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) ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ 

What American McGee (Really) Wants Is His Alice Back... (& Other Kickstarter Gaffs): Take II

I've umm-ed and aah-ed about posting on this story for over a month now, mainly because I have NOT been impressed with how McGee has gone about this whole thing, and it appears we don't quite have an outcome yet, but I'm trying to give him the benefit of the doubt here.

I should make it clear I think his Alice property is (generally) interesting, unique and important (see statements in article at link - despite being over-the-top-ridiculously violent) and that his vision and games have been an important part of how Alice is viewed right now. I also think he had an interesting take on Oz too (Oz + Steampunk + Zombies = fun, although there's a little more to it than that as well)...

BUT.

That doesn't make for a free pass on how you go about things...

Here's how I've seen it unfold (I've included a lovely set of screen caps from the headlines and left the dates intact so you can track the progress, or whatever you want to call it):
✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ (click the "Read more" link below this line) ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ 

Art: Doré Engravings With Flowers Are Creeping Me Out!

Say WHAT with flowers??!

These greeting cards by Maria Mikhhalskaya's 8th of March, fairy tale greeting cards-with-a-twist*, are causing a twist in my gut... and I think that's the point. The 8th of March is International Women's Day and these special greetings make you think about it all rather differently, don't they?

Put in a malevolent context, flowers can be very creepy...

For instance, look at Bluebeard's eyes above, as he's giving his latest bride/victim a wooing gift. *shudder*

And the Ogre from Tom Thumb talking to his wife, looking very much like he's asking her to cook Tom and his brothers with these lovely herbs:

And, of course, how like a fairy tale wolf to twist the deception one step further when approaching his prey, bringing her flowers to confuse her - perhaps the very sorts of flowers Little Red had been gathering when he met her earlier...

Well done Ms. Mikhhalskaya! You've made me think about these tales in a different way, yet again. (And I will also look at any flowers I receive in the future a tad suspiciously...)

You can find Maria Mikhhalskaya's greeting cards and more on her gallery at Behance HERE.

* If the images look familiar, they should. They're based on/are made using Gustav Doré's engravings for Perrault's fairy tales.

OUAT, OUATinWonderland, Frozen, Saving Mr. Banks on Disney XD & at D23 Jul 30/Aug 1/Aug 9

Snow White & the 7 Earth Benders* (Disney's Avatar Princesses) by Robby Cook
You can see more HERE

Disney's fairy tale (and associated) properties will be getting some TV specials and showcasing during the end of July and beginning of August, including at the annual expo D23.

Here's a summary of the relevant information from the recent announcements:

Disney XD (TV):

July 30, 2013
8:00 PM – "On The Red Carpet Disney Fandom Edition" (Disney Fandom premiere)
"On The Red Carpet" host Rachel Smith and Disney XD Insider and Radio Disney on-air personality Morgan Tompkins give fans at home an all access pass to San Diego Comic-Con. On The Red Carpet Disney Fandom Edition at 8 PM will include looks at Marvel's Phase Two films, Disney's Frozen, Pixar's Planes and ABC's Once Upon a Time in Wonderland.

August 1, 2013
8:45 PM – "Once Upon a Time: For the Fans" (Disney Fandom premiere)
"Once Upon a Time: For the Fans" is a television premiere hosted by Lee Arenberg ("Pirates of the Caribbean" movies, "Once Upon a Time") featuring never-before seen interviews with ABC's "Once Upon a Time" cast, a profile of Captain Hook ("Sincerely Hook") and a special look at the families of Storybrooke and how they're intertwined ("A Fractured Family Tree"), along with a preview of ABC's new fall series "Once Upon a Time in Wonderland."

Disney Fandom will broadcast from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. on July 30, July 31 and August 1. On Tuesday, July 23, Disney.com/Fandom will offer special looks, a printable schedule, news and polls, among other features.

You can find additional details HERE.

Expo event:
Disney's Annual Expo D23

Starting August 9, 2013
Location: Anaheim CA (across from Disneyland)
Disney's own expo, D23, will give sneak peeks of Frozen (Fri, Aug 9), along with other animated features while a live action presentation will happen the next day, including a first look at Saving Mr. Banks (Sat, Aug 10).
Both presentations will feature exclusive clips, behind-the-scenes footage, discussions with filmmakers and surprise celeb appearances.

More information HERE.

* You may be wondering why on earth (heh) I used an image of a Snow White/Avatar mash-up. The reason is two-fold: 1) it was made by a Disney fan and 2) it reminds me of a project I'm very sad isn't going to see the light of day in the foreseeable future - Disney's The Order of the Seven:

'The Order of the Seven' takes the idea of the seven dwarves and transforms them into seven highly skilled martial arts masters, each from a different part of the world. Set during the 17th century, the disparate international masters are all part of a centuries-old order who have lost their way when a chance encounter with a fleeing Englishwoman and an unrelenting evil that pursues her gives the men a chance at redemption and a new path to follow.

Another description:

Order of the Seven initially was set up by producer Andrew Gunn as a live-action kung fu take on Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs but later evolved into a fantasy-action adventure tale. The story centered on a young woman in 19th century Hong Kong who escapes her wicked stepmother and takes refuge with seven men belonging to an ancient order dedicated to fighting demons and dragons. 

