Christophe Gans Taking "Beauty" to Big Screen

Guzel ve Cirkin (Beauty and The Beast)

by  Ertac Altinoz

It's not a remake of Jean Cocteau's La Belle et La Bete. Instead it is supposed to both visually stunning and darker than any of the (better known) Beauty & the Beast films to date. It's also aimed at families so considering it's easy to "get dark" with early versions of Beauty & the Beast, I'm curious to see how dark "dark" is, while still being kid-friendly. Imagine Disney's Beauty & the Beast as a live action film: if all those scenes had played straight (the first Beast appearance, the wood, the wolves, the prison, the Beat's tantrums, the mob, the hunt etc) - minus singing and dancing - it wouldn't have been half as kid-friendly as it is.

Vincent Cassel and Lea Seydoux are already confirmed to star.

The film is simply titled Beauty and shooting is scheduled to begin early October, 2012. It will also be a French language film, which is very appropriate on a number of levels and makes me far more interested in the film than I would have been otherwise.

From ScienceFiction.com:

Gans is best known for directing the movies ‘Silent Hill’ and ‘Brotherhood of the Wolf.’ He not only will direct this version of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ but also wrote the screen adaptation that aims to “unleash” his imagination.  Gans recently told Variety that his ‘Beauty’ is based on one of the earliest versions of the tale and will be aimed at both adults and kids. “It talks, among other things, about the power of dreams and love versus materialism and corruption, which makes it more than ever relevant today.”

“Although I will keep to a form of storytelling of this timeless fairy tale that is in keeping with the same pace and characters as the original,” he explains, “I will surprise the audience by creating a completely new visual universe never experienced before and produce images of an unparalleled quality. Every single one of my movies has presented me with a challenge,” he continued, “but this one is, by far, the most exciting and rewarding.”

Beauty and the Beast by Tyler James

 Are you torn between being happy and shaking your head at the double/triple-ups of fairy tale retellings coming to the big screen? (Let alone the multiple variations appearing on the smaller screen?) You may enjoy AVClub's announcement of the film HERE (I certainly did), which also mentions a (possible) Guillermo del Toro B&tB movie project, currently in development with Emma Watson (he's got on LOT on his development plate at the moment!).

I have yet to see a film (including Cocteau's which I love) in which I didn't echo Greta Garbo's cry of "Give me back my beast!" That, to me, would be the ultimate challenge in making a Beauty & the Beast film unique. Yes, please do make it beautiful, layered, suspenseful. Make it classic yet relevant and make it meaningful but above all, make the transformation from beast to human work. Otherwise I don't really see the point.

Note: The illustrations have nothing to do with the film project. I just thought they were unique and lovely Beauty & the Beast illustrations. The illustration at the head of the post is by artist, Ertac Altinoz. He's from Turkey and has one of those mind-blowing talents you occasionally come across. You can find his deviantArt gallery HERE and another on CGHub HERE. There are multiple pages showcasing his work also at Gods of Art HERE.

The second image is by another talented CG artist, Tyler James (known as ArtofTy on deviantArt) who has a lovely gallery HERE. You can see more of his amazing work at his also-amazing blog, HERE.

Article sources: HERE, HERE & HERE

Tor.com's "Battle of the Fairy Tale Shows" Weekly (ish) Feature

It's a regular feature on the Tor.com blog, written up as Once Upon A Time vs Grimm, which, I think has been established, is in truth a little hard to do, since the shows really are both so different. The way Teresa Jusino writes it, though, does make sense and she breaks it down by category, scoring each on the "success' of each part:

* Script   * Performances   * Production   * Representation   * Audience Engagement

A cumulative score is given at the end of each post and, you may be interested to know, after Grimm's most recent episode "Organ Grinder" based on Hansel & Gretel, Grimm has snuck ahead of Once by 0.5 of a point.


I must admit I was pleasantly surprised by Organ Grinder. While a lot of development is still needed there was a sense, this time, of the show having found it's feet a little better. It helped a lot that Juliette was featured more, that seasonal story lines had some development and that Nick totally got his Grimm on.

