Showing posts with label red riding hood. Show all posts
Showing posts with label red riding hood. Show all posts

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"Ever After High" Gets a Movie, To Become Netflix Original Series for Kids (+ Cerise Hood Exclusive Is Quite A Doll!)

New & much improved EAH Cerise Hood EXCLUSIVE for SDCC* 2014
(Available after SDCC from mattycollector.com - very limited supply - obviously)

A new movie and a whole new series for the very popular Ever After High from Mattel.

Note: In case you didn't know Once Upon A Blog is pro-Ever After High. Why? See my post HERE (and scroll down past the Descendants part to see why I ate the words of my first impression of this princessy-looking toy line with animated series tie-in).

Press Release:
June 16, 2014: Netflix Inc. and Mattel, Inc. today announced an all-new and wicked animated original series for kids of all ages based on the spelltacular Mattel franchise, Ever After High. The new animated series will premiere in all Netflix territories in early 2015.
...The Netflix original series will be preceded by Ever After HighSpring Unsprung, a new movie, in early 2015, and 12 episodes of Ever After High the series will follow. Both will feature the royally rebellious and spellbinding stories of the Ever After High students with new twists, turns and character introductions for current and new fans to enjoy.
I don't see any word on whether our girl Shannon Hale will be involved but here's hoping she is.

On a related note: the new Cerise Hood SDCC exclusive collectible is not your average doll!
Here's the regular one (photographed very nicely, but still):
   
 

And you can see the exclusive below with detail pics HERE (although this is not really my thing - ie. dolls - the accessories and motifs on this one are worth checking out).

*SDCC is the giant annual San Diego Comic Con

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Aussies 'n' Fairy Tales Week: Debra Phillips, Painter of Stories


You may have seen her work recently in conjunction with the AFTS conference, but not known the name of the creative woman behind this new vision of Snow White. Her name is Debra Phillips and she tells stories. But not just with words. She also tells stories with paint.

While she is a writer and is currently involved with an academic study related to storytelling and fairy tales, she also creates stories using paint and often incorporating other media as well. Be it stitching, photography, old maps or her own brushstrokes, there is always a story woven into the work.
A Grimm View of Life series: Three Little Pigs
From Ms. Phillips:
When I paint I tell myself a story about the people in the scenes, the events leading up to the scenes and the qualities of each person within the painting. For me, a painting is a story. Although it is entire in itself, there is always a story before the image and a story after the image.  Decades ago when I painted the series of saints, I also wrote on the back a short story about the life of the saint (either imagined or real). 
A Grimm View of Life series: Goldilocks and porridge

What you seeare some of her intriguing paintings, exploring familiar fairy tales in a new ways, something, she says, is bring influenced by her current academic research and study, with an emphasis on the notion of time experienced in fairy tales and how they can transform to become a distinct narrative about an imagined future.

But that's not all she does.
A Grimm View of Life series: Snow White and rotten to the core
In the past, Ms. Phillips could often be found writing stories for friends by request, often with the purpose of commemorating a specific and special life event (birth, wedding etc). Over time, she began to include water colors, collages or photographs she had created. At some point she added stitching and the concept of her unique brand of hand crafted books was born.
Detail from a mixed-media collage

Story writing has overtaken my self and my life. There is always a tension between the desire to write and the desire to paint. Sometimes the paintings emerge from writing and sometimes the story comes from seeing a theme running through paintings or collage images. 
Fairy story themes are a constant thread running through all the stories. Some fairy stories are obvious and others are hidden in the other themes of the story. All my stories are about the human condition, especially its frailties and it’s complex relationships.
As you can see at the head of the post, Ms. Phillips had the honor of being the cover artist for the AFTS Inaugural Conference program this year. She also attended and, along with everyone else, has been reported as being both delighted and inspired by the papers and presentations of all kinds.Which can only mean one thing: we should be seeing more from Ms. Philips very soon.  
A Grimm View of Life series: Snow White & Rose Red have the wolf at their feet

In the meantime, she has a small website with a few examples of her work HERE, including a fascinating introduction to her current studies with fairytales. I look forward to seeing what Ms. Phillips does next.

