ABC's "Once Upon A Time" Just Made One Of Its Smartest Moves Ever Revealing "The Author"

So... refresher for those who haven't managed to keep up with OUAT and a primer for the next episode for those who have:

Note: apologies for the lateness with this but I've only just caught up! 

**SOME SPOILERS AHEAD**

Henry (Regina/Evil Queen's kid and Emma-the-Savior's biological kid) was given a book of fairy tales by his teacher (Snow White/Mary Margaret) to give him hope. This set off the whole "fairy tales are real" thing for Henry and the book has been key to many story lines over the series, whether directly or by clues and foreshadowing that fans search frame by frame for.

The big drive for this season part B? Regina/Evil Queen is working her way back to humanity and doing her best to shed the "E-word" off of her name, but she's been told the only way someone who has been evil can have a happy ending is for THE AUTHOR to rewrite it. (Oh yeah - and Evil Girl Gang - Maleficent, Cruella, Ursula - came to town to complicate things but whatevs. Apart from Maleficent's arc it's just a B-side distraction right now.)

So they've (all) been hunting for The Author.

Last Sunday's episode "Best Laid Plans" had better than average amount of good stuff - lots of magical 101 stuff that wasn't so ridiculously... ridiculous. Just your average unicorn, dragon, magic egg, eggnapping aka baby-snatching (with a heart-wrenching performance by Kristin Bauer who plays Maleficent) and a magical book...  and some good magic-and-consequences writing that felt more 'true fairy tale' for the show than usual. (Yay!)

(Oh wait - magical egg - "Best Laid Plans" - it's the pre-Easter episode - I see what you did there writers.)

Long story short: last Sunday they found him - or, more importantly, they found out whom The Author is: it's... a job title (not a specific person) for the one creating the stories with the magic quill - in the magic book - at that time.*

Click on image to go to many more logo-free screen caps

Pinocchio/August: “There have been many authors throughout time. It’s a job, not a person, and the one trapped in here was just the last tasked with the great responsibility. To record… to witness, the greatest stories of all time and record them for posterity. The job has gone back eons: From the man who watched shadows dance across cave walls and developed an entire philosophy, to playwrights who tell tales of poetry, to a man named Walt. Many have had this sacred job. Great women and men who took on the responsibility with the gravity that it deserved.”

So maybe the statement isn't quite as clear as those of us who care about these things would like but it's a HUGE shift from the Disney-centric universe we've seen to date. It implies the stories were real, as in had a historical basis, but then that's the premise of the show, so with that in mind, it's fine.

Really glad to see women being referenced along with the men. And I'm OK with them mentioning Walt because it's true. (And he created the parent company that runs the show, so it's a nice "thank you" in a way.)

Whether or not it heralds a change with regard to the ideas driving the stories from here on out, and more fairy tale history is mined as a result (unlikely but I can always hope), I thought this one scene - and key building block in the OUAT universe - was noteworthy enough by itself to mark it here.

The best thing I see in this is that all those passionate fans (and there remain many) who haven't the slightest clue that fairy tales have a life beyond (and well before) Disney, are going to absorb this, and the idea will make its way back into the public consciousness.

So: cheers to writers Kalinda Vazquez, Jane Espenson and the rest of the OUAT team! You've done your storytelling heritage proud.

Prediction: Eventually Henry will become an Author. Heck - at this point it's like he's been in training for it!

Fairy tale bonus of the day:

What if Tom Riddle is The Author?

*So maybe there's been some mischief-writing that needs remedying but do they need the specific writer who wrote that in the first place to fix it? Or will any Author, past of future, do? Dum-dum-daaah!

Reminder & Update: Submissions Call for "Frozen Fairy Tales" Anthology

A special note from Kate Wolford of Enchanted Conversation. 

World Weaver Press and I are working on taking submissions for an upcoming fairy tale anthology set in winter. I can't emphasize enough that the field is wide open. 

We're super interested in holiday-related stories, but as long as a story is set in winter, it has a chance. A sense of winter and its perils and possibilities must be part your story.

Please familiarize yourself with  the kind of tales I've published on EC in the past. You can do that by looking at tales that have been published on EC. Just go to  fairytalemagazine.com and look under the banner for relevant details. 

Please note, it's new fairy tales we're looking for. No other kind of story. 

Also, don't make them too short. We've got a book to fill and a limited budget. By the same token, super-long ones have a lesser chance as well.

Full submission details for this anthology can be found HERE.

My book, Beyond the Glass Slipper, gives a lot of perspective on how I see fairy tales and how to make them new.

Also, there will be a giveaway for fabulous fairy-tale art by Paula Richey soon, so keep visiting the site. 