In the words of Ms. Jusino:

Nick in full-on Grimm Mode? Ridiculously hot. He can back me up against walls in a threatening fashion any time he wants. Attractiveness aside, that hotness had to do with the assurance with which David Giuntoli embodies Nick. Giuntoli has really hit his stride with the character, and the specifics of Who Nick Is were so clear to me in this episode because of his carefully etched portrayal.

I asked for conflict and flaws in Nick and we're starting to see it! As so neatly summarized by i09:

[SPOILER ALERT!]

Meanwhile Nick's Grimm powers must have finally kicked in, because the human form of Princess Eric spent the better part of this episode ordering around and threatening various magical creatures. About damned time. What's the point of being a terrifying Grimm if you're never going to cash that check? We did a cartoony spit-take when Nick smashed up the apothecaries stash of human bits. Absolutely amazing. And the fun didn't stop there — later on Nick threatened one of the Geiers with this excellent line, "Look at me, very closely. I know what you are...I'm not asking you as a cop so don't expect me to behave as one!" Good for you Nick! We'd rather he break the law this way, as opposed to his usual "entering with out a warrant" antics. Be the bad ass Grimm.

Meanwhile, Pilates Wolf finally called out Nick for being a selfish piece of garbage. It's about time.  

                               [SPOILER OVER]

While I don't agree with everything Ms. Jusino (at Tor.com) writes, she has many, many good points about both shows and it's interesting to see them compared like this. Considering Once's "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree" fell very flat for me (and Once has been rather inconsistent since it's 2012 return - in my opinion anyway) and I thought Grimm's "Organ Grinder" was one of the best yet (definitely an upward trend of quality and interest in this show since mid-season and i09 apparently agrees!) I'm curious to see how this "battle" will play out.

If you missed the last episode of Grimm and can handle a little of the dark side, I suggest you go watch while you can. (Great guest actors for this one too and the "breadcrumb scene" didn't disappoint either.)

Of course, the two TV series, as mentioned previously are really difficult to compare, other than as any one new show versus any other new show. They both have very different approaches and audiences (for the most part) and it remains to be seen how they will develop in future. I find it interesting that Once, which initially seemed so fresh to people is now looking a little formulaic in it's approach (a complaint I was surprised to see in quite a few places around the blogging world) while Grimm, which suffered from the formula curse right out of the gate now appears to be shedding that shackle and developing some of its potential. Things change from week to week though - especially when sweeps are just around the corner - so who knows where things will go from here. For now I'm just happy that two fairy tale based shows appear to be strong enough to see out their first seasons and are planning their second. (Once has released a little information about this, though the green light isn't yet official, I believe, while Grimm is less vocal but apparently also planning beyond season one). It's all good news for people who like fairy tales and mythic stories! I'm very thankful I'm able to watch them as they develop. It's a very interesting time!

Next up for Grimm tonight is their much anticipated Itsy Bitsy Spider story title "Tarantella" with Buffy alum Amy Acker as the Black Widow (kind of like a reverse Mr. Fox story in many ways). I'm curious to see if the seasonal arc is developed even more (gosh I hope so!) as the potential with such a premise is huge.

Sunday has the return of Once, after a week off, with their also much-anticipated Valentine's Day themed sweeps show "Skin Deep", featuring Emilie de Ravin as Belle (from Beauty & the Beast), written again by Jane Espenson (she, without doubt, writes the best scripts of all on the show to date).

You can find all the "battle posts" HERE and the latest weekly write-up (on Grimm's "Organ Grinder" and Once's "Fruit of the Poisonous Tree") can be found HERE.

Märchenhaft: Learning German With Grimm (A Household Tales 200th Anniversary Challenge)

 I love this idea for many reasons and, more importantly, I think the Grimm Brothers would more than have approved. It's a wonderful idea for the 200th anniversary of Grimm's Household Tales.

