Snow White by Jasmin Darnell

Snow White by Jasmin Darnell a.k.a. yasahime

After my little rant about bad illustrations in my previous post I simply had to put up something beautiful. I found this lovely illustration quite a while ago and it immediately came to mind as a gorgeous contrast and an example of how the illustrations mentioned could have been handled, inspiring kids and grown ups everywhere to go find beautiful fairy tale books of their own to read. This illustration isn't even considered complete, according to the artist's notes!

This Kiwi artist is only just getting going in her career and I wish her the best of luck in her plans to illustrate anthologies of children's literature. I'd love to see what she comes up with. While we wait for that to happen ;), she has a small Etsy shop HERE and a gallery on deviantArt HERE.

And speaking of beautiful illustration, here are just a few of my favorite illustrated collections of fairy tales (as one might suspect, I have many!), other than my Lang and multiple Dover collections, which I adore (H.J. Ford is one of my favorite illustrators of all time). These covers are in no particular order and are really just the first few I pulled off my (currently very mixed-up) shelves:

This I like because there are so many world tales in the book & the illustrations are like complete story murals all by themselves.

What are some of your favorite illustrated fairy tale volumes?

Once Upon A Time "The Book" Available For Pre-Order (& Some Notes On Henry's Book)

You may have noticed in a previous post I mentioned there was a fairy tale collection book coming from ABC's Once Upon A Time creators. That book is now available for pre-order.

It's available both through ABC.com or Amazon.com, though the ABC site's release date says 12/20 while Amazon says 12/27. (Interesting note - the ABC link has cafepress as part of its HTML address - very odd.)

Although the Amazon website makes mention of an ebook, the ABC site implies a print book with shipping dates. Perhaps there's an ebook version as well and it's the only version with the pilot script? Not sure.

 Here's the blurb:

This eBook features a special enhancement: the full pilot episode's script from the hit ABC show, Once Upon A Time. This beautifully illustrated collection of 30 tales from far and wide includes... Snow White, Hansel and Grethel, Cinderella, The Frog Prince, Rumpelstiltskin, The Bremen Town Musicians, The Elves, Little Red Cap, The Fisherman and His Wife, The Sleeping Beauty, Tom Thumb, Rapunzel. . . and many more.

"Once upon a time . . ." Four simple words that, after more than two centuries, still have the ability to transport readers to lands of mystery, intrigue, and betrayal, life and death, love and abandon. Timeless are the tales of the Brothers Grimm who, in an effort to preserve native folklore, unwittingly crafted a cornerstone of Western literature.

With this book of fairy tales, beautifully illustrated by artist Kevin Tong, reacquaint yourself with the stories and characters you know and love. Run through the forest with Little Red Cap. Attend the ball with Cinderella. Eat an apple with Snow White. From witches to fairies, evil queens to kindly kings, frog princes and sleeping beauties, the Grimm tales are classics that are truly meant to be shared with young and old alike.

With a foreword written by the creators of ABC's show Once Upon a Time, we see that these classic tales continue to endure and inspire more storytelling. The series brings some of these classic characters to life in a bold reimagination of the fairy tale world. 
We invite you to reacquaint yourself with these magical stories and be transported once again with Once Upon a Time.

While I'm not very impressed with how the cover looks (first impression is of quick and cheap digital-for-web-only work) I'm hoping it will look much better in print. The illustrations are supposed to be lovely and include the poster artwork being released by Mondo and created by artist Kevin Tong (as shown in this post HERE). As you can see from his website, Kevin Tong has done some incredible and beautiful graphic/poster/print and illustration work so I have my fingers crossed for good things. :)

I'm sure you're just as curious as I am as to which version of the text they've used for each story - a Grimm/Dover version or their own based on one of the Grimm volumes. You can download a preview of the Rumpelstiltskin story/text HERE right now to see (scroll down for the PDF link).



Since we're on the subject of books and the ABC show, I'm going to add an aside here about the fairy tale book Henry is obsessed with in Once:

 

What the heck is going on with that??! There's a fantastic opportunity for a gorgeous (or at least classic looking) fairy tale book and all the key pictures/'illustrations' are digital frame captures/stills that have been put through a poster filter. These, quite frankly, look nasty.

Especially when, in turning a page on screen to get TO that image we flip past gorgeous Arthur Rackham prints.

(Sacrilege! Travesty! Yes, I'm being dramatic but I have quite a gut reaction to this key prop!) 

Why, oh why have they done it this way? There are so many incredibly talented artists (ie. hundreds in LA alone) who could easily draw and render beautiful and appropriate book illustrations representing the show and characters, let alone create a beautifully bound volume that every kid with an imagination would be drawn to opening. It's so badly done I actually cringe every time the book comes on screen. :/ For such a key item for the whole series I think it's worth a revisit and a bigger budget. (Plus think of the marketing potential!)

