Breaking News: Gans' "La Belle et la Bete" Trailer Released This Morning

Released exclusively to Premiere Magazine France first this morning, and now spreading like wildfire through the web, we can now see the seriously gorgeous trailer for Christophe Gans' newest movie La Belle et la Bete (full screen recommended!):

And here's Premiere's write-up below the trailer (auto-translated from French & kept intact as our power is about to go out for a few hours here!) with some added screencaps I quickly made this morning:

"Monsters movie should be beautiful creatures" stated Christophe Gans comment out the first pictures of Beauty and the Beast exclusively unveiled in the pages of First - and kept secret his vision of the Beast.  

The first trailer and it lets see the creature suggests that the filmmaker was keen to put this statement into practice.Worked in computer graphics from the expressions of Vincent Cassel , facial animation of the Beast was one of the main technical challenges of film Christophe Gans and seems to have been beautifully statement. Another splendor of these raw images, scenery, grand, first announced an aesthetic gem through visions and magical interpretation of Gans away from the confined atmosphere of Cocteau's film. 

We also know that the director of the  Brotherhood of the Wolf wanted to return to the original tale of Madame de Villeneuve, which gives greater emphasis to the context - the social status of a family - and therefore the father, played by André Dussollier, as well as 'behind the transformation of prince beast tracks barely sketched in versions of Cocteau and Disney. And in fact, the trailer highlights the father figure and shows Vincent Cassel without the mask monster, opening the field to explore the story of the lesser known public areas. 

The voiceover narration and the "Once Upon a Time" still remember we are on familiar ground and the film is all public wants. And the sequence of scenes where we see  Léa Seydoux move from fear to attraction emphasize especially that it is primarily a love story.Beauty and the Beast  will be in theaters February 12, 2014.

Wow. All the iconic scenes from the story appear to be present (I do love the reflection and Belle grabbing the knife!) and I can already see more of Villeneuve's story in there than we usually would, though with Gans' sensibilities and preference of course.

It's obviously family friendly (I'm not quite sure what I think of the little CG creature yet) and is very unlikely to have the raw sexual energy of Premiere Magazine's photoshoot with the two stars (see below) but it does seem as if it will stand among the best  - and most beautiful - Beauty and the Beast films to date.

I can't wait to see this!

Note: There appear to be some formatting issues today but since I'm about to go offline, I'm not going to keep trying to fix it.

Fairy tale bonus of the day:

Premiere Magazine also had a special photoshoot with Léa Seydoux and Vincent Cassel regarding their new film and the resulting images look a lot more Angela Carter than Cocteau!

Here they are:

Stunning Concept & Promo Images of Gans' "La Belle et la Bete" by François Baranger

Concept-art for "Beauty and the Beast".
This is the first version of the Beast's castle. It has evolved later on,  but this painting was also used for the the Christmas catalog of the "Galeries Lafayette".

*flail, fumble, speechless, gathers self...* Ahem. Wow. I really don't have much to say about these recently released concept and promo images except for "ooh-shiny!" and "g-gah-gorgeous!"

Promo image for "Beauty and the Beast".
Used in  the Christmas catalog of the "Galeries Lafayette" (a famous department store in Paris).

François Baranger is a freelance illustrator and concept artist who has been working with Christophe Gans both in development and now in promotion of the French Beauty & the Beast film, premiering in theaters in France around Valentines Day.

Another concept for "Beauty and the Beast" by Christophe Gans.
It depicts the brambles forest surrounding the beast domain, when Beauty and one of his brothers try to find the hidden path.
That concept is also used for the cover of "Galeries Lafayette" christmas catalog (a famous department store in Paris).

Clearly, I have to hunt down a copy of this Galeries Lafayette Christmas catalog! Also quite clearly, my usual commentary is a little lacking so Ima just leave these here for you to drool over and stop typing... 'k? (You're welcome.)