From Germany.info:

From Rapunzel to Hänsel und Gretel to Aschenputtel(Cinderella), the fairy tales collected by the brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm and first published in December 1812 in their Kinder- und Hausmärchen (Children’s and Household Tales)  are known and loved throughout the world. 

During 2012-13, the 200th anniversary of this renowned compendium of stories is being celebrated with a large variety of cultural events, including open-air festivals, exhibitions, and theater performances, all along the German Fairy Tale Road (Deutsche Märchenstraße)--from Hanau, the brothers’ birthplace, in the south, to Bremen, home of the Bremer Stadtmusikanten (Bremen Town Musicians), in the north. 

The tales have remained popular through the centuries due to their universal themes and memorable characters, as well as their ability to instill values in the young. But the Grimm fairy tales—the 86 included in the 1812 volume, plus the dozens more added in subsequent publications—are also ideally suited as texts for learning the challenging, yet endlessly intriguing, German language. 

With the Grimm anniversary year in mind, the US representative of the German Agency for Schools Abroad, Gert Wilhelm, supported by funding from the German government through the “Netzwerk Deutsch USA” (Network for German language promotion in the US), organized a nationwide theater competition, utilizing the popular YouTube platform.
Starting in March 2011, German instructors at schools and universities across the US were encouraged to submit proposals for theater productions of German fairy tales, performed by young German-learners, in German. Twenty of the proposals were selected, and instructors were asked to submit simple, unedited DVDs of their students' performances by the end of the year. 

...With logistical support from the Goethe-Institut in Chicago, a special “Märchenhaft” (literally: “fairy tale-like”) channel was created on YouTube, allowing the students and teachers—and the wider world—to compare productions of Schneewittchen (Snow White), Die Sterntaler (The Star Money), Die goldene Gans (The Golden Goose), and many others. 

Once all videos had been submitted, a jury of five German education experts met to select the best productions. The winners were selected for the high standards, both theatrical and linguistic, of their submissions.  

...The creativity and hard work that went into this production, and all of the “Märchenhaft” productions, would surely have pleased the Brothers Grimm. But not only that: as founding fathers of German philology and authors of Das Deutsche Wörterbuch (The German Dictionary)—the German equivalent of the Oxford English Dictionary—one imagines they would also have been delighted to see the enthusiasm exhibited for the German language so far away from home.

You can read the whole article with details about the Märchenhaft fairy tale challenge along with the winning schools and productions HERE.

The Märchenhaft (as mentioned above, literally: "fairy tale-like") YouTube Channel with the competition submissions can be found HERE.

Ali... by RikeMa

An odd and funny eye-catching photomanipulation of a young Ali (either Baba or Aladdin) by RikeMa. I wish I could give you more information on the artist but it seems RikeMa is an artist of few words and no blog.

Found HERE.

A Thumb Princess

Almost every time I see a fairy tale fashion shoot by Vogue, particularly one that includes tale/story elements, it's from Vogue Korea.

It says a lot about the cultures' love of fairy tales, especially as they don't always use the most well known ones, nor do they tend to portray their models in a Disney-fied fashion. You never know if it's going to be a dark version, a contemporary take or an illustration-brought-to-life shoot. Confession: I don't read or subscribe to fashion magazines but I do love seeing creative photography and themed spreads - especially when they're fairy tale themed. Vogue Korea have done this often enough I've actually considered subscribing so I can have the print in front of me but I always seem to find some other fairy tale thing that is a little cheaper or I believe I need more... (eg if Maria Tatar or Jack Zipes release a new book).

While the clothes in these shoots are almost always not for regular wear and wouldn't look particularly fairy tale-y without the settings what I enjoy is seeing different takes on both the tales and iconic scenes.

This beautiful Thumbelina themed spread is from 2006 but I don't think I've posted it before. Since I've just noticed that the 2012 Fall Fashion week has officially begun in New York (yes, don't worry, it's still Winter in the US and yes, I'm a little confused by "fashion seasons" too), it seems appropriate to post now, for a few reasons (which you'll see if you keep reading).