Back to the subject of Once merchandise, there's a lot more now available, t-shirts, mugs and more. My favorite would have to be the Snow White "wanted" poster. I wish there were more pieces like this, using items from the show itself, or perhaps with the Storybrooke sign/logo on it instead of just the series title.

 You can see and order all the goodies, at quite decent prices (at the moment anyway- collectible conscious people will be stocking up!) HERE.

The Princess Bride @LACMA Live Read Event

 From G1988:

We've produced another poster for the ongoing Film Independent @ LACMA Live Read Series w/ Jason Reitman and this is the best yet. Matt Owen has done it again, getting even more love from Entertainment Weekly this time, as Reitman has recast the classic movie "The Princess Bride," and this new generation of actors will perform a table read of the script live and in person on December 15th. The tickets sold out in about 15 seconds flat, but there will be a stand-by line that night, and this time, WE'LL BE SELLING THESE POSTERS THERE! There were only 100 made, and they are beautiful. Past live read events have included The Breakfast Club (where Jennifer Garner, Aaron Paul & James Van Der Beek took roles) and The Apartment (where Pierce Brosnan, Natalie Portman & Steve Carrel joined). Jason keeps the cast a mystery until the last minute, but he has announced Patton Oswalt (in the Vizzini/Wallace Shawn role) and G1988 homie Nick Kroll (in the Count Rugen/Christopher Guest role), so this one will not be a let down.

We will be outside the auditorium before and after the read, so even if you don't have tickets, you can purchase a poster if you like.

 You may be aware that there was a cast reunion of The Princess Bride recently which included much ad-libbing and fun photos (yep, the Princess Bride cast are Princess Bride geek fans too! lol). The only sad thing from the reunion seemed to be that André René Roussimoff a.k.a. André the Giant couldn't be there with them (he died in 1993).

The Princess Bride cast then...

 

And now...

 Click the image above for a larger view. You can also see additional contemporary single portraits of cast members from the reunion event HERE.

This G1988/LACMA live read event on December 15th, follows on from that - finding a new generation of actors who can wear the shoes of Princess Buttercup, Wesley and all our other favorites.

This sounds like a lot of fun. And what gorgeous posters. (Only 100 made? I do not want to guess how much they will be selling for!) Here's hoping someone will tape the event and release some of it for us this week.

Pageant of the Masters 2011: Only Make Believe

I didn't know about this at the time but apparently this year's Pageant of the Masters theme, from the Festival of the Arts in Laguna Beach, CA was Fantasy. Specifically, "Only Make Believe."

[If you don't know what Pageant of the Masters is, it's essentially where they take live people and turn them into famous works of art, on stage for a sit down show/performance. Each actor is made up to blend into the painting - which is also reproduced person-sized, complete with prop pieces to help the actors blend in - and they must hold their pose for 90 seconds at a time while the story of the painting is told to the strains of a live orchestra. Neat stuff!]

This would have been wonderful to see in person. Apart from a simply awe-inspiring show and feat of art this year they apparently had Edmund Dulac's Cinderella With Fairy Godmother* AND Cinderella Sitting In The Ashes (please see note at end of post), along with Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, Arabian Nights and many more (the videos show the most variety of pieces.)

 Here's a video with some of the behind-the-scenes work put into the Cinderella paintings/ performances, though this is from 2007. (I'm a little confused - did they duplicate this one for the 2011 show? See my additional note at the end of the post):

From fairies to superheros, here's another to give us a preview (now, a post-view!) of what people could expect to see:

Luckily there are a few photos from around the web to give us some closer and more specific glimpses, though why I can't find some decent ones of the Cinderella pieces is (frustratingly) beyond me.

And because I couldn't get enough glimpses myself (and thought perhaps you couldn't either) this news spot video shows some different works again:

There's so much work that goes into duplicating these paintings and making a 90 minute show. It's quite phenomenal. While I'm sad to have missed this year's works of Rackham, Dulac and many more, the Pageant of the Master's is definitely on my to-do list before I leave LA (whichever year that will be).

Pageant of the Masters happens every year in Laguna Beach, near Los Angeles. Next year's theme (2012) is "Genius".

 

*I've found a weird anomaly of a Dulac Pageant of the Masters photo from an earlier year, though the  program and promo videos and photos clearly showed Cinderella in the Ashes by Dulac happening in 2011. In one of the videos the two painting-performances are shown side by side so I'm a little confused by this one!