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Theater: "The Magic Hour" - A Contemporary, Grim(m), One Woman Comedy & Storytelling Show That's Casting It's Spell Over Critics & Audiences Alike

If you follow the AFTS (Australian Fairy Tale Society) on Facebook, you will see I already sent word about this play there but I wanted to highlight ittoo, so everyone is aware of it, as it sounds refreshingly different and quite gutsy (what we like to see!).

Not only that, every review I've read gives glowing praise, with only good things to say about both the production and Ms. Yovich, to the point that there are rumors about it being THE theatrical production of 2014.

First, a little intro so you have an idea of what all the raving is about:

From EventFinder:
Starring Helpmann Award-winning actress Ursula Yovich (Capricornia, The Secret River and ABC TV’s Gods of Wheat Street and Redfern Now), this celebrated evening of song and storytelling is a deliciously dark interpretation of classic Grimms’ fairy tales.
The Magic Hour is set in a contemporary urban landscape and tells the stories of fairy tales’ sidelined characters including Rapunzel’s captor, Red Riding Hood’s granny and Cinderella’s ugly stepsister.
A gutsy one-woman comedy, The Magic Hour reveals the rich social commentary embedded in these magical tales and reflects on the gritty lives of the women that inspired the characters with a haunting realism.
Written by award-winning Australian playwright Vanessa Bates (Chipper, Porn. Cake, Every Second), The Magic Hour is the swansong production for Deckchair Theatre and promises an evening of no sugar-coated children’s stories. 
Sounds really interesting, right? (If I were in Oz for the conference , I'd certainly be joining a bunch of AFTS folk to go see this at Riverside Paramatta (oh to be able to see a fairy tale event with fairy tale folk!) Take a look at the promo video:
The one woman who plays all the roles, engages the audience in storytelling and in song, is Ursula Yovich, a talented award winning indigenous actress and a brief interview discussing The Magic Hour can be found HERE.
To give you even more of a picture, here's some of the press release:
Thought you knew Grimm’s fairy tales? Think again.
Once upon a time…. 
Hidden in the crevices, drawn from the gutters and alleyways of life, comes a startling retelling of classic fairy tales. This deliciously wicked and dangerously funny one-woman show stars Helpmann Award winning actor and singer Ursula Yovich (Australia, Jindabyne, The Secret River). 
She expertly takes familiar aspects of Grimm’s tales and characters from stories of Rapunzel, Red Riding Hood, Cinderella and others and cleverly manipulates them into more modern versions and settings. Do not expect sugar-coated children’s stories here. The Magic Hour is gritty, with an air of dark comedy and haunting realism.  
From one of Australia’s most original contemporary playwrights, Vanessa Bates, The Magic Hour is a gutsy one-woman comedy told with dark humour and soulful song. 
This is story-telling for grown-ups at its very best. A night of stories told at twilight with werewolves and a touch of magic…

And there's a great summary review courtesy of The Blurb Magazine, which details more of the performance that only makes me want to see it all the more. Here's a taste:
It began with the set, a beautifully lit open space with a corrugated and wood gypsy-style caravan and the trappings of an Aboriginal outback camp site designed by Alicia Clements. Props and costumes were cleverly tucked away in various drawers, and windows and shutters opened and closed to add another dimension to the stories. Joe Lui’s lighting design shone brightly on the caravan and let the edges drift into darkness; a perfect setting for some dark tales. 
Ursula Yovich wandered onto the set, talked to the audience, and checked how her pumpkin soup was cooking on her bush stove. Then she began telling her stories and, with a variety of shawls, fur, wraps and coats, body language and a change of vocal tone she created many different and very real characters. The props were hung out on a washing line at the end of each story, which gave the show a neat continuity. 
She had the sell-out audience enthralled and proved what a brilliant storyteller she is. She weaved a spell as she retold six traditional fairytales penned by Vanessa Bates that were set well away from the original locations. 
... It truly was fairytales like you’ve not heard them before. Why: because they were told from angle of other characters in the story. The essence of the ancient tales remained while the people became modern and fractured; the sick, the dispossessed, druggies, the victims who had slipped through the cracks.
You can read the whole, much longer, review HERE.

And I want a full report from the AFTS conference attendees who are lucky enough to go see this please! (Pretty please..?)