You see, this post isn't just about the pretty images. There's a dark side here too. Sadly, the model in these pictures, Daul Kim, committed suicide at age 20 in 2009.

From Huffington Post posted 11/19/09, the day of the morning she was found in her Paris apartment:

The South Korean model kept a blog called I Like To Fork Myself, and yesterday made her last posting under the title "say hi to forever." The post was a song called "I Go Deep" by Jim Rivers, under which she wrote "best track forever."

While her death has nothing specifically to do with fairy tales I thought I should make note of it here to give a slightly different perspective than we usually do on fashion shoots (I didn't mean to use the word "perspective" as a pun - there's no joking about this topic - but as it may help in remembering this in future I'm leaving my first word choice intact). 

One of the comments Daul apparently made about herself is that she felt that the more success she had, the more she was fading away, that she was becoming a ghost. It seems her sense of self grew smaller and smaller until she felt she couldn't live anymore. I don't know why some people give in to this sense while others resist, fight and find their way through. She was obviously adored by many, including those close to her. I guess if there were an easy answer/fix to that there would be far less tragedies like this in the world.

Behind every glamorous image there are people who need to be noticed for who they are - not just what they are. One of the things that worries me about the "princess culture" is the idea that achieving goal 'x' completes you but if you have not found worth in yourself in your journey any emptiness seems only echoes more when you have everything money and fame can buy. Happily ever after is supposed to be the beginning of your stories, not the end of them. 

Tell someone you love how you feel about them today - that you love them for 'them'. If it only makes a little difference it may be all the difference to them.

Images source HERE.

YASIV Visual Recommendation Search

Brother and Sister Visual Poem by Terri Windling

I couldn't think of a way to make the title of the post interesting but I think a lot of you may enjoy this great new, free service called YASIV. It's essentially a search engine connected to amazon.com which suggest books "like" a title you search for and books others bought after they purchased the book you're interested in. It also gives you a handy list on the left when it's done making it's connections (which you can watch it do) and, when it's settled you can move the page around as if it were a giant (clickable) piece of paper.

Galley Cat has mentioned the service more than once the past week and I have to admit it is a lot of fun to use.

Just one set of "branches" the YASIC engine found for Grimm's Household Tales. The actual "page" (clickable & movable) is MUCH larger.

 About Yasiv 

Yasiv is a visual recommendation service that helps people to choose the right product from Amazon's catalog. Being it a book, a perfume or a video game - Yasiv finds anything what is sold on Amazon.com. 

Let's face it: We often decide what to buy based on what others are buying. And it's not a bad thing after all. If something is bought by many of our friends there has to be a reason for that. Maybe it's good and worth its money? This is where Yasiv steps in: it shows what people are buying with other products. A link between two products means that they are often bought together. By simply observing the network of products one may guess what has more popularity and what has less. 

The site is really in it's early stages and there are many things that we want to fix. But to know what's important and what's not we need your help. Please tell us what do you like and what you don't? We would really love to hear from you. 

Yasiv is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com with no additional cost to customers. 

Andrei Kashcha 

I put in Grimm's Household Tales as an example for you but it works with any title available (or visible) through amazon.

When you click on any cover the information will come up summarized (and, again, clickable) at the right. You will also see the network connections to the book highlighted by the lines and arrows turning yellow.

It even has a product link paste function so you can literally search visually - and not just for books! Check the demo video below showing what happens:

Very fun and useful in quite a number of ways if you like to have your information presented visually! I only wish you could have the option of showing related items (eg gifts) as well as books altogether (like a product version of a visual collage on a topic or story, such as the lovely Brother and Sister visual poem of Terri Widling's at the head of the post, which shows text, images and found items) or choose to search books separately.

You can start your own searches HERE.