Here is the first concept for Beauty and the Beast I'm allowed to show. It depicts the dining room, which has already seen on the pictures given to the press. I was in charge of the visual development of this movie over a year, and I can say that it was a great moment for me. Christophe Gans is a director fully aware of the importance of a good preproduction, and he trusts the artists. So, once again, it was a real pleasure to work with him. :)

One last note:

I found the following comment from the artist in the "small print" at one of his websites:

In the next weeks (months?), I'll post more pictures, depending the teasers/trailers, and the rest at the release of the movie (february 2014).

*squee!* Gives me hope for an art of book to come...

(and I don't care if it IS only available in French. I'll tag and bag a copy of my own!)

In the meantime, you can find more of Mr. Baranger's work HERE.

As You Wished: "The Princess Bride" Heads To Broadway, Cary Elwes Is Writing A Princess Bride (Movie) Tales Memoir & More

Since we all fell in love with the 1987 film of The Princess Bride, no one has been able to top the production or add any (large) incarnation or adaptation to the "franchise", despite best efforts. First there was the novel, then the movie but then nothing Princess-Bride related has stuck past early development (beyond comic books, trading cards, new covers and various one-off art works and cosplay). Until now.

I've gone to write a post on this a couple of times but each time I do there's more Princess Bride news to add (must be Princess Bride season). I can't wait any longer - I must share!

Here's the (very happy and enthusiastic) announcement, care of broadway.com, with additional statements from Disney Theatricals Productions Producer, Tom Schumacher, and the original novel writer William Goldman:

Get out your swords, because Inigo Montoya, Westley, Buttercup and Vizzini could be heading to Broadway! Disney Theatrical Productions is readying a stage adaptation of the beloved 1973 novel and 1987 film, The Princess Bride. No casting, creative team, dates or theater have been announced, but we’ve got our fingers crossed (all six of them) that the show will premiere on the Great White Way soon. 

“The Princess Bride has proven to be an enduring delight and a beloved favorite to multiple generations,” said Thomas Schumacher, president and producer of Disney Theatrical Productions, in a statement. “What William Goldman created is first and foremost a celebration of storytelling; what better place to spin that tale than on the stage?” 

“I am thrilled that the next chapter in the life of The Princess Bride will unfold on the stage,” said author William Goldman. “With [Walt Disney Studios chairman] Alan Horn, Thomas Schumacher and his team at Disney Theatrical Productions leading the way, Buttercup, Westley and all of Florin are in the best of hands.”

No word yet on whether it will be a musical or a straight (but very funny) play, or who the creative team will be. From all I've read, it's looking less likely it will be a musical, though all the online media are busy speculating and wishing on a list of songs that "must" be included (please do NOT turn "My Name Is Inigo Montoya, You Killed My Father, Prepare To Die", into a song!). All we know is that a composer who has been working on a musical adaptation of Princess Bride on and off since 2005, recently announced he is no longer attached to any Princess Bride project, apparently due to creative differences with author William Goldman. (He did say, however, that he's keeping his work in a drawer for using in a some other fairy tale project, should that possibility ever raise its head)

Here's a video of the announcement, with some fun clips included - new and old - as well:

In a suitably timely manner, Houghton Mifflen Harcourt has released a very special, newly illustrated edition, with 50 beautiful images by artist Michael Manomivibul (see the cover at left and the illustration below). There are two (lovely and lengthy) introductions included in the book - one for the 30th edition and the one from the 25th edition, which give a lot of background on the development of the movie in particular and in this edition, Goldman's additional short story, Buttercup's Baby ,is also included. (You can read a lot of the introduction in the "look inside" preview at amazon.com).

And there's more news too: Cary Elwes is writing a memoir, all about his fond memories from his involvement in The Princess Bride movie. From StarTribune:

The actor has a deal with Touchstone, an imprint of Simon & Schuster, for a memoir about the beloved fairy tale. The book is called "As You Wish: Tales from the Princess Bride." Touchstone announced Friday that it has scheduled publication for the fall of 2014. 