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A Great Suggestion For the OUAT Writers (AKA The Call To Use Different Fairy Tale Characters From 'Round the World)

With the season end reveal of Elsa coming to Storybrooke for Season 4 of Once Upon A Time, speculation is rife with regard to story lines, additional Frozen world character additions, plot twists and, as you can imagine, concerns about changing an already much-beloved character. Clearly, from the brief finale teaser, Elsa will be fair skinned (ie caucasian) but there are a lot of people, many already concerned with Disney's lack of POC representation, that see the same in OUAT, and that the addition of Elsa just exacerbates that.

   
(I'll get to why I am posting images of all these cultural variants of Cinderella in just a sec. Bare with me.) 
      

The "discussion" throughout social media has birthed a petition, calling for Tiana (from Disney's The Frog Princess) to be added to the cast and canon but not just as "fodder" like it seems most other POC characters have been used in OUAT.
   
The lack of POC people in the ABC show Once Upon a Time is rather depressing. They are either villains, dead or forgotten. The character Mulan has disappeared and Rapunzel, who was added to the royal line up, had one episode and she wasn’t even the focus. For three seasons, the fans have waited patiently for at least one POC who doesn’t get shafted. So to the writers and creators, would you please give us Tiana? All we are asking is for a POC character that gets to go on a journey and not be forgotten.  

The fact that the POC issue is coming up so regularly these days says a lot to me: not just about the lack of representation by arguably the most influential company using fairy tales in the world, but also that people are tired of the same regurgitation of stories. Red Riding Hood has been told multiple times the world over in a myriad of ways, yet Western retellings of Red Riding Hood tend to default to the girl in the red hood in the wood with a wolf.

        
Carissa Shuman, of The Celebrity Cafe, however, came up with a solution that I want to applaud, (despite the fact that it's highly unlikely this suggestion will be implemented):
           
Should Horowitz and Kitsis decide to include more POC, they could possible draw from fairy tales of other cultures which are sometimes stand-alone stories, and sometimes variations of their European counterparts. Their focus has been predominantly on Disney princesses, which does include Mulan and Tiana. However, they have also included or alluded to other popular stories such as Hansel and Gretel. If they were to refer to some other stories, they may want to use Leola from Melodye Benson Rosales’ Leola and the Honeybears, which is an African-American version of Goldilocks, who although not a princess is a well-known fairy tale character. 
                    
Another option could be to incorporate “relatives” of Red or Ella by using a variation of their story. For example, Lon Po Po is a Chinese version of Little Red Riding Hood written by Ed Young. There are also several versions of Cinderella. The idea of rags to riches is a common theme, and the Chinese have told it in Yeh-Shen by Ai-Ling Louie. Robert D. San Souci told it in his story entitled Cendrillon, a Caribbean Cinderella, and Rafe Martin told it in The Rough-Face Girl which stars a disfigured Algonquin girl.
  

The whole things about OUAT being basically a Disney property and using Disney versions of fairy tales makes sense, from a production point of view (and an intellectual property point of view). That excuse doesn't apply for when they go outside the canon though. For them to use, for example, Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel, which Disney do not have popular versions of, says that they're willing to step outside the Disney canon if they think it's worth they're while (read, ratings).
             


With regard to the fact that Horowitz and Kitsis are extremely unlikely to consider using cultural variations of stories, what I would like to see is: They decide, yes, they'll bring Tiana on board and yes, they'll bow to popular demand and offer Oscar Winner Lupita Nyong'o the role. She says "yes, on one condition". They say "anything!" and she demands that they bring some fairy tales from her cultural background to the show...

I can dream.

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Lisa Stock's "The Buried Moon"


The Buried Moon (Self portrait) by Lisa Stock: InByTheEye
(See larger version HERE)
Mythic filmmaker and fairy tale friend Lisa Stock has once again found a new expression to explore hers - and our - connection with fairy tales and the universal themes and questions they hold.

The new image is actually a very unusual, and beautiful, self-portrait, inspired by the fairy tale The Buried Moon.