Speaking of interconnectedness, there's one more thing you may be interested in: I did a google image search for "connected fairy tales" and among a lot of random things there were a few that made sense: The Orphan's Tales: In the Night Garden by Catherynne M. Valente, Into the Woods musical, Jim Henson's The Storyteller, Kissing the Witch by Emma Donoghue, ABC's Once Upon A Time, NBC's Grimm, A Tale Dark and Grimm by Adam Gidwitz, Bill Willingham's Fables and the Brother and Sister visual poem by Terri Windling (though how it found the latter I have no idea). Various books by A.S. Byatt appeared as well.

Note: In case you're wondering: I have no affiliation with amazon. I'm just posting about the service because I think it's a great research/hunting tool for visual people, which many fairy tale lovers are. :)

Theater: 'Cymbeline' tells an epic fairy tale

Imogen Sleeping (from Shakespeare's Cymbeline) by N.M. Price**
(1905 edition of Charles and Mary Lamb: Tales of Shakespeare.

From Orlando Shakespeare Theater comes the play known as "Shakespeare's Fairy Tale" - and no, I'm not talking about A Midsummer Night's Dream. It's Cymbeline (brief synopsis at the link): a play complete with a very evil stepmother, a sleeping potion, a defiant and resourceful princess, running away to hide in a forest and even a return from the (seeming) dead*.

"It's really like a Roman-era 'Snow White,'" says Jim Helsinger, artistic director of Orlando Shakespeare Theater.  

From the official website:

Cymbeline  Februrary 8 - March 18, 2012Written by William ShakespeareDirected by Jim Helsinger  Shakespeare's epic fairy tale is a sweeping story of love, laughter, betrayal and redemption. Evil queens, forbidden love, mistaken identities, banishment, magic potions and poison fill the stage in this storybook adventure. After brave Princess Imogen is falsely accused of adultery and escapes her father's court, she sets forth on a treacherous and miraculous journey to reclaim her place in society and reunite with her true love.

You can see some more photos of the production on the Flickr account HERE.

The production runs from February 8 to March 18, 2012. You can find more information about showings and tickets HERE.

Article source: HERE
* Shakespeare based Cymbeline on an ancient Celtic legend: Cunobeline.
** The style of this painting looks very familiar but I can't find any mention of the artist - only that the image is public domain. CREDIT UPDATED 4-8-14 thanks to comment by Anonymous

Article: "Once Upon A Time" - What Counts As A Fairy Tale Exactly?

This is interesting. Laurel Brown, a writer at buddyTv.com, heard the latest Once news - that Alice In Wonderland will be a featured tale very soon - and she has a good question:

For Once Upon A Time, what counts as a fairy tale, exactly?

Now, we've had plenty of hints Once writers would be adding Alice characters, both in props used in Rumpelstiltskin's (ahem, I mean Mr. Gold's) pawn shop, a picture in Henry's book and via a passing mention in an interview (if memeory serves). (You can see fan summary and speculation about other items in Mr. Gold's shop HERE and HERE.)

Here's how Ms. Brown's article begins:

Apparently, for Once Upon a Time, the term "fairy tale" is loosely translated as "a story famous as a Disney movie." That's the only possible explanation for the most recent story announced for the fantasy show. Because it is not, by most definitions, any sort of fairy tale. Keep reading to find out the new story coming to Once Upon a Time. 

According to EW.com, a Once Upon a Time will soon take on the classic tale, Alice in Wonderland. The episode, expected to air in March, will be called "Hat Trick" and will feature Roger Daltrey (of The Who) as the voice of a talking caterpillar. 

But Alice in Wonderland is not a fairy tale. 

It is a familiar story, beloved by children for generations and the subject of several film adaptations, but Alice still isn't a fairy tale. What is it then?

Ms. Brown goes on to give a brief history of what the Alice stories are and the connection to Disney, which is worth taking a look at if you're one of the people that keeps reading on fairy tale blogs that Alice isn't a fairy tale and you wonder why.