Rob Reiner, who directed "The Princess Bride," is contributing a foreword. The book, to be co-written by Joe Layden, also will include interviews with Billy Crystal, Robin Wright and other cast members from the 1987 production.

I'm actually looking forward to Elwes' book. Since we never really got a real "movie book" for The Princess Bride, this should be a fun addition to the library (I really hope there are pictures!).

So: lots of Princess Bride news! With all this news, I expect to see an explosion of Princess Bride fan art in the immediate future as well (yes please!). Regarding PB's journey to Broadway in particular, you can sign up HERE to be notified of any official news as it develops.

Magic At Home & The Return Of Your Regularly Scheduled Fairy Tale Programs (And Daily News)

Once Upon A Time  Fan Art by Carllton

I've had the most lovely and unexpected week! Not only did I have my "Wonder Kinder" home with me all week but my best friend - who I hadn't seen in nearly a decade - flew in from Australia  at the last minute to spend Thanksgiving and a few days with us!! Sometimes the best magic is very close to home.

I'm thankful for my family and a very special friend, for whom much time passing between visits means only strengthening our friendship. (I know there's a tale like that somewhere but I'm too tired to hunt it down right this second.)

Now that we are all returning to our regularly scheduled juggling, not only are the fairy tale series shows back on again (yay!) but I should be able to get back to daily fairy tale news reporting (barring any monsoons of madness).

See you tomorrow!

(NBC) Grimm Cookies - Design for Shirt Woot design contest by InfinityWave

Ask Baba Yaga: There's Got to Be a Way to Exist Without Constantly Inflating and Deflating My Ego

Baba Yaga by Gennady Spirin

Baba Yaga's oracle is back! And she brings with her some much awaited advice...

Have you ever had a surge of pride (or just confidence), then felt guilty for thinking too highly of yourself? Me too. All. The. Time. So this advice is for me. And many of you too. :)

This week's question and answer (via poet and oracle Taisia Kitaiskaia* of The Hairpin):

(Originally posted at The Hairpin HERE)

While there are a few interesting responses from people regarding just how they cope with this (including pretending to be a honey badger, which... might actually be fun) here are my favorite responses to date:

• Anyone who refers to feet as "feets" is OK in my book. Let's hang out, Baba, and drink tea and discuss things. (I'm Right On Top Of That, Rose)
• BABA you've come back just when I needed you. "HEART" (PomoFrannyGlass)
• Baba killed it once again!! This series is the tops, and when it comes out in a beautifully illustrated book, I will be in line for a copy. ETA: I read the headline and thought, "Yes! Baba please tell me. And I was not disappointed." (adorable-eggplant)

The 'Other' things.. with a capital 'O'... *delicious shudder* Yes - there does seem to be a lot of Other inside..! I guess I should make friends with them. And the rabbits. (Easier said than done but she's completely right about needing to do so!)

What do you think of Baba Yaga's advice?

Want to ask Baba Yaga a question of your own?

You can!

There's now an email address where you can send your questions

directly to Baba Yaga herself.

AskBabaYaga AT gmail DOT com

To encourage Baba Yaga to continue imparting her no-bones-about-it wisdom (ok, there may be some gristle in there... bones too), I suggest we not to leave her box empty... 

Thank you Baba Yaga (& Taisia).

* Taisia Kitaiskaia is a poet, writer, and Michener Center for Writers fellow. Born in Russia and raised in America, she's had her poems and translations published in Narrative Magazine, Poetry International, and others.

The Boxtrolls Get A 2nd Trailer (& We Get A Peek Behind the Scenes)

This very different Jungle Book-like story (based on the best selling children's book Here Be Monsters) looks adorable. Still! (I was already won over by the first trailer released earlier in the year. This just confirms it.)

A second trailer was released on Wednesday and completely confirms the awww-factor.

It opens with behind-the-scenes clips of the delicate and lengthy stop-motion filming and ends up with finished animation, complete with seriously a seriously cute kid-character who's dressed in a box like his carers/family.

