"The Tale of the Three Brothers" Live Action Film (Made with Rowling & WB's Blessing)

Do you remember the Harry Potter fairy tale , "The Three Brothers" from "The Tales of Beedle the Bard", which was animated to wonderful effect in the final movie?

There's going to be a live version.
And it's (essentially) an indie film.
Made by college students.
Who got the permission of J.K. Rowling AND Warner Bros to do it.
!

The Tale of the Three Brothers serves as a pivotal plot device in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the series’s final installment. In the Harry Potter world, the fable-style story is told to wizard children, but most adults believe it to be nothing more than a legend. Over the course of the final book, it becomes apparent that several parts of the story are true.

The film will screen in May at Husson University, which is also in Bangor (Maine). It’s not clear whether it will be made available online at a later date.

I am just going to stand and applaud them for their tenacity, audacity and sheer luck in making this happen. *applauds*

I'm not saying they didn't work hard or aren't talented because clearly this college filmmaking group are both. But that's only half the battle when you're working in Entertainment. The rest is who you know and luck of timing/the draw.

Lisa Stock of InBytheEye, who sought and was given permission by Neil Gaiman to stage his short story "Snow, Glass, Apples" had her own success with this bold approach too, but she will tell you: it didn't come without a LOT of hard work on the foundations first!

In this new case, because it's film, we are likely (we hope) to be the witnesses/recipients of their hard work but I wanted to take a post to acknowledge the fact that some students felt strongly enough about an olde-worlde-type fairy tale, to bring it to the screen in moodily shot live-action. Most Harry Potter fans would be focused on the (myriad) other aspects to create from and although the id most definitely nothing wrong with those leanings, particular fairy tales aren't usually the focused of the HP obsessed and I'm glad to see the deeper callings of fairy tale-type stories stirring the creative drive of tomorrow's filmmakers.

Here's the trailer:

And here's the animation from the Harry Potter film:

I love hearing about things like this. It warms my heart to know there are famous people out there who aren't threatened by anther creative team adapting material that originated with them and more, actively encourages and supports the sincere and talented efforts of deserving people.

Hopefully we have a lot to look forward to from the people involved with this project.

If I find news of an online release for the live action The Tale of the Three Brothers, I will, of course, share it with you.

Sources: HERE & HERE

Update On "Song of the Sea" (Selkies!)

The caption says "in development" but it's actually in production - they're on the downhill run now!

Those of you in 'the know' regarding animated films, know they take years (and years and sometimes years and years and years) to make, and Song of the Sea, by the creators of the wonderful Secret of Kells people (Cartoon Saloon), is slowly but steadily making progress. After a ton of work, much is which is done by hand at the very small company (compared to the big animation studios), they're finally getting to the stage where they can release images here and there, as well as a teeny bit of teaser footage too. *cheers!*

In case you missed it, and before you go any further, here's the conceptual trailer which has been out for about almost 4 years now. Most of what you need to know about the film (and the fairy tale relevancy) is right there:

Song Of The Sea - Conceptual Trailer from Cartoon Saloon on Vimeo.
Now take a look at their new showreel, just released. It has new footage from Song of the Sea! (Each section is titled, so no need to guess which one is the selkie pic):

Cartoon Saloon Showreel 2014 from Cartoon Saloon on Vimeo.

I'm really hoping the timing for the release of this film is good so it gets decent exposure. Kells was just stunning yet hardly anyone saw this lovely Irish film until, by a miracle, it was nommed for an Oscar and distribution was finally picked up by Buena Vista. While that was great, it would have  done better if the public had been enthusiastic about it earlier and it had gotten a larger fan base in the lead up to the nominations. Song of the Sea promises to be just as beautiful and it would be great if they didn't have to struggle as much for support this time around.

LOTS MORE CONCEPT ART AFTER THE JUMP!

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Another Peek Into "Princess Kaguya"

Studio Ghibli's official Twitter account just posted some new stills from their fairy tale film, The Tale of Princess Kaguya, being released in November (in Japan, at least) this year.

Although we've seen a couple of these before most are new and all show a lovely calligraphic quality of line. You can almost feel the hands behind these drawings.

Note: I just want to cheer on behalf of the health of babies everywhere for the tasteful portrayal of a mother breastfeeding her baby - and, if I'm correct, this is her adopted baby too [and yes, that is possible, it's just a lot of work to make happen]. Part of the reason I'm even mentioning this is that when kids see this sort of role modeling by good parents in movies and stories, it doesn't seem like a foreign concept when they get older and they have more tools in place to make active and informed choices.