Kate Wolford

Creator & Editor - Enchanted Conversation

If you love fairy tales and have been looking to add to your paid published resume, or want to be published but haven't yet, this is an opportunity for you! 

PS: You have just SIX WEEKS till the deadline!

Theater: (Legend of) The White Snake Now Playing At San Diego's Old Globe Theater

The Old Globe Theater in San Diego California, is bringing a Chinese folktale to the stage! The White Snake, also known as Legend of The White Snake and Madame White Snake, (originally White Lady or White Maiden) is now considered one of China's Four Great Folktales and this production is reported to be a visual feast (something the photos show beautifully as well). The reviews are glowing and promise that the production will endear audiences of all ages to this popular Chinese fairy tale.

Summary:

Tony Award winner Mary Zimmerman creates an enchanting theatrical spectacle with live music and sumptuous visuals. In this visionary staging of a classic Chinese fable, a gentle serpent transforms into a beautiful woman. She falls in love with a dashing young man and decides to stay human forever, until a wicked monk discovers her true identity and vows to destroy her. The White Snake is an unforgettable theatrical event for all ages that NPR called “strikingly beautiful.” The New York Times proclaimed that Zimmerman “creates richly imagistic works—her eye refines and refinishes, drawing ever-sharper pictures from the texts she theatricalizes.”

From La Jolla Light:

Charm is all over The Old Globe Theare’s production of the Chinese fable “The White Snake,” directed by Tony Award-winner Mary Zimmerman. Globe’s artistic director Barry Edelstein accurately summed up her talents when he called her a practitioner of the stage director’s art at the highest level. 

Zimmerman’s proficiency with staging fables, myths and ancient tales is why “The White Snake” resonates with audience members from beginning to end. Costumed musicians who take their place before the stage lead off this joyous journey.
High on a mountaintop, two kindred spirits have had enough of their boring lifestyle and commands from Fa Hai, the wicked holy man. Having studied ancient traditions, the two have the ability to transform themselves from snakes into women, which makes White Snake (Amy Kim Waschke) and Green Snake (Tanya Thai McBride) ready to seek an adventure. They talk about listening to music, socializing with people and maybe even falling in love, as they make their way down the mountain. 

The exquisite set changes from designer Daniel Ostling include transporting the women through a stage-sized cloth that represents the clouds they fly through. Arriving at their destination they find a world full of color, beautiful costumes, Chinese paintings and lanterns.

   

(Read the rest of the review HERE)

If you're interested in going “The White Snake” currently runs matinees, evenings through April 26, 2015 at The Old Globe Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park, San Diego. Tickets from $29 at (619) 234-5623 or theoldglobe.org

Disney's Animated-to-Live-Action-Reboots-In-Progress Update (aka "Make It Stop!")

So... this news may be old in a few hours by the time you read it and there will be even more to add to the last but as of Thursday afternoon this is where things are at: we all know about Beauty and the Beast and since I posted the last casting update there have been a few additions. Let me just get those out of the way before I let you know what else is happening.

Beauty and the Beast
Confirmed theatrical release for March 17, 2017
(Wow - they're going to have to get a wriggle on if they're going to make that date!)

Belle - Emma Watson

Beast - Dan Stevens

Gaston - Luke Evans

Le Fou - Josh Gad

Maurice (Belle's father) - Kevin Kline

Mrs. Potts - Emma Thompson

Wardrobe - Audra McDonald

Lumiere - unknown

Cogsworth - unknown

Chip - unknown

Fifi - unknown

Asylum guy - unknown...

There's still lots of casting needed and production has got to get underway soon to allow for all the effects work that will be needed after filming. I wonder if they're using an existing castle or if they'll be constructing that from scratch too? It'd be awesome if they retained the various concept versions of Beast as the statues, like they did in the animated film.

And now on to the rest of the movies you can expect to be called fairy tales soon. We haven't had so many fantasy live action movies in production since possibly the 80's so I guess the trend was likely to return at some point. We just didn't expect them all to be done by Disney rebooting their own films!

If you follow OUABlog regularly, you also know about:

The Jungle Book which is busily in production.

The new film has cast Scarlett Johansson to voice Kaa, Christopher Walken to voice King Louie, Bill Murray to voice Baloo, Lupita Nyong'o to voice Rakcha, Ben Kingsley to voice Bagheera, and the adorable Neel Sethi as Mowgli, pictured below. (CinemaBlend)

And you also know about Dumbo (O.M.G.)

And you've probably heard about Mulan (which has been the big news this week - I think that could be good but they're going to have to work hard to keep it PG and still good). There is a chance this will become even more fairy tale - it'll be either that or go more historical, which I don't think is their demographic.