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

Out of Comic-Con: OUAT - The Spoiler-y Trailer We Couldn't Show You Earlier (Hidden Under Jump)

Part of the OUAT presence at SD Comic Con 2013

Yep - the footage was finally released, mainly as a character teaser for Season 3.

It's less... professional looking (?) than I expected (maybe they shot it really quickly?) and it's less-than-subtle in it's "clues" but still a nice little way for a fairy tale character to appear.

So.... after the jump, is the trailer, described in the previous/earlier post's SPOILER section.

<<<<<<<<<<<< SPOILER ALERT! >>>>>>>>>>>>>>

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

Out of Comic-Con: OUAT Season 3 Trailers & Spoilers (Hidden)

Out of San Diego Comic-Con come all sorts of wonders, including much anticipated sneak-peeks of new shows and next season reveals. Once Upon A Time didn't disappoint.

The trailers for Season 3 shown below have NO NEW FOOTAGE (ie spoiler-free) but they're a good summary to remind you of what the set-up is for next season.

There was, however, new footage shown which hasn't been publicly released yet. One is from some DVD extras which will be available on the Season 2 Blu-ray (& DVD) and the other was a preview from Season 3. We can't show it but we can describe it.

The most details appear to have come from Entertainment Weekly so I'll post excerpts from there:

First the non-spoilery DVD extra which sounds fun:

There was also (during the screening) a quick “commercial break” – a morning show called “Good Morning Storybrooke,” hosted by Yvette Nicole Brown and Paul Scheer featuring dating advice from Dr. Whale and a low budget commercial for Mr. Gold’s pawn shop. “If you lived it, I have it!” Robert Carlyle narrated in the clip – noting that all the significant magical objects from the show have found their way into his hands. (The full episode of “Good Morning Storybrooke” will be available on the season 2 DVD.)

Here's the trailer for "GMS":

And now for the Season 3 sneak peek description....

<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<     SPOILERS BELOW!!!    >>>>>>>>>>>>>

✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ (If you want to read the spoilers, click the "Read more" link below) ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ ✒ 

LX Magazine's Tribute to 200th Anniversary of Grimms Household Tales - Rumpelstilzchen (Tale 4 of 5)

"Rumpelstiltskin" An artwork piece by Mandy Smith (mandysmithwork.com) Dress created in baking paper and the wheel cardboard. Room and props all designed, created and painted by hand. Photography Leon Hendrickx, Model Dorothy Bany, MakeupArtist Anita Jolles

Tale four from the 200th Anniversary Grimm's Household Tales Tribute by Lx Magazine: Illuminating Luxury. Take special note of the caption and credit above! A dress made from baking paper! Gold from straw, I mean, paper!! Beautiful work and shows you that if you put your mind to it, the magic will come... Enjoy.

- FTNH aka Fairy Tale News Hound aka Gypsy

Rumpelstilzchen - Rumpelstiltskin

“There was once a poor Miller who had a beautiful daughter, and one day, having to go to speak with the King, he said, in order to make himself appear of consequence, that he had a daughter who could spin straw into gold. The King was very fond of gold, and thought to himself, ‘That is an art which would please me very well;’ and so he said to the Miller, ‘If your daughter is so very clever, bring her to the castle in the morning, and I will put her to the proof.’ ”

You can read the full tale as published in Grimms Household Tales HERE (translated to English) and learn much more about Rumpelstiltskin's history HERE.

The final tale text and photo will be posted next week!

(Links below to all posts in this series will be updated as posts go live.)

                                                                                                                    ♚

*** TALE 1 *** TALE 2 *** TALE 3 *** TALE 4 *** TALE 5 *** 

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

If Baba Yaga Were A Horse...

Baba Yaga by ELena Davydova (Lenika86)

Well. Yes. This is a strange one but stranger things still have happened in folklore and fairy tales and this is an image I can see inspiring variations on a theme and perhaps some new Baba Yaga stories..? (Hint, hint writers!) It's such a different twist I thought it worth a whole post to itself.

To me, she looks so much like a Russian Kelpie. I would not be surprised at all if I found a tale in which she HAD been turned into a horse - somehow (and gave everyone nightmares! Hahahahaha! Oh boy it's late as I'm writing this - can you tell? ;)

Anyway, Ms. Davydova, known as Lenika86 on deviantArt, writes:

Horse-version of famous Baba Yaga - Slavic folklore character. She's old witch, she lives in a forest, collects herbs and mushrooms and... many other ingredients to prepare magic elixirs. In some tales she's evil, in others she's good - but she's always strange and marginal.

Also in the comments:

Is that a cat skull on her horn? (forgive me, I am not well versed in skulls, but I'm very curious.)(Lenika86 replies): Yes. This is all that remains of her pet - a black cat)

Ms. Davydova has a lovely gallery with many equine versions of concepts and characters - from "colors" through to cosmic events. I'll leave you with these mini versions to entice you to go see them larger as well as more of her beautiful work.

Green (the color of nature) by Lenika86

Ragnarok (loose translation:
The Apocalypse!) by Lenika86