From Lisa's filmmaker blog (for InByTheEye):
A big thank you to Lisa (Lisa Derrick of Fire Dog Lake) for sharing this (fairy tale, The Buried Moon) with me. I was so moved by the mutual admiration between humans and the moon.  It’s also one of those stories where you can see yourself in every character: days when you’re the mischievous crawler who wants to hiss at any thought of vibrancy; or perhaps your light has been diminished, and you feel like you’re sinking in the muck; but there too are humans, that part of us that goes out and faces our fears to regain our light.  Therefore I decided to make this image a self-portrait (that’s me inside the moon).
Read more about her inspiration and the process of creating the image HERE.

A few weeks back, Lisa was interviewed at Fire Dog Lake about her filmmaking, her journey to becoming a filmmaker, her work, current projects and her love of myth and fairy tale. I've been aiming to transcribe the portion of the Q&A in which Lisa discusses fairy tales but it's taken me a while to get all the notes and comments in order (it was conducted in a comment-and-reply-to-comment fashion so multiple threads were being discussed simultaneously at some points!). I've finally managed to finish putting together the sections discussing fairy tales, to coincide with her releasing a new fairy tale image we can enjoy and reflect on.
Here's Lisa Stock on fairy tales (and her work using fairy tales) excerpted from the interview at Fire Dog Lake:

Lisa Derrick
You directed a Neil Gaiman play–that’s pretty rad! Tell us a bit about that… (we're getting to your films, honest!)
Lisa Stock 
“Snow, Glass, Apples” was a great experience. I was working with a group to raise money for the East Atlanta community association. I contacted Neil to see if I could adapt the short story. It’s done as a radio play – but I did my own adaptation. I’ve always really loved that story and the way it unfolds. The narrative structure is so interesting. He said Yes! And I directed it as an immersive theater experience. The audience literally walked into the market where the play took place. BUT… my favorite part about the play – was my forest chorus. I created a traditional Greek classic chorus using dancers who had branches in their hands – and they would guide the audience and sometimes interact with the characters. I loved them!
Neil Gaiman's "Snow, Glass, Apples"
with the Forest Chorus and Victoria Hay as The Queen poisoning the apple
We also tricked the audience a bit. We drew them in close in the beginning as the princess was walking among the trees and then the huntsman cuts her heart out right there in the very beginning in front of all of them. Blood everywhere – it was so gross. But we had fun.
Created for Snow, Glass, Apples
by Jen Parrish of Parrish Relics
Lisa Derrick
Wow! Theater should surprise and excite.
You live/create in place where the veil between world is very thin (you contributed to a book about mythical origins of favorite foods). Did you read a lot of fairy tales as a child (I did, and I see most things that go in my life on a few different story tellling levels).
Lisa Stock 
Yes – Primal Picnics! Great book and it comes with recipes from each of the authors. What I like about that book and its tie to food – is that food is so important in so many fairy tales. It’s the breath of life, food, sun, earth.