Enjoy: 

Laika animation studio's The Boxrolls is scheduled for theatrical release on September 26th, 2014.

There Will Be 'Snow Queen' References...

For those who are looking forward to Frozen, (which opens everywhere on Thanksgiving.. ie tomorrow), here's a little official announcement that may make it even more fun. Reposted from Disney Concepts & Stuff Tumblr:

Disney has confirmed that they are putting references to Hans Christian Andersen’s The Snow Queen, the inspiration for Frozen, into the final film. If you want to catch them or you really just like reading the source material before going to see the film, you can read it here. Or if you don’t feel like reading, check out this 1957 Russian Animated Snow Queen (pictured above) and this shorter TV version starring Eartha Kitt as the Snow Queen! 

I am very curious about this. Hopefully by "references" they mean more than "there's a reindeer in this film too" and similar...

Also the blogger, Andy, posted his brief review of the film (a spoiler version and a non-spoilery version) and this (from the non-spoilery version) I thought might be of interest to people who've been following the cultural criticisms.

Frozen was very cultural. When the screen showed something that was written it was in native language when it wasn’t important to the story. You could pinpoint the location the film took inspiration from and was set in, other than Arendelle, and you can tell the crew greatly appreciated the culture. And rosemaling was all over the palace and costumes.

Note: I haven't seen it yet so can't add my comments. I will be watching for both references to The Snow Queen and to the cultural heritage when I get around to it though! Feel free to add your comments, if you have them, but please keep them spoiler free for those who won't be able to see it for a while yet. :)

Breaking News/Rumor Mill: There's A "Wicked" Musical Animated Miniseries Currently in Production (& Chenoweth & Menzel Are On Board!?!)

I haven't been able to confirm this via any single additional source but this was announced yesterday (Tuesday), November 26th. There is no identifying title, handle or nickname behind the Tumblr that I can see (the header is above), but that person tagged the post with #Wicked Musical #Kristin Chenoweth and #Idina Menzel...

I know a lot of people are dying to see something done with the Wicked musical (as opposed to Gregory Maguire's book - though there's a whole crowd excitedly watching the various on/off developments for that too) but I wouldn't have thought "animated musical miniseries" would be what we would see first.

Here's the sneak peek or "test & promo animation":

Well, it's clear whoever did this has a good idea of what they're doing. What else do we know? Not a lot but here are the points listed in the FAQ:

It will be 2D (hand drawn)

It will be a televised miniseries event made by a feature animation team (first time this has been done)

It’s by a major studio that has done 2D before

Not WDFA (Walt Disney Feature Animation)

The animation on here is test/promotional material and is not final

The event is very early in pre-production

I (the Tumblr owner) briefly worked on the production

Hmm... I'm very much wondering if this is due to the hard work and inspiration of Heidi Jo Gilbert, who, not only storyboarded "Defying Gravity" herself in her spare time (and received much praise and support for it) but has been (gently) lobbying Stephen Schwartz for permission to do this (or to have him get someone else to do it, but preferably with her on board) for a good couple of years now.

By Heidi Jo Gilbert from her "Defying Gravity" personal project storyboard

Here's her open letter to Stephen Schwartz (who convinced Marc Platt to make a musical instead of a movie and resulted in the award winning Wicked: The Musical):

I know you can relate to the plight of loving a story, loving a medium, and trying to convince someone in power to see your vision! You did it with Marc Platt when you convinced him to make it a stage musical. I’m just approaching you with the same sincerity. Is it possible to talk you out of doing a live action movie adaptation? Would you consider doing a traditionally animated adaptation? In my heart I think the musical needs the medium, and I think the medium needs your musical. I just love them both so much and hopefully that shows through in the story reel.
Sincerely,Heidi Jo Gilbert

Take a look at Ms. Gilbert's storyboarded sequence, Defying Gravity (it's pretty great):

Ms. Gilbert got so much attention and acclaim at the time (about 2 years ago) that Theater Advisor interviewed her regarding why she thought Wicked should be an animated movie and how she might go about it, if it were up to her. Here's an excerpt:

TA: What inspired you to make this animation of Wicked? 

