Song of the Sea and The Tale of The Princess Kaguya nominations are both well deserved nominations and are to be enthusiastically congratulated, especially since they are essentially quiet achievers without big marketing machines behind them to make people take notice. (Distributor GKids - who represents both - must be tickled pink at the news.)

In other The Tale of The Princess Kaguya news, a Blu-ray and DVD are on the way! Coming February 17, 2015, the movie will be released in English with this cover:
    
Unfortunately, it doesn't appear we'll be able to watch it in the original Japanese with English subtitles, but people everywhere are hailing this as a classic. I even saw the quote: "One of the most important films ever made.." I haven't had time to research the translation and English dubbing to see people's thoughts on those but I'm really pleased we're going to be able to see it and have the option to get a copy to keep.

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Something "Wicked" This Way Comes... (Finally!)

Wicked the movie (based on the musical, not the book) is on the way!

Let's get the facts straightthough: "in-the-works" is "in development". That does NOT mean "greenlit". It means they want to do it - heck, lots of people want to do it and there's some money being spent - BUT they're still trying to see if they can make it happen and are at the idea stage (of successfully translating the musical to the big screen).

When Producer Marc Platt was talking to Film Divider he confirmed the film was definitely "in development" with a first-pass script being written and a soft goal of a 2016 release. The production companies for the film are Marc Platt Productions and Universal Pictures.

Here are the relevant quotes from the interview at which the news was revealed:
The most famous (and possibly beloved) cast of Wicked The Musical.
Casting have some big shoes to fill!
It’s a loose goal. But the bar is very high for the creators of Wicked. Our show is still so strong everywhere, and we just set a record in both London and Edinburgh last week, and in Los Angeles, and we did on Broadway. Audiences enjoy that show so much that we are intending to move forward on the movie but aren’t going to do so until we’re satisfied in the material we have as a screenplay, and that the film will be every bit as satisfying as what we have on the stage. 
Who’s been writing it?Winnie Holzman. 
And what shape is her script in now?She’s just writing it now. 
And do you have a director at the moment?It’s Stephen Daldry. He’s been on for a year or two. But it’s in process. 2016 is the goal, but I don’t know whether we’ll make that goal or not. We will make the movie, but like I said, the bar is really high. We’re going to scrutinise our work on the screenplay and our prep on the movie, and when we feel like it’s ready, okay. We’re not going to shoot a release date is what I’m saying. It’s in the works, it’s not in a rush.
This movie is a no-brainer fan-draw. No matter what trends are happening, from misunderstood villains to Oz tributes to nothing-at-all-to-do-with-any-of-these, this movie has a guaranteed built-in audience who have been dying to see it for YEARS.

If you're one of them, just be warned it could still be quite a ways off. 2016 is only next year and that's a LOT of work to get done to get a film release-ready from it's current state by December 31st!

In the meantime, let the dream casting begin! (Or, continue...)

Sources: Here, here, here & here
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