Sofia Coppola To Direct 'The Little Mermaid'?

Ooh yes please! Ms. Coppola is a truly interesting filmmaker (and not afraid to go big when it suits - aka Marie Antoinette! Amazing) and I'd be very curious to see what she would do with the fairy tale. In fact, it could be her very experience of directing something as lavish as Marie Antoinette (lots of dresses, heightened style sense) is exactly the reason Universal wants her to helm the project (the previous director attached was Joe Wright).

Another interesting thing is that, if this goes forward, it will be the first time Ms. Coppola has directed someone else's script.

Last we heard (Dec 2013), Ms. Coppola had just bought the rights to Alysia Abbott’s Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father (which is not quite the fairy land most of us immediately think of by the way) with the intent of co-writing, producing and directing a movie based on it with her brother Roman. Not sure what the status of this project is but it's unlikely it will have an impact on Mermaid with Universal holding the pocket book.

From Variety:

Sofia Coppola is in negotiations to direct "The Little Mermaid" for Working Title and Universal Pictures. 

Caroline Thompson will rewrite the script with previous drafts penned by Kelly Marcel and Abi Morgan. 

Not much is known about how this take will compare to previous versions of the Hans Christian Andersen novel, which followed a mermaid who wished to become human after falling in love with a man she saved from drowning.

Never heard of Caroline Thompson? Does Edward Scissorhands ring a bell? I'm taking this as a great sign.

Movieweb currently shows a release date of 2016 and already has Ms. Coppola credited as director (papers aren't quite finalized yet, as I understand it, but things are looking good for it).

In case you didn't already know, Emma Watson will NOT be The Little Mermaid, or a live-action Ariel at any point in the future at this time. Her next fairy tale is Guillermo del Toro's Beauty and the Beast (which, I believe has been put on hold briefly, yet again, although they're still saying it will be filmed this year...)

In the meantime, despite the news being less than a day old (at this writing) the alternate 'dream-casting' has already begun on the Hollywood and gossip blogs... If you like that sort of thing, I suggest google - which already has plenty to offer you. Enjoy.

Note: A special thank you and shout out to fairy tale friend and very talented filmmaker, Lisa Stock of InByTheEye who kept me in the loop on this during a busy week!

Lisa has just made her most recent short film, Hell, available for everyone to see online. It's an amazing collaborative effort, created, helmed and directed by Lisa with women filmmakers from all over the globe, each giving their different take on a different circle of Hell. The themes of this particular myth share much with fairy tale so if you haven't already, go take a look.

And keep your eyes peeled for news on her current project Titania. It's already amazing!

Red Czarina's Neorealist "H&G" Feature Film Coming in Fall 2013

A girl and boy. Brother and sister. Living in poverty and neglect. Lost in the woods. They see a house, rush toward it… it is magical. Full of good food, soft sheets, love and care. But in this house, danger lurks. And all they have is each other.

The Brothers Grimm fairy tale Hansel and Gretel takes a modern neorealist twist in H&G.

What would cause a parent to abandon their child? Especially today? How would stranded children, left alone, behave?

These are the questions that prompted talented Canadian indie filmmaker, Danishka Esterhazy to write and create a "neorealist" film based on Hansel and Gretel, along with the impressive group of women filmmakers who make up Red Czarina. Take a look at the trailer for a taste of the result:

H&G Trailer #1 from Danishka Esterhazy on Vimeo.

In talking about how she began writing H&G Ms. Esterhazy says:

I have always been fascinated by fairy tales. Growing up, I was an avid reader and the world of fairy tales ignited my imagination. As an adult, my work has often been inspired by fairy tales. My short films The Snow Queen (2005) andThe Red Hood (2009), both inspired by traditional tales, are two of the film projects in which I take the most pride. After completing my first feature film, Black Field, which was based on a wholly original story, I found my imagination drawn back to the world of fable. The story that I returned to again and again was Hansel and Gretel. 

✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ (click the "Read more" link below this line) ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ 

Fairy Tale RoundUp For SDCC (San Diego Comic-Con) 2013!