Fan made poster by Thomas Kurniawan

But did you know they're also redoing Pete's Dragon (which might actually be a good thing) with a writer known for his gritty film themes.

"...they will reinvent the core story of a venerable Disney family film. It will not be a musical and at this point Lowery is just engaged as writer. The original 1977Pete’s Dragon mixed an animated fire-breather with a live-action cast... with Sean Marshall playing the orphan boy who comes to a town with his magical dragon, his abusive adoptive parents in hot pursuit." (Deadline)

Principal photography has begun on the David Lawry (Ain’t Them Bodies Saints) re-imagining of Disney’s 1977 classic Pete’s Dragon. Set for a 2016 release, the film has found it’s fantasy setting informer Middle Earth New Zealand, instead of just green screens (thank goodness).
The film stars newcomer Oakes Fegley as 10 year-old Pete who has a dragon friend named Elliott who can become invisible. Elliot will be brought to life by Weta Digital, the Wellington-based digital visual effects company that did the VFX for the Hobbit and Planet of the Apes will animate the dragon. So does this make Elliott the dragon Smaug’s distance cousin?
Bryce Dallas Howard is set to co-star as Grace, the park ranger who discovers Pete and his dragon. The story will deviate from the original family film but intends to keep it’s theme at the core. Robert Redford is also attached as Grace’s father. Their characters, while not the same as the original’s, will be very close as it seems that Grace is a variation of Helen Reddy’s role and Redford’s will be similar to Mickey Rooney’s. Wes Bentley and recently announced Karl Urban, will also be featured as brothers and Oona Laurence will play a young girl who befriends Pete. (SassyMamainLA -2-12-15)

And today's (Thursday) announcement: Winnie the Pooh. Live Action Winnie the Pooh.

The focus will be Christopher Robin as an adult, which brings him back to A.A. Milne’s famous bear and the Hundred Acre Wood. (Deadline)

Artist sadly unknown - I feel you bear!

I wouldn't be surprised to see Aladdin announced soon or perhaps Pocahontas (which Disney made into a fairy tale fantasy of their own).

Let's just get it over with and announce a live action Frozen already.

NOTE: The Little Mermaid live action film currently in development/production (it's all very secretive) is NOT Disney but will be based on the original Hans Christian Andersen story and directed by Sofia Coppola.

Aside: in response to the crazy trend, Saturday Night Live created a live action Bambi trailer with Dwayne johnson, which you can see HERE. (Adult content - not for kids.)

PS: I can't wait to see the live action Fantasia*. 

*I could not find the sarcastic font - if anyone can locate it, please let me know. I may have a lot of use for it in the coming months.

Review: Metalalia - "A Multimedia Fairy Tale Experience" by Stace Dumoski

"Metalalia - A Multimedia Fairy Tale Experience"

Review by Stace Dumoski

Editor's Note: Stace was brave enough to take on an unusual request - not just an ebook but a multimedia ebook at that, and it's clear she was just the right person for the job. (I'm also very much looking forward to her future reviews.) And in case you're wondering, what Metalalia means: "Metalalia comes from the Ancient Greek words meta, meaning ‘after’, and lalia, meaning ‘stories told’. It accurately describes the stories we are telling: original stories influenced by the thousands of fairytales, folktales and myths that have gone before, and re-imaginings of those bygone tales adapted to serve the needs of our time." (Note: image above is from Metalalia's "The River Girl".)

Description:

Metalalia: Mixed Media Fairytales for Phones and Tablets Metalalia is a unique multimedia e­reader, an immersive storytelling experience featuring - - High­ definition art, narration and music - Launched in December 2014 - Free to download, includes one free story - Additional stories available for in­app purchase with new content to be released monthly An ever growing library of stories, Metalalia contains bold retellings of classic tales in dynamic new settings. The app offers an experience unlike any other and the ability to customise how you enjoy your story.

Founded by LA­based musician Pam Shaffer, Metalalia combines Pam's signature haunting melodies with stories by the NESTA award­winning British writer Alex Nicholson alongside art from a team of accomplished visual artists and app developer Adam Schwem, known for his work on Shazam and Music ID.

I have been fascinated with the possibilities of digitally-assisted narrative ever since Captain Picard first walked onto the holodeck, so I was very excited to be given the opportunity to review Metalalia, an app designed for Apple's iPhone and iPad that presents original fairy tales as a multimedia experience. The app is the creative project of writer Alex Nicholson and musician Pam Shaffer, who collaborated with various composers, artists and programmers to create this digital storybook, which they envision as "an illuminated manuscript, but for the iPad."