The famous Japanese folktale Taketori Monogatari (The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter) centers on princess named Kaguya who was discovered as a baby inside the stalk of a glowing bamboo plant.Taketori Monogatari has inspired dozens of manga and anime stories, such as Reiko Shimizu'sKaguya Hime and Arina Tanemura's Sakura-Hime Kaden. (Source)

For those who follow casting in anime, the confirmation of the Japanese voices may interest you. Here's the summary:

Aki Asakura will lead the cast as Kaguya, and Takeo Chii, who passed away in June of last year, will still play the role of Okina (Old Man), as he had recorded his part before his death. Kengo Kora and Nobuko Miyamoto round out the main cast as as Sutemaru and Ouna (Old Woman), respectively. Other cast members include Atsuko Takahata, Tomoko Tabata, Tatekawa Shinosuke,Takaya Kamikawa, Hikaru Ijūin, Ryudo Uzaki, Nakamura Shichinosuke, Isao Hashizume, Yukiji Asaoka, and Tatsuya Nakadai. (Source)

I'm looking forward to seeing a hand-drawn "picture book comes to life" approach to a fairy tale/folktale again. It's been far too long since seeing that kind of magic.

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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"Fables" Movie Must-Haves (According to Mark Buckingham)

Fables Cover with Snow White and Bigby Wolf

While there hasn't been any new news from the Fables movie front (yet)  - apart from at Comic-Con last week DC's Diane Nelson said "Fables is a top priority" (!) - it doesn't mean it isn't being talked about, nor that some fairly qualified people aren't weighing in with their (worth more than just) two cents.

Fables artist Mark Buckingham, while acknowledging that the Fables world is very complex and has a huge variety of options in story lines and characters to concentrate on, regarding a "first" movie, he believes there are at least two "must have" characters, if the world (and franchise) is to get off on the right foot.

In talking to iO9 he said:

I think if it doesn't have Snow White and Bigby [Wolf] in it, then... [that's a problem]. They were such a core element of the first 50 issues of the story. So I think their romance, their relationship, is a really core aspect of the series. Beyond that, the beauty of Fables is it has such a rich cast, and you can really cherry-pick a lot of different aspects from it, and create a really good story, even if you don't necessarily follow the entire narrative.

He adds that he hopes director Nikolaj Arcel and whoever winds up being the cinematographer don't try to copy his art style:

I always treat these things as very different beasts. When they take a comic and decide to make a TV series or an animation or a movie, I think it's up to them to find their own voice and their own vision for how to make that translation into another medium. So for me, the excitement's going to be seeing how they interpret what we do and take it into a new and exciting direction. I'm not looking for anyone to be wedded to the comic, I think all of these things are springboards into new areas. (Edit FTNH: video of Mark saying all this at the link - though it's a little difficult to hear properly with the background chatter)

Splashpage has some important reminders to add to the mix as well:

The "Fables" universe has grown to rival that of the entire DC superhero universe, which makes sense considering that the title counts pretty much every fairy tale character created across the world in its cast—and plenty of original characters too. 

"Fables" has been running since 2002 and produced over 130 issues, not including any of its spinoff series like "Jack of Fables" and "Fairest." Pinpointing one story to tell in one film seems like a rather daunting task, especially considering that the comic's first main storyline—involving the return of the mysterious and dangerous Adversary—took about 75 issues to tell. That's a lot of story for a movie. 

No actors have been cast yet and the project is still very much in the development phase over at Warner Bros. Nikolaj Arcel ("A Royal Affair") will direct, with Jeremy Slater handling the screenplay. 

Given that there really is just so much to choose from, what would be your choice? Do you think Warner Bros will follow a growing trend of telling more male oriented fairy tales* such as those Jack or Peter & Max (though that wouldn't open the way for a franchise in quite the same way), or will they follow Issue 1 to set up the world and "cherry pick" from there?

(Gosh, you can see an almost endless possibilities of very engaging movies from this vantage!)

Personally, given that the Fables game (scroll down link to see game info) tells the prequel of Bigby Wolf, I'd be surprised if he wasn't a key player in the movie. That combined with the "first 50 issues" argument makes for a strong case for Snow & her Wolf to be the stars of a first Fables movie.

(I think we just got even more pumped for this!)


*Have you noticed Peter Pan and Neverland are popping up all over the place recently? Just an observation...

Hallmark Transforming "Mirror Mirror" Comic Into Family Movie "The Hunters"

And it's getting a few known names attached along the way. Joshua Williamson's graphic novel "Mirror Mirror" (released Nov 2010) is essentially a mash-up of Snow White, Indiana Jones and Warehouse 13. With kids. (So much fun!)

Mirror Mirror 1

Read the pages below on the left in order for a little taste of the graphic novel, this section featuring Red Riding Hood tale motifs, showing how it ties into modern day and the real world.

