"Into the Woods" Movie: Disney's Official Character/Cast List & Descriptions (Released today)

Into The Woods by PhLightAttendant

Thought you might like to read the official list, also released today, along with the descriptions. If you're familiar with the musical you'll spot some "official differences" right away.

PS You'll note in the "additional cast" summary, that Cinderella's stepsisters have their names finalized  (finally!) and that "Drusilla" still isn't one of them (thank goodness).

PPS And Granny is being played by one of our favorite fairy godmothers! Nice to see her back in a fairy tale. (Annette Crosbie - The Slipper and the Rose)

The all-star ensemble cast includes: 

· Meryl Streep (“The Iron Lady,” “The Devil Wears Prada,” “August: Osage County”) portrays the Witch who wishes to reverse a curse so that her beauty may be restored. 

· Emily Blunt (“Looper,” “The Young Victoria,” “The Devil Wears Prada”) is the Baker’s Wife, a childless woman who longs to be a mother. 

· James Corden (Broadway’s “One Man, Two Guvnors,” “The Three Musketeers,” “Gavin & Stacey”) plays the role of the Baker, a hard-working man who desperately wants to start a family. 

· Anna Kendrick (“Pitch Perfect,” “Up in the Air”) fills the shoes of Cinderella, who finds herself on a journey of self-discovery. 

· Chris Pine (“Star Trek Into Darkness,” “Jack Ryan”) portrays Cinderella’s Prince, charming and impossibly handsome, who is on an endless quest to find his bride. 

· Johnny Depp (“Pirates of the Caribbean” films, “The Lone Ranger,” “Sweeney Todd”) steps in as the Wolf, who sets his sights on Little Red Riding Hood. 

· Lilla Crawford (Broadway’s “Annie”) makes her feature-film debut as Little Red Riding Hood, a smart and spunky girl who journeys into the woods, finding unexpected adventures along the way. 

· Daniel Huttlestone (“Les Misérables”) lands the role of Jack, an absentminded and adventurous boy who trades his treasured cow for five magic beans. 

· Tracey Ullman joins the cast as Jack’s Mother, a poor and exasperated mom who is overwhelmed, yet fiercely protective of her son. 

· Christine Baranski (“Mamma Mia!,” “Chicago” “The Good Wife”) takes on the infamous Stepmother who wishes for riches and grandeur; she’ll do anything to marry off one of her daughters to a prince.· MacKenzie Mauzy (“Brother’s Keeper,” Broadway’s “Next to Normal”) plays Rapunzel, a sheltered young woman who experiences the world beyond her tower for the first time. 

· Billy Magnussen (Broadway’s “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” “Boardwalk Empire,” “The East”) is the dashing and eager Prince who courts Rapunzel. 

Celebrated actors from the stage and screen fill the supporting roles, including Tammy Blanchard (“Blue Jasmine,” “The Good Shepherd”) and Lucy Punch (“Bad Teacher,” “Dinner for Schmucks”) as Cinderella’s spoiled stepsisters, Florinda and Lucinda. Richard Glover (“Sightseers,” “St. Trinian’s”) is the Princes’ royal steward, Frances de la Tour (“Hugo,” “Alice In Wonderland”) portrays the giant, and Simon Russell Beale (“The Deep Blue Sea”) is the Baker’s father. Actress Joanna Riding (“My Fair Lady,” “Carousel”) portrays Cinderella’s late mother, and Little Red Riding Hood’s beloved granny is played by Annette Crosbie (“Calendar Girls,” “The Slipper and the Rose”).

Into The Woods is set to open in theaters December 25, 2014.

The statement also officially summarized the Disney version of the story:

“Into the Woods” is a modern twist on the beloved Brothers Grimm fairy tales, intertwining the plots of a few choice stories and exploring the consequences of the characters’ wishes and quests. This humorous and heartfelt musical follows the classic tales of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel—all tied together by an original story involving a baker and his wife, their wish to begin a family and their interaction with the witch who has put a curse on them. 

You can read the full press release HERE.

Note: In addition to the fun illustration at the head, you can see PhLightAttendant's lovely character sketches for Into the Woods in his deviantArt gallery HERE as well (under Fan Art) or you can see them laid out in the "almost final" cast graphic I made a while back HERE.

Sources: HERE & HERE

Fairy Whispers Us An Update On "Maleficent"

                       

Fan made posters for Maleficent.