Lisa Derrick
The little girl who trod on loaf…one of the creepiest stories ever!
Lisa Stock 
I read a lot of fairy tales – I also read a lot of things with fun language, Dr. Suess, Shel Silverstein. When it came to fairy tales – I more wanted to see paintings and the pictures, I was very visual. Then I’d make up my own stories to with the pictures. My parents put big pictures on my walls as a child – animals and trees, and I’d lie in bed at night and just make up stories in my head until I fell to sleep. (After they had read me a story or two)- I still do that just on a bigger scale now.
Lisa Derrick
So re Persephone (which Lisa recently finished filming a web series on) –I have a version in my head that I think is true–that humans got lazy with the endless sun and harvest and stopped worshipping the Olympians, and in despair turned to the Titan Hekate, who had been given to Hades as his bride. She came up a plan to make Demeter weep–and more importantly ne which allow her to go above ground for part of the year.
And Persephone thought hades with his black steeds and smoke was kinda hot (like a rock star on his Harley), so she wasn’t exactly “kidnapped” she ran off with the bad boy who promised her gems and and a kingdom…
Lisa Stock
I like it!
Several years ago – I had the amazing opportunity to see Clarissa Pinkola Estes give a talk on Little Red Riding Hood and she traced it’s origins back to the myth of Persephone. Amazing!
The same idea though – Red was in charge of her own fate in the earliest versions of the tale.
It was important to me that my Persephone make her own decision by the end of the series. She’s a very different person from episode 1 to episode 8.
Lisa Derrick
I just started watching it! Can’t wait to see all 8! Wow…I hadn’t thought of that (Persephone being traced back to Red).
Lisa Stock
Let me know your thoughts!
Production photo from Persephone
Lisa Derrick
One of my favorite stories is from Andrew Lang’s More English Fairy Tales: "The Buried Moon".
The creatures who live in the swamp capture the moon and bury her so they can do their mischief. It’s very scary for mankind, but luckily the wise woman tells them to look for a cross, a candle and a coffin…they see the moons hair flickering (candle), the rock covering her (coffin), and the vines used to bind her hand (cross) and set her free..
Lisa Stock
Oh – that sounds beautiful. Haven’t read that one. (adding to nook list) Have you read Calvino’s Cosmic Comics? Not a fairy tale, but the first story is a larger than life look at the moon.
Every once in a while I just like to have a project where I have no deadlines and no expectations and can go out with my camera and see what the landscape brings, and then take it home, put the footage in my edit system and see what happens. I often come away with something I’ll use in a larger project.
Lisa Stock
I used PERSPEHONE to do a lot of experimenting, visually, but also emotionally as well. I wanted her to grow just a bit in each episode. Discover something new about her world and herself. How did her world, reveal something more about herself?
Lisa Derrick
I think some feminists are gonna show up brandishing torches and pitchforks when I say this, but i do feel a difference in the directorial styles of women and men filmmakers, even going back to Ida Lupino and Leni Riefenstahl.
Triptych Heart (experimental film inspired by Maya Deren)
Lisa Stock
I agree. I think men and women have different ways of looking at the world. But above that – it’s the unique eye of the woman – whether me, or Sophia Coppola, or Julie Taymor. A BIG influence on me is Maya Deren.

Here is a favorite quote from Maya Deren:
“Cameras do not make films; film-makers make films. Improve your films not by adding more equipment and personnel but by using what you have to its fullest capacity. The most important part of your equipment is yourself: your mobile body, your imaginative mind, and your freedom to use both. Make sure you do use them.” – MD
I hope though – that a woman would not be afraid to film the world as she sees it – because she feels it has to appeal to a certain demographic. I don’t really believe in those categories. There are audiences for all kinds of films.
One of the things I like about social media (is) I can see your work where I might not otherwise, say 10 years ago, have had the chance. It’s a great thrill to know that you can put your film up online and reach someone half way across the world. But more important to me, is that I can go out onto the web and find someone who is creating art that rally inspires me.
Connie Toebe's work for Through the Cobweb Forest
I collaborate a lot with Connie Toebe, a 3D artist in Chicago. http://www.connietoebe.com. We created an online allegory called “Through the Cobweb Forest” (www.cobwebforest.com) – it tells the story of a woman name Helena who gets shipwrecked on a mysterious island and finds her independence along the way. It’s interactive too – you can zap ships with lighting and make ghosts appear.
Lisa Derrick
Wow! Wow!!
Lisa Stock
Cobweb Forest was taught to students at the University of Malaysia as an example of contextual storytelling. Again – absolutely thrilled and honored that it was being seen across the world. :)
Official 2014 In Production/Teaser Poster
Lisa Derrick
That is astounding, how miraculous technology can be!
How far along is Tatiana, and can you tell us about it?

Lisa Stock
TITANIA – yes! We are in development on that film. It’s inspired by the fairy tale of the Armless Maiden. Titania (from Shakespeare’s fairy queen in Midsummer) has been exiled to an unfamiliar town and is missing her wings. It’s a story of healing and endurance. This one is very personal for me, as I find it has imitated my own life over the past few years. Another story of a woman coming up from her own “Underworld”. http://www.TitaniaFilm.com
We’re hoping to go into principle photography on TITANIA in the Fall. This is the biggest project I’ve ever worked on.
Making Titania - behind the scenes
******************************
Lisa Derrick discusses more of Lisa's filmmaking with her LLC, InBytheEye, and they go behind the scenes of her latest amazing short film HELL. They also talk about why Lisa recommends FilmAnnex for filmmakers and how it has helped her. 

I recommend going and reading the whole interview HERE (you will need to scroll down to the comment section to read the exchanges).

A special and personal thank you Lisa, for continuing to create new work with fairy tales. You show people how relevant these stories are and why we need to keep them all in circulation.
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