Hallmark Released Synopsis:Carter and Jordyn Flynn (Payne, Forbes) aren't the average mom and dad. For them, a typical workday can take place anywhere in the world, raiding ornate museums and evading pursuing authorities as Hunters, protectors of powerful fairy tale artifacts that are anything but make believe. (Edit FTNH: Definitely sounds like a special annex of Warehouse 13!) 

While they take their jobs seriously, they're just as concerned about the welfare of their two sons, 21-year old Paxton (Amell) and 16-year old Tripp (Tracey), who are unaware of their parents' true line of work. 

When Carter and Jordyn disappear during one of their missions, the boys learn the truth about their parents and their lineage. They turn to old family friend Mason (Garber) for help but they soon discover that the deceitful Mason is after what the Flynns were trying to protect - an enchanted mirror that has the ability to grant any wish. It's got quite a history, too: It's the same mirror that played a pivotal role in the destiny of Snow White. It becomes evident that it's up to the valiant brothers and Dylan to save the day before very real fairy tale magic falls into Mason's less-than-worthy hands. (Source) 

Cont... Mirror Mirror 2

For those not familiar with Joshua Williamson's Mirror Mirror, here's an excerpt from an interview with the author by Comic Vine just before the graphic novel was released.

Joshua Williamson:   Mirror, Mirror is about the magic mirror from the Snow White fairy tale. In our story Snow White destroyed the magic mirror and scattered its pieces across the globe to keep it from ever being rebuilt. She then created a group called the Huntsmen to protect the pieces from evil.   

(Edit FTNH: Also shades of Snow Queen here - a shattered evil mirror with pieces scattered over the globe..)

Now in present day a young man named Owen Grimm is the newest Huntsman and is trying to stop a wicked Prince from putting the evil mirror back together and using it to rule the world. 

As to why someone should pick it up… If you’re looking a family friendly adventure story that is fun for everyone you should pick this up. If you like the Indiana Jones films or National Treasure, this book is for you.  

CV: Where did you get the idea from? Do you often think about twists to old fairy tales?  

Cont... Mirror Mirror 3

JW:  This idea sprang from me wanting to do an adventure book, something with someone searching for something. Crazy vague, I know. The thing is what is out that hasn’t already been found? 

One story that has always bugged me was Snow White. We get this nice happy ending where Prince Charming rides off with Snow White in his arms and the evil old Step Mother is dead. But what happened to that evil Mirror? It was manipulative and has insane powers, and could be argued was the real bad guy of the story. One day I just put two and two together and thought “what if Snow White destroyed the mirror?”   

A line of dialogue that never made it into the script was of Snow White saying “Mirror, Mirror on the wall… do you know what I’m going to do with this?” while she was holding a giant sledge hammer. I’m pretty sure that was the first line of dialogue I wrote but it just never made it in the actual finished script. It was just the germ of an idea that lead to the whole book. 

Yeah, I’m always thinking of twists on classic fairy tales, but not just fairy tales… myths, legends, fables, you name it. 

CV: What makes this take on Snow White and the Magic Mirror different from the stories told in Vertigo's FABLES?  

Cont... Mirror Mirror 4

JW: F or starters we never actually see Snow White in this story except for in a few panels in flashback. I love Vertigo’s Fables, but I still wanted to make sure that we stayed far away from what they’ve done. We don’t have any actual live fables or other characters running around. There are ties to the stories, but a big part of the book is that all those fairy tales and myths came from some kind of truth and we explore that truth. For example, the big bad wolf, Bigby, in Fables is a shape shifter and sheriff, while in Mirror, Mirror, the big bad wolf is actually based off real life serial killer Peter Stumpp. 

This is more like the Indiana Jones films where it’s very grounded in reality with hints of supernatural building until it’s unleashed. (Source) 

I've been impressed in the past with Hallmark's handling of fairy tale movies (eg Snow Queen, Hans Christian Andersen). Some of their made-for-TV fairy tale movies have had better quality storytelling and visuals than the big blockbusters and kept the fairy tale base solid, so while I still think of Hallmark in a "less-than" manner initially, perhaps we'll be pleasantly surprised by this too (fingers crossed!).

What I'm really hoping for is some well balanced but also meaty family entertainment with that mystery/adventure element middle graders seem to love, that delves into different tale details for clues on how to continue the adventure. While Once Upon A Time is generally family friendly it's more soap and less adventure (and has no resolution) than popular family films and series tend to be so perhaps this will bridge the gap.