Please note the release date has been changed to July 2, 2014

Bringing you a few teeny fairy whispers on Maleficent today but first let's round up what we know so far:

It's been very quite on the Maleficent front with everyone remaining pretty tight-lipped about the movie. All we really know so far is that it's well into the effects stage and post production (with Pinewood Studios at one stage making a statement of the Maleficent workload being "huge" and that in the future "I think we're going to need a bigger boat, er, studio.."). We know Angelina Jolie got into her Maleficent role via some "serious pranking" on set while filming the Sleeping Beauty-flipped film and we also know that one of Ms. Jolie's children, Vivienne, is set to make her acting debut as the young Princess Aurora (Elle Fanning plays the older version).

Elle Fanning herself admits to being a complete Angelina Jolie fan, with nothing but praise for her on and off set. About Maleficent herself, Fanning said:
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"Into The Woods" Has Full Cast, Started Rehearsal Aaaand Some Controversy... (Yes. Already.)

First order of business:

Disney's "Into The Woods" movie now has a full (and 100% confirmed) cast!


All the cast are as per the (GIANT) graphic I made HERE, with the addition of young Sophia Grace Brownlee as Little Red Riding Hood.
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Breaking News: Main Cast 'Almost!' Complete for "Into the Woods" Movie

Into the Woods Poster by laurean

From an apparent "world exclusive" on Broadway World, breaking news of the Into the Woods movie casting came in late last night.

The Baker & His Wife by Phillip Light

From Broadway World: 

A source close to the production has confirmed casting for the majority of the roles now that official casting for the highly anticipated big screen tuner is almost complete, with the big budget production set to start shooting in the UK in a few weeks.

I made a very quick-and-dirty (and giant!) graphic of all the well known characters with names and pics. (Do not ask how late I was up doing this thing!)

You should be able to click on the image to get a closer look (or right click "see original image" and that should show you full-size too).

You will see there have been a few changes (including last week's news of Jake Gyllenhaal having to bow out due to scheduling conflicts). No word yet on who Little Red will be and apparently Daniel Huttlestone has not yet signed properly on the dotted line yet to play "Jack" either, so he's still a maybe.

I've also seen no mention of the giant - either character or voice so I'm not sure what the approach will be on that aspect.

Note: the characters at the bottom, though recognizable are considered ensemble cast so it could run the extreme from cameos by well known actors to unknowns. Likely depends on the approach with the main cast (you don't want to unbalance the movie but at the same time a well placed cameo often adds shades were none were necessarily evident before). I guess we shall see...

All the lovely Into the Woods character-caricatures are by the very talented Philip Light (PhLightAttendant on deviantArt).

And now to the latest cast list.

(Click on image below to view full size) 
- EDIT JULY 24, 2013 -
Because people were having trouble viewing this full size, I have made it the original size here on the blog, even though it's kinda ugleeee! So please excuse the blog look for this post but hopefully the fact you can now see the graphic will make up for that.  A little. :) (You may still need to right click "view image in new tab" and then click the little magnifying glass to make it zoom to size, or you can also drag it onto your desktop to view but it should at least be the correct size when you do this time).

What Do Robert Downey Jr., Mini-Me and Pinocchio Have in Common?

Megan Reichelt over at The Dark Forest announced this news earlier in the week and I've been waiting to see if there's any developing info to add to the announcement which, in case you missed it was:

Robert Downey Jr. To Play Pinocchio 

Flavorwire has reported that Robert Downey Jr. will play both a young (ger than we are used to) Gepetto and motion capture and voice Pinocchio in an upcoming movie directed by Ben Stiller. Usually Pinocchio is about a man who wants a son, but in this case, due to the strange casting, it might be about a man who wants to make a duplicate of himself. Strange, but intriguing, and appropriate for the roles that Robert Downey Jr typically embodies.

So, yes, RDJr will likely be playing two roles; dual roles that might actually be dueling roles, since it's a father/son-creator/creation relationship (hence the mini-me).

But what have I found out to add to this?

It's a little vague from all corners really, although there are additional "teaser-clues" scattered about if you can track them down, so bear with me while I dig up the tidbits that aren't making headlines because there many details that are quite intriguing. I have to do a little background to explain it all so please forgive any repeats:

From IGN:

In an unusual but utterly intriguing casting rumour, Robert Downey Jr.may play both Gepetto and Pinocchio in a movie adaptation of the classic story helmed by Ben Stiller. 