It's important to point out Metalalia is not a single story, but an engine for presenting various tales produced by the authors. The free download includes one story, and there are currently three additional titles available for purchase at $2.99 each.

The app itself is very clean and intuitive to use. It opens with the image of a rustic bookcase from which you select the story you wish to read. Once the story begins, readers swipe the screen to turn the page, and can toggle text, music, and narration on or off, giving them complete control over the storytelling experience. On a technical level, the experience was flawless, and I'd like to see more storytelling experiments in this format.

The "fairy tale" that accompanies the download of Metalalia is a Rapunzel-inspired story called "The Hair-Woven Rope." I didn't think to time it, but the story lasts about 15 minutes, if you play the narration. It starts off well, with a fortress on a floating island and an unnamed protagonist locked away in a tower by her father. It features seven illustrations by artist Amy Faigin, and a lovely piano score by Shaffer. It's a fine, feminist adventure tale in which the heroine manages to escape her unhappy situation by her own devices (I'm sure you can guess how from the title of the story). It's a story I'd be happy to share with my own kids, but I'd say more "fairy tale inspired" than an actual fairy tale itself.

"The Wind-Up Boy" is a steampunk version of Pinocchio, in which the title character is created not to fulfill his father's desire for a child, but as an automated soldier for an ongoing war with a neighboring country. While the original Pinocchio is a moral tale that promises rewards for good behavior, Metalalia's version feels like it was intended to be a parable about the dehumanizing effects of war. Jiminy Cricket envisioned as a propaganda-spouting electronic "locust" is a particularly intriguing idea. (Editor: That IS intriguing! What a great concept.) I wanted this story to be longer, and for the author to spend less time echoing the events and characters of the original novel, and more time exploring the heart of the Wind-Up Boy. The adventure ends abruptly without him ever being tested, or having a chance to come to terms with his place in the world, and I found myself swiping my screen to look for more.

Shaffer and Nicholson promise more stories "featuring music and visual art set to original and reimagined fairytales and myths featuring LGBTQ characters, POC and disabled people." From the descriptions available about the other stories available for purchase, it seems like the fairy tale elements might be a little stronger than the story I read. Anyone who is looking for more stories like these should visit the Metalalia website for more information, or go HERE to the iTunes store for the app.

Note: You can see a video HERE of Metalalia in preview mode.
Disclosure: Complimentary copies of some of the stories were provided by Metalalia in exchange for an honest review.

Stace Dumoski is a professional content writer, aspiring fantasy novelist, and lover of all things magical and fantastical.  She has an undergraduate degree in Medieval Studies and has undertaken formal study in Folklore and Mythology and helmed the website "Phantastes: The Online Journal of Fantasy Criticism" which was listed three years running in the Year's Best Fantasy and Horror anthology. In joining the OUABlog review posse, she brings her extensive skills to report on some of her favorite subjects. You can find her magic filled blog HERE.

"Trick of the Tale" illustrated by Tomislav Tomic

While April Fool's Day isn't really connected with tricksters in the tale sense of the term, we all have them on the brain during the day. We do our best to not be gullible and not be fooled, so I thought highlighting a lovely collection of trickster tales (which might give us a few clues about what to do - or not do - next year, since today is pretty much over at minutes to midnight), was appropriate.

Trick of the Tale: A Collection of Trickster Tales by John & Caitlin Matthews, illustrated by Tomislav Tomic
Description:

Celebrate the slyest trickster tales from around the world in a lavish volume that gives a well-loved story tradition its rightful due. 

Enter (carefully) the world of the tricksters, those wily creatures who lie their way out of trouble, cheat when they get a chance, and devise elaborate tricks to get what they want —- with delightfully unpredictable results. This truly diverse, elegantly illustrated collection follows such clever characters as Anansi, Coyote, Brer Rabbit, and others who play a role in a multicultural array of storytelling traditions, from African to Inuit to European, Tibetan to Native American to Japanese.

This collection of trickster tales, retold and edited by John & Cailtin Matthews (a writing pair you see often with regard to fairy tale and folklore collections), is illustrated by Tomislav Tomic, whom you may know from his beautiful work in illustrating the special edition Lang Orange Fairy Book for the Folio Society.

Can you match the titles to the illustrations?

And I'm so glad to see at least one Anansi story here! There is persistent confirmation that Neil Gaiman's Anasi Boys really will be making it's way to screens in the foreseeable future too, as a multi-part mini series of hour long episodes by the BBC... (*whooping and cheering*). Expect a revival of trickster tales when that  - eventually - happens too!

I always greatly approve of stunningly illustrated collections. Yes, of course, I adore beautiful illustrations but every book that captures the attention of people brings these lesser known tales more into focus and back into circulation. More please!