Argo actor Victor Garber and The Killing's Michelle Forbes are set to star in the Hallmark Channel original movie The Hunters, which is scheduled to premiere October 25. Based on Mirror, Mirror, a comic book by Joshua Williamson, the film will be a part of Walden Family Theater, a new series of family movies to air on Friday nights. (Source) 

With the Fables movie quietly gaining momentum (*fistpump!*), this would be an excellent "fairy tales in the modern world" introduction to kids who aren't ready for something so adult but still want something a little Warehouse 13.

The comic looks like a lot of fun and with the right creative team a family movie could be too. (You can see a little more of the pages from Mirror Mirror HERE after the main article and there are a few more pages HERE too.)

If you'd like to grab one of your own, you can find copies of Mirror Mirror available HERE. It's also available for Kindle.

Sources: Hollywood Reporter, TVBroadwayWorld, ComicVine, ComicBookResources

Snow White Sci-Fi, "Jupiter Ascending", Gets Release Date

Snow White is getting a retelling sci-fi style!

Jupiter Ascending, starring Mila Kunis as Jupiter Jones (ie the Snow White character), is well into production and just got a release date: July 25, 2014.

Here's a little more about the film:

Jupiter Ascending is said to be the Snow White fairytale fused with Japanese pop culture in a sci-fi and futuristic mythological masterpiece. From the same minds that brought the sci-fi world The Matrix and Cloud Atlas the project will begin shooting this year. (Source)

In a twist to the classic fairy tale ‘Snow White’, Mila Kunis plays the only person who possesses the same perfect genetic makeup as the highly evolved Queen of the Universe. But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign is a Russian immigrant cleaning lady on Earth. A bounty hunter is dispatched to take her down, but instead, falls in love with the earthling and decides to become her protector. The Wachowski siblings (The Matrix trilogy, Cloud Atlas) are directing the sci-fi action film with Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow co-financing. (Source)

Mila Kunis having the perfect DNA? I'm sure there are more than a few (male, especially) people who might agree with that. ;) 

The Huntsman, in this case a Bounty Hunter, hired to kill Jupiter/Kunis, is Channing Tatum.

Speaking of Channing Tatum and his involvement, while his character name in Jupiter Ascending is listed as "Caine", he's not exactly playing a regular human. 

"I'm a splice, splices are essentially built in a test tube. I'm a hybrid wolf and human. And half albino, so I'm a little defective." That is definitely going to throw everyone off, but these mutations are part of the world this is set in. It's set "in a universe where humans are near the bottom of the evolutionary ladder," and splices are higher up.

Here's a synopsis (or at least, what the Wachowski's are revealing for now):
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Breaking News: Guillermo del Toro Is Close To Casting His Beast

This is one busy, busy guy! Director Guillermo del Toro is well known for juggling multiple projects at once but it would appear from today's announcement that his Beauty & the Beast project with Emma Watson has been moved into one of his three "top attention" slots. (Yay!)

From MTV:

The upcoming project of del Toro's that is sure to grab a lot of attention is his retelling of "Beauty and the Beast," which currently has Emma Watson attached to it. The director said that she is, in fact, still involved and that they're close to casting a monstrous co-star for her. " 'Beauty and the Beast,' we're waiting to close on the Beast. We are weeks away from getting who plays the Beast," del Toro said. "We're talking to the makeup effects guys who are going to render the Beast. We're going to do a solid, fantastic makeup job. We're going to fuse digital and makeup in a way that I think is quite cutting edge."

Interview with del Toro at the link so you can hear him talk about it in his own words. You can hear earlier interviews with him on the film at deltorofilms.com.

Andrew Davies -------------------------------------- Guillermo del Toro

With regard to del Toro's approach to the story we know screenwriter Andrew Davies (Bridget Jone's Diary) will be taking a treatment del Toro is writing himself (which we are VERY happy about!*), working off that to construct a script. Initially de Toro announced he intended to keep the period setting of the original story but with all the various version in production there is no word on is that has changed or not. We DO know, however, that Emma Watson has seen del Toro's "look book" for the film and is very much looking forward to starting filming. From late last year & Film School Rejects:

The actress (Emma Watson) said she’s met with director Guillermo del Toro and seen his conceptual look book for the project. “We met a week or two ago, and we started working on the script, and it’s going to go next summer. (Edit FTNH: We now know this has been pushed till early 2014, not Summer 2013.) It’s so funny; obviously I’ve been doing a lot of other work, and I was nervous. I was like, ‘Is this going to go away?’ And Guillermo is so psyched about it, and he’s, like, been thinking about it so much. “He brought the book. I was like, ‘Ah, this is killing me.’ I’m very excited.” As she should be. 

So are we, Emma, so are we!

Additional source: Collider.com

* Guillermo del Toro has a truly excellent sense of story, myth and a deep love of fairy tales. If he's overseeing the story so closely, we're sure to be in good hands with this version.