Jennifer Morrison (Emma Swan) Tweeting Live On Sunday's Airing of "Once"

 

Fans on ABC's Once Upon A Time will be able to tweet questions to Jennifer Morrison, who plays lead character Emma Swan, and receive real time responses this Sunday night - on BOTH coasts.

Make sure you're following @jenmorrisonlive and are online at 8-9pm ET/PT - ie. whichever you are watching live. (Sorry Mountain Time folks but I don't have any details on what's best for you to do!)


Apparently Ms. Morrison will also offer commentary and behind-the-scenes anecdotes about working on the show, which should be fun if you've been following week to week.

From "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter" - Once Upon A Time (ABC)

The episode this week is "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter",  featuring Sheriff Graham and more of Snow White's backstory from Fairy Tale. There are already spoilers around the web as to the details and "reveals" so unless you're OK with knowing ahead of time I suggest staying away from any entertainment news sites until after the airing. :)

By Kenneth Whitley

Jennifer Morrison's Twitter feed is HERE while her pal, Not-So-Little Red Riding Hood (Meghan Ory), can be found HERE. And Ory is using this (see image at left) as her Twitter background. Nice, huh?

[From Vintagraph: Titled "Once Upon a Time," this poster by illustrator Kenneth Whitley shows Little Red Riding Hood and a wolf. The poster was produced by the WPA Federal Art Project and published circa 1939.]

The official "One Upon Upon A Time" Twitter feed is HERE, though it doesn't seem very active. The Facebook page has a little more content HERE.

What would you ask Ms. Morrison/Emma Swan if you could ask anything (and get a response!)?

I think I might ask her what's with all the key red pieces in her character's wardrobe (among other things)...

Posters By Mondo, A Fairy Tale Book Collection & More Coming from ABC's "Once Upon A Time"

 

From TV Overmind:

Mondo, the Alamo Drafthouse's collectible art boutique, uses world class artists to create limited edition screen printed posters based on television shows and movies.

Now, Mondo has partnered with ABC to create a series of posters based on the series Once Upon a Time, as well as the fairytale stories that have inspired the show's writers.  Six posters will be released for sale throughout December and January:

12/8 – Rapunzel
12/15 – Little Red Cap
12/22 – Sleeping Beauty
12/29 – Snow White
1/5 – Rumpelstiltskin
1/12 – Cinderella

ABC is revealing the posters on the dates shown HERE.

 The Rapunzel poster has well and truly sold out already in both the silver and gold prints but there are more coming, as you can see from the list above. Here's the website you need to keep an eye on HERE. You can see a large version of the Rapunzel posters there right now. But there's even better news.

What I'm most excited about is this:

The artwork on the posters will also be featured in an upcoming fairy tale collection book entitled "Once Upon a Time." Show creators Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz wrote the foreword for the book and their pilot script will be featured in the ebook version.

This is one of my complete-fantasy wishlist items that's becoming reality - a fairy tale collection book from Once? I'm hoping for something truly beautiful and magnificent - and very different. (Please let it be different!)

Article: "Once" vs "Grimm" - Is There A Gender Issue?

NBC's Grimm Detective Nick Burkhardt & ABC's Emma Swan from Once Upon A Time

 This is an interesting article which considers that the differences between NBC's Grimm and ABC's Once Upon A Time may be gender based.  (The lighting, makeup and Photoshop work in the two lead photos above may give you a clue as to where this is going..! :D )

It's titled:

Gendering Fairy Tales: Or, the Difference Between Grimm and Once Upon a Time

...which brings up some intriguing thoughts.

Clearly the writer is smarting from how often women's fiction is considered second class but it's not just a rant on the inequalities of how women's fiction is treated. Starting at the third paragraph she begins to make a good case for why Grimm and Once fall into this category.

A striking case study of the gendered gap in pop culture is airing on television right now in the form of Grimm and Once Upon A time, both of which are playing with the fairytale genre. Seeing major networks attempt to bring fantasy to the lineup is exciting, but it’s telling to compare and contrast the presentation and reception of both shows, which clearly illustrate the divide when it comes to storytelling. Same genre, similar premise, but these two shows are handled very differently.

Note: I have to disagree with the last sentence of the quote. Though both shows use fairy tales, the premises and genre are very different - one is primarily a procedural, with crimes to solve and takes place in our world (albeit with fairy tale creatures living alongside us) while the other is a character drama and has an 'island' (fictional isolated town of Storbrooke) and parallel universe (the Land Of Fairy Tale) which is completely different to ours. But still, I understand what the writer is trying to say. You can't help but compare the two. Heck - we do it here all the time. ;)

This is a good comparison of the lead character's arcs:

The protagonists of both shows are experiencing similar trajectories. Nick (Grimm) and Emma (Once Upon A Time) are both coming to terms with the fact that things they thought were mythological, confined to books, are actually real. They’re also both tasked with saving people from threats they don’t even know about, can’t recognise, and probably couldn’t deal with if they saw them. They’re heavy with knowledge they can’t share with anyone, and occupy hero roles on both shows even as they have assistants to help them navigate the worlds they are inhabiting. The weight of the world is on their shoulders.