Just like Once, you'll find more than a passing mention to Alice in Wonderland on fairy tale blogs (like this one!) despite that we know it isn't really a fairy tale. While I don't know if the creators of Once consider Alice a fairy tale or not, it really doesn't matter. In the mind of the public, it generally is. I think it's because of how it's been almost "diluted" in popular culture so Alice really does seem like a fairy tale to most people now.

Roger Daltry is confirmed as playing a talking caterpillar on ABC's Once Upon A Time in ep 1.17 Hat Trick

Ms. Brown does have a good point about a problem in using Alice* - or any of her other Wonderland character friends - as a story component within the premise of Once though.

To her mind, to have Alice appear breaks the contract of the uniquely fairy tale version of "suspension of disbelief" that we've been working with so far. I think she may be on to something with that concern. So far Once has been more successful than I expected it would be in keeping away from the sense that Storybrooke is a demented Disneyland (a fear I had, especially after seeing the first three or so episodes, which appeared a little like a disorganized mash-up at times). With Alice arriving on the scene there's a definite difference in the manner of spanner being thrown into the Once-works this time. Fairy tales are more real than not. They just have Wonder added. Alice is a confusion of imagination on steroids which sucks the entire world around it into it's irresistible - and very mad - rabbit hole. Unless we're about to see Storybrooke's asylum and have Doc Hopper being overworked I'm not sure how this is going to work.

My real question is: what effect will a character like Alice (or any other Wonderland inhabitant) have on the sensibilities of the Storybrooke residents? Even more of a question is, what effect it will have on their fairy tale counterparts?

Curiouser and curiouser...

The Once Upon A Time Alice-themed episode 1.17, titled Hat Trick will likely air in March.

You can read the whole article HERE.

*Note: it appears Alissa Skovbye is set to play Alice but I haven't heard any confirmation other than the IMDB database of that, which obviously isn't up-to-date. Roger Daltrey isn't currently listed in the cast.

Ribbonesia's Animal Ribbon Art

Is it fairy tale related - yes!

OK, not directly but it feels very fairy tale-y so I had to share. :) I can see these being used in fairy tale productions, in photo shoots and to give fairy tale gifts.

Here's a little info, courtesy of Anthology Magazine:

In 2008, after working for a long time as a painter and illustrator, artist Baku Maeda decided to experiment with ribbon and other soft materials to try to capture the expression and character of various types of animals. Baku continues to create new animals and design variations, and the Ribbonesia creative team now includes six individuals, including the artist. 

No two pieces are exactly alike, and they are all stunning—certainly an reminder of how any material can be made into something remarkable, in the hands of an artist. To see more pieces and learn more about the studio, visit the Ribbonesia blog.

These lovely bows by Japanese company Ribbonesia are so beautifully crafted.. you don't need a gift inside the box!

Here's a closer look at a few. They look really classy here:

It appears they can tackle any form, no matter how complicated. Check out their 2012 Dragon ribbon sculpture:

They have quite a large variety (which isn't immediately obvious when you see the website). Have a look at the displays below:

Apparently sample boxes are available (for stores?) but they would make lovely little treasures on their own.

They're also advertised as being accessories: from unusual hat adornments to lapel pins.

They look lovely as wall art too:

I only wish I could read Japanese to let you know about the originators and artists involved but rather than copy a bad Babelfish translation I'll let you go to the website and have a look for yourself. I can, however, show you a couple of pictures of the talented team:

I also recommend hunting around the various sections of the website to see tons more pictures of ribbon animals, events and the artists at work. I believe they are all handmade (!) and that Ribbonesia is currently looking for interested people to take on the craft and expand the business.

It certainly seems like the business is quickly becoming successful! Check out the fronts and window display of this department (I think) store.

They even have workshops for people to go and learn how to craft various ribbon animals, especially birds (look at the variety below). From what I can gather, it's not an easy task for the average person to reproduce most of the designs.

They're available for purchase HERE.

You can get company and product updates via Twitter for updates too.

My wish list just keeps getting longer and longer...

Originally found via SuperPunch.