Warner Bros. was originally trying to unite Downey Jr. with director Tim Burton for the project, but it was subsequently revealed that those negotiations may have run afoul when the Iron Man star recently said he would like to collaborate with Stiller. "I want to make Pinocchio as a live action film," said Downey Jr. at an Iron Man 3 junket, "and not resorting to animation. I would like to do it with Ben Stiller…"  

Let's insert some info from Bleeding Cool for context:

"Stiller was since reported to be in official negotiations to direct the film and while it never became crystal clear if he signed up or not, or just became attached, it seems he's pressing on with development. I understand that the project is very much a going concern at Warner Bros., and more drafts of the script will be incoming, working to new ideas by Downey and Stiller. (Edit FTNH: Note that Stiller and Downey are big on the story and script input here. It's actually been called a "passion project" for Downey Jr.)

Back to IGN:

It appears that his (Downey Jr.'s) wish may now become a reality. According to investigations by website Bleeding Cool, a Stiller/Downey Jr. Pinocchio movie is currently going ahead, with Downey Jr. set to play both Gepetto and the little wooden boy himself. While the practicalities of that casting decision are unconfirmed, one would imagine there would be an element of performance capture, or perhaps Downey Jr. will just be lending his voice to compliment practical effects.

So: Burton dropped out. (By choice? By push? It's a little unclear if you read around.) And Ben Stiller is "attached" but not yet signed yet definitely working on it already (all a little unconventional but more power to them). RDJr will definitely play Gepetto and at least an aspect of Pinocchio that WON'T (?) be animation?? (? Nobody is sure what that means right now.)

More clues on what the project was going to be like (and may still be like in some aspects) from Bleeding Cool:
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Breaking (but expected) Casting News: Johnny Depp to Return in Alice 2

 Johnny Depp is returning as the Mad Hatter for Alice 2. Yay.

We're very... unsurprised (don't worry, you can use "un-anything" when talking about Wonderland).

 BUT we also have to be honest. We would have been a little... discombobulated if someone else had worn his hat as well.

He pulled some very different (acting) rabbits out of his... "bonnet" on that role (sorry - the puns are endless and difficult to avoid when you're late for an important date with your writing desk..). Sensitive, sympathetic, entirely mad and a little-much (yes, little-much) disturbing, yet you can almost see Alice falling for him. Even with those weridlio contact lenses. (Looking into those would be a challenge, even with Depp's eyes behind them!) So, yes, quite a feat. We doff our... caps on that account.

Whether you liked the movie or not, if you're planing on checking out the sequel, not having Mr. Depp on board would be... well, possibly mad.

So, it's OK to cheer. Rah.

On what Alice 2 - Through the Looking Glass will be like content-wise. here's an excerpt from whatculture, summarizing the details so far:

Depp’s production company Infinitum Nihil... are now putting the wheels in motion on Through The Looking Glass that would see Depp reprise his role as the Mad Hatter from Tim Burton’s 2010 live-action/CGI adaptation, with original screenwriter Linda Woolverton again on writing duties. 

Although the planned movie shares the same name as Lewis Carroll’s own follow-up to his classic tale about Alice and that fabled rabbit hole… it likely won’t resemble too much of the novel as Burton’s 2010 film was already a sequel of sorts to both Alice In Wonderland and Through The Looking Glass. 

(No word on the other original cast members joining) ...though it seems likely offers will be put out to them. 

There’s (also) no word yet on whether Tim Burton would direct... (Edit FTNH: or if James Bobin (The Muppets) would step into Burton's shoes. He's been in talks with Disney since late May about that possibility.)

Burton's Alice without Burton? Depp in a fantasy without Burton?? And what if Alice isn't herself? (I mean, if she's not Mia Wasikowska, because Alice is never herself, which is sort of the point...)

This is way weirder news than Depp returning as Hatter.

Curiouser and curiouser.

Breaking News: Tinker Bell & Other Neverland Characters Coming to OUAT Season 3 (Spoilers Hidden)

Real Life Tinkerbell by Jirka Vinse

Breaking news from TV Guide's Announcement today regarding Once Upon A Time Season 3.

While the addition of Tinkerbell to the cast shouldn't be a surprise for anyone who saw the fairy tale characters heading for Neverland as the credits closed Season 2, the way she'll appear and what types of other Neverland characters there will be, might.

The rest (and possible spoilers) detailed after the jump:

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Casting Update: Branagh's Cinderella In Talks With A Grand Duke

Looks like Kenneth Branagh is well on his way to a full complement of stars for his Cinderella.

Stellan Skarsgard... is being lined up to play "the grand duke, the king’s adviser, who just may have ulterior motives in his guidance."

(By the way - this means, he's "in talks" - not that he's confirmed as a cast member. Yet.) 

We will see Skarsgard next in his role as Dr. Erik Selvig (for the third time) in Thor: The Dark World, being released in November 2013.
















Sources: The Hollywood Reporter, ComicBookMovie.com