 

While I don't agree with every point in the article (eg the idea that "Emma is lesser because she's a girl" doesn't ring true for me), there are many good observations made with plenty of food for thoughts to chew on. The additional note at the end about the ads on Hulu is both funny and telling too.

You can read the whole article (recommended - as there are many different ideas there I haven't represented in this post) HERE.

I think there is a very good chance that Once has a higher viewership by women but not only for the reasons outlined in the article (which didn't even bring up the copious amounts of glitter present in Fairy Tale and re-occurring unicorn in the titles!). First of all it's on ABC which is considered a family channel (ie for women, plus their kids and hopefully the boys will stick around too). This alone counts for higher ratings opportunities - family friendly drama is far more likely to have a higher viewership than a gritty, at times gruesome police procedural.

Second, there's a lot of emphasis on the princess side of the land of Fairy Tale in Once, glitter included which seems designed to draw in kids and the romantically (and Disney-fan) inclined, while Grimm seems more aimed at an older and edgier audience. Not surprisingly, reports show it is growing in popularity among post-Twilight-movie fans for instance.

What do you think? Are the TV series really in a gender battle? Is Once doing a disservice to how women and womens issues are viewed? Which demographic is Grimm aimed at?

Article: What Does NBC's Grimm Look For When Choosing Fairy Tales To Adapt For The Series?

 

I really like that the Grimm producers and writers are talking about how they use fairy tales right now. No matter who is being interviewed - actors, producers, writers or effects and production people - or with regard to which aspect of the series everyone points the way back to the old fairy tales of Grimm and many others.

What would be particularly fun would be to be a fly on the wall as they're sorting through and choosing which fairy tale to tackle next. The Executive Producers of Grimm recently spoke to The Hollywood Reporter on the  basic aspects they look for with regard to any tale.

NBC’s new drama series, Grimm, combines the myth of fairy tales rehashed into a police procedural. On every episode, Brothers Grimm descendant, homicide detective Nick Burkhardt (David Giuntoli), is charged with protecting others from real life fairy tale creatures, along with his partner, Hank Griffin (Russell Hornsby). There are hundreds of tales to pick from, but the show’s producers and writers have definite needs when it comes to which ones can be adapted for the series.

...The EPs say there are specific characteristics that they look for in the myths that ultimately make it on to the series. Here are four things that make a fairy tale ripe for adaptation.

I'll give you the summary (these are all excerpts - please read full article for complete text and series goodies):

1. Fairy tales that include a crime.“We look for something where there could be a crime and that we can really twist it,” says Greenwalt.  Being a procedural, each episode needs some foul play as its basic story line...  (see article for full text) But not all tales have one, though that doesn’t mean a fairy tale can’t be used. (Emphasis by InkGypsy.)That brings us to characteristic No. 2.

2. The tale lends itself to modernization. ...“There’s something fantastic [there - for example in The Pied Piper episode -] that can translate to our world today, like how would somebody get wronged and want to seek revenge using rats? How would you modernize that story?” says Greenwalt.

3. There’s a character or detail that stands out.“Not all the stories have crimes. But sometimes there’s a character that is interesting enough and other times it’s a setting,” Kouf tells THR...

4. A story can be retold from a different point of view.Many times, the series looks to myths, including popular ones, and tries to re-imagine them from a different perspective. “The Three Little Pigs,” which appears on Friday’s episode, is one example.... (see article for full text) So, it’s the fun of turning a well-known fairy tale on its head.”

I like that we got a sneak peek into one of their scripts-in-progress too. They've chosen the tale and are clearly fascinated by some aspects but are still nutting through the details of how to craft an updating and make it fit the series:

“One story has a bunch of suitors caught in a hedge of thorns,” Greenwaltsays. “And they die and they’re caught in this hedge. And we love the idea of doing the hedge that surrounds the castle that catches all the people that try to get through it. It’s a little tough to figure out how to move that into a modern context without getting too fantastical or too magical, but we’re working on it.”

Of course, if I personally had to choose, it would be hard for me to pick a tale that DOESN'T fit these requirements as explained by the "EPs". ;D But that's possibly just my fairy tale soaked brain. I've spent a lifetime finding the contemporary parallel stories and lessons in almost every tale I've read. LOL

Read the full article with all the insights into how the Grimm team are viewing fairy tales HERE.