My favorite of J. Scott Campbell's new Fairytale Fantasies illustrations - being released at San Diego ComicCon 2013

I haven't had much time this week to stay up to date on all the San Diego ComicCon fairy tale related goodness but I wanted to at least list it for you so that you can investigate more for yourself if you're interested (or already going) and to make it clear that fairy tales are big business right now - whether main stream, indie or in the Geek universe.

Here's a run down, in no particular order. All the links take you to pages with more information about when during SDCC they will be appearing, the times, booths & rooms and any extra preview info (note: if you can't see the show you clicked on at the top of the page they will be further down in the line-up list):

• Once Upon A Time, ABC series (going into season 3)
• Once Upon A Time In Wonderland, ABC limited spin-off series (premiere)
• Grimm, NBC series (going into season 3, including sneak peek of Dracula - new series)
• Beauty & the Beast, CW series (going into season 2)
• J. Scott Campbell Fairytale Fantasies 2014 (comics, calendars and illustration)
• *Grimm Fairy Tales Comics and Animated Pilot Premiere, Zenescope (comics and new animated pilot/possible series)
• Ever After High - Mattel (new toy line with animated webisodes, debut appearance)
• Spotlight on Ruth Sanderson, fairy tale illustrator and storyteller (presentation/interview & panel)
• Lost Girl , Syfy (going into season 4) (Why have I put this on the fairy tale list? Because it makes excellent use of folklore and fairy tale creatures in a witty and gritty "Olde Worlde meets Nu". Not for kids though.)
• Fine art poster company, Mondo, will be having a limited release of new designs for Miyazaki films Spirited Away, Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke among others.
• There will be a limited release of Guillermo del Toro's character El Fauno from Pan's Labyrinth this year as well (last year, 2012, it was The Pale Man. 2013 is for the Faun). You can pre-order at the link and they will ship after SDCC.

*The animated pilot is getting a lot of buzz and interest. Zenescope's Grimm Fairy Tales use fairly tales and set them in a largely horror genre. They've had many, many issues and been popular for many years but the animated series is a first. More on that in a bit.

Other Fairy Tale Friends at SDCC 2013:

The Faun: Limited release at SDCC 2013

• Acclaimed indie filmmaker, Lisa Stock of InByTheEye will also be there from July 17 to 19th, promoting her new film Hell and other projects. A true mythmaker, Lisa creates myth and fairy tale films and other works (including a stage adaptation of Neil Gaiman's Snow, Glass Apples) and has much more fairy tale related goodness underway that I hope to be sharing very soon.
• Speaking of Neil Gaiman, he will also there on the 19th and, as usual, in great demand over everything from his comics to his books. He will be speaking on panels and presentations, including talking about his new "fairy tale for adults" book, The Ocean at the End of the Lane.
• Joss Whedon will be there for Dark Horse comics talking about what's next for him (including the Buffy movie rumors).
• Other topics and shows that may be of interest to fairy tale people: Game of Thrones, The Hobbit II, Seventh Son, Sherlock (apparently this is a very popular among fairy tale fans!), Doctor Who (don't you think the Doctor makes for a very different sort of Beast? ;) and The Walking Dead (yes - this is also popular among fairy tale people. I may have to post on why one of these days...), Hannibal, True Blood, Supernatural, Arrow, the pilot of Sleepy Hollow (Ichabod Crane gets thrown into the future) and Dexter.

In case you are wondering Bill Willingham (Fables) will NOT be attending SDCC this year so we're unlikely to get any further scoops on the Fables film in development at this time.

Hollywood giant, Disney, is also (largely) MIA at the San Diego ComicCon this year with only having a presence via their newly acquired Marvel properties and the ABC series OUAT & OUATinWonderland. Frozen and Saving Mr. Banks will be spotlit at Disney's own expo D23 in the following week or so.

If you have any other tip off for fairy tale folks attending, please put them in the comments and I'll send out a FB and Tweet to let people know as well.