Heidi: Wow I don’t really know where to start with that question. If I had to give the short answer I’d just say my love for the story and my passion for hand-drawn animation. But if you want the long story… 

by Minkyu Lee (one of the Wicked-in-animation inspired trio)

I first discovered Wicked from my twin brother. He got the album for Christmas the year it came out. I didn’t know anything about it …but when I looked through the album and saw Stephen Schwartz and Idina Menzel my interest was peaked. I obviously knew Stephen Schwartz from his animation work. And I had seen Idina Menzel on broadway as Amneris in Aida and I loved her. I fell in love with the music and the story. But I think the idea of an animated Wicked first came when I was going to school at CalArts. There was a small group of us Wicked nerds. I think we really annoyed a lot of the other students with our constant stream of Wicked talk. I don’t even remember where the idea came from, it was just like this hive mind. We just had to make it into an animated film! It had to be hand-drawn and we had to be involved! Ha ha! We didn’t think about all the obstacles, how we’re still just students, how hand-drawn animation was dying, how Universal owns the rights. We just loved the story, loved the music, and just had this dream to see it animated.  

by Heidi Jo Gilbert (check the colors! Looks familiar?)

We all got jobs at Disney after graduation. Three of us just never let go of the idea, me, Jennifer Hager, and Minkyu Lee, two of my best friends from school. I got laid off from Disney when production on The Princess and the Frog was wrapping. I had all this time on my hands, and the freedom to work on whatever I wanted. Minkyu had done these awesome character designs and visual development for Wicked for one of his portfolios. I just kind of thought to myself, nothing is ever going to happen until we just do something. So I just invested my whole heart into storyboarding that sequence. Everyone has their dream projects. This would be mine. I love that the story is about the friendship between two girls, and not just a love story. I like that it’s not really a happy ending. I just think animation would be the perfect way to tell that story onscreen. And I also think hand-drawn animation needs a story like that to tell. I just love them both so much and that’s what inspired me to do it. I know it’s a long shot, but it’s just coming from a sincere desire to see that story animated and the hope to be a part of it!

You can read the whole interview HERE.

At the time of the buzz about Ms. Gilbert's boarded sequence, Universal held the rights to using the Wicked property but I'm not sure who is holding it right now. Guess we'll just have to follow the Wicked Leaks Tumblr and watch for updates...

Lacombe's Brushes Transform Madame Butterfly Into A Fairy Tale

One of my favorite contemporary fairy tale illustrators is the prolific French artist Benjamin Lacombe, one of the reasons being that in his artistic hands, almost every subject becomes imbued with the essence of fairy tale.

A few years back he created a(nother) visually stunning book based on the story of Madame Butterfly. While this story, best known via its operatic form, is not a fairy tale, through his eyes, the main character took on other worldly aspects and the illustrations were richly filled with fairy tale motifs.

The book has recently been re-published with some new, additional art and an entirely new - and very magical - presentation. Though the tragedy of her story remains intact, the motifs of butterflies - and all they represent - suggest new ways to consider her story.

Butterflies as symbols of soul, silence, rebirth, beauty, fragility and breath are woven throughout the book, making the images tell a story all their own.

The best way to show you the uniqueness of this edition, however, is in the trailer just released a week and a half ago. Take a look:

What you may have seen a glimpse of in the trailer, is the fact that the book unfolds into a gorgeous fresco. That is, an incredible 10 meter long fresco!

The special - and limited - edition was published in France by Albin Michel. To date, I haven't seen any indication that an English version will be created and made available. (What a great excuse to brush up on my French!)

Sigh. One day I will own a Lacombe fairy tale of my very own.

And if I'm REALLY lucky he will sign it for me...

You can see more of Benjamin Lacombe's beautiful art from this book and many others on his Facebook page HERE, on his blog HERE and at his official website HERE.