"La Belle et La Bete" New Posters & Stills (aaaand it's countdown week: 5 days till the premiere...)

New posters, new stills...

I'm guessing they got tired of seeing the low rez screen caps zippping around Tumblr and other social media. ;)

 I'm not complaining at all. We haz more prettys now. :)

New stills - and more - after the jump.

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New Trailer: "Once Upon A (Creepy) Dream" (sung by Lana Del Ray)

Released for Grammy night (last night, January 26th), the new Lana Del Ray version of Disney/Tchaikovsky's Once Upon A Dream also brings us new Maleficent footage  - and quickly gets rid of any warm fuzzy feelings about by amping the creep-factor by a ton.

Here's the trailer, with Lana Del Rey's new version of "Dream" featuring prominently:

Maleficent isn't looking quite as cuddly anymore.

It reminds me of those twisted versions of "what if this kid/family movie was really a horror.." you see remixed on YouTube, complete with reedited footage that tell a very different story from the happy, shiny, bunnies-&-rainbows impressions we've always had. You know, those haunting, no, haunted lullaby songs you really don't want to hear last thing before going to sleep...

It's kind of brilliant.

Although I'm not completely sure this is how I want to be hearing one of my favorite pieces of music (I knew Tchaikovsky's Sleeping Beauty very well before I knew the Disney versions), I do like that pitching the tones and pacing this way adds a few different layers of possibilities regarding the lyrics: who's dream are we really talking about? I do like that this is causing people to ask more of the sorts of questions fairy tale folk tend to think about all the time.

The land creatures/dryads/Ents? war footage feels a bit confusing to me - maybe because I always associated that with very different faerie stories and, well, Middle Earth. Maybe because it's all quite colorful and bright daylight. But the logic fits. You just need to remember that Maleficent is actually a fairy - perhaps not quite the usual breed, but a fairy nonetheless.

Re "why Lana" for the song, for those interested, here's some behind-the-scenes info.

Angelina Jolie has handpicked Grammy Award winner Lana Del Rey to perform the title song for her new film Maleficent.  

Hollywood superstar Jolie, 38, plays the villainous female lead in a new take on the 1959 Disney classic Sleeping Beauty, and she had no hesitation in suggesting that the sultry 27-year-old sing the main track, Once Upon A Dream. The song also featured  in the original Sleeping Beauty film.‘ 

Angelina has been incredibly active in all aspects of the movie, even bagging a role for her daughter Vivienne, so it’s  no surprise that she helped choose who would sing the song,’ says a source.

You can currently download the whole song (minus trailer sound effects) from GooglePlay for free HERE. Although I'm fairly sure that will be a limited opportunity,it should be available until February 3rd as an individual download at least.

When we eventually see Lana Del Ray's full music video for Dream there will likely be more footage still, and perhaps it will answer the questions about who's dreams are who's.

Sources: HERE & HERE

"White Shoe" - Ferragamo's Full Fairy Tale Film (Bellisimo!)

Published online as a gift to us all on New Year's Day this year, we can now watch the full Ferragamo fairy tale, White Shoe! (Here's my previous post on White Shoe with the background to this movie, in case you missed it.)

The video is a 24-minute visual that tells a dramatic story about the label’s first years. The shoe Ferragamo designed was for his sister’s first communion and he constructed the shoe by candlelight. The film was directed by Mauro Borrelli who happens to be the conceptual artist for two of the “Pirates of the Caribbean” movies. The story is told without dialogue and basically shows a young Ferragamo getting into (his profession) at a shoemaker’s workshop. (via)

It's a beautiful little film and the fact that the fairy tale is based in/inspired by reality is pretty neat as well. The little boy's flights of fancy and imagination while he works, both tell aspects of the Ferragamo story and communicate this famous shoemaker's inspirations. When you consider this film (and relatedd exhibition) was created with an understanding of the importance of shoes in fairy tales and folklore throughout history, this becomes even more special.

I want to make special note of the music as well, composed by Leo Z who created a piece so beautiful you could close your eyes, listen, and see a fairy tale without watching a single frame of the movie. Once you have seen it, of course, just a few notes will take you back into the film's story as well.

Here it is - enjoy!

Fairy tale bonus of the day:

Some White Shoe screencaps for you from the film...

If you're interested, there are behind-the-scene videos of White Shoe on the FerragamoOfficial YouTube Channel HERE. And because I raved about the music, here's the behind-the-scenes interview with the composer (I'm going to have to hunt down the piano score..!). Once you've seen this I recommend going back to the movie, turning up the sound and letting it run with your eyes closed. hopefully you'll have been just as inspired as I have. 

"Will You Be Able To Love Me?" (Yes Beast, I think we will.)

A few new random images have surfaced on the web in the last few weeks for Beauty & the Beast but today (time of writing, Friday January 3, 2014) the official  video for the theme song - WITH LOTS OF EXTRA B&tB FOOTAGE - was released to whet everyone's appetite.

The song, to be played during the credits, is titled 'Will You Be Able To Love Me?' and is sung by Yoann Fréget.

Take a look - and listen - to the loveliness. I also recommend clicking on the "large screen" icon so you can see it all a lot better:

Yoann Freget - Sauras-tu m'aimer - Extrait du film La Belle et La Bête sur WAT.tv

I have to admit I haven't been completely won over by the Beast's look to-date but seeing more of the footage I think it may be easier to forgive the more-family-friendly-than-raw-beast approach (ie. nothing like Premiere Magazine's *fans self* photos!) and just enjoy it like a lovely, dreamy, storybook fairy tale.

The visuals really are gorgeous, with nods to Cocteau and even Disney (without being just a copy) and the song isn't bad either... not usually my style but it works just fine here, thank you very much!
-le sigh!-

Here are some screen grabs, just because...

The bad news? With just over a month to go till Gans' highly anticipated fairy tale adaptation is released in France (February 12) we still have no release dates for any English speaking countries. *screams into a pillow*

A (newly revived) distribution arm of Warner Bros has confirmed they will do just that but no comments on when - or how widely. *insert impatient-frowny face*

Source: IMDB (Which has the most complete release list I can find.)

If we don't see any US/UK/Aust release news by the time Valentine's Day rolls around I'm seriously considering starting a petition. This has to at least hit Art House theaters, right?

Source: tf1.fr