Breaking News: "The Tale of Tales" In Production (That's Right - We're About to Get Basile's Tales On Film. In English!)

Grannonia and the Fox from The Serpent by Warwick Goble

UPDATE 9pm 5-15-14:

I've updated the cast members announced today, as well as added a description & brief synopsis.

From earlier in the year we learned this from Variety:

Salma Hayek and Vincent Cassel are set to topline Italian helmer Matteo Garrone’s “The Tale of Tales,” the helmer’s follow up to “Reality,” which won a Grand Prize at Cannes.

The English-language film will shoot in Italy during the spring. Garrone’s most ambitious project to date, the period fantasy is based on three tales from Giambattista Basile’s “Lo cunto de li cunti.”

(It would seem Vincent Cassel is on a fairy tale kick, no? We totally approve. And at least this one we will get to see!)

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UPDATED 9pm 5-15-14: Just today it was announced that John C. Reilly (Chicago) and Toby Jones (Frost/Nixon) have also joined the cast. 

And a description & brief synopsis from The Hollywood Reporter: 

The film is described as an Italian baroque era fantasy story.It is inspired by and loosely based on Tale of Tales by Giambattista Basile, a 17th century Neapolitan author whose fairytales are recognized as the forerunners of worldwide fantasy literature.

Garrone co-wrote the story and screenplay with Edoardo Albinati, Ugo Chiti and Massimo Gaudioso, with the script billed as a “fantastic journey through the baroque era, narrating the stories of three different kingdoms and their respective sovereigns.” 

SHORT SYNOPSIS:

From the bitter quest of a jealous queen (Hayek) who forfeits the life of her husband (Reilly), to two mysterious sisters yearning for youth in order to provoke the passion of a king (Cassel), to a king (Jones) obsessed with a giant flea leading to heartbreak for his young daughter, the stories weave the beautiful with the grotesque. 

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Well it's now in production in Sicily and there's a little more news about this English language (yes!) fairy tale film.

The Prince and Filadoro with the snails from The Dove by Warwick Goble

(I cannot believe how excited I am about this!)

Excerpted from the exclusive Variety interview:

Q: The movie you are about to shoot is based on “The Tale of Tales,” a collection of fairy tales by 17th century Italian author Giambattista Basile which, among other stories, contains the earliest versions of famous fables like “Rapunzel,” “Hansel and Gretel,” “Sleeping Beauty” and “Cinderella.” What made you want to work with this book?  A: I chose to enter Basile’s world and make it my own because when I read them I immediately felt these stories were something familiar. I really connected with their spirit,  their irony and also with their dark aspects. In his fables I found that mix of real and unreal that has always characterized what I strive for as an artist. This project could seem far-removed from the rest of my work to date. But actually I think it pretty much fits in with what I’ve done so far. 

Rita riding on the dolphin
from The Three Enchanted Princes by Warwick Goble

Q: How so?  A: Among my movies, “The Embalmer,” or “First Love” or even “Gomorra,” and also “Reality” all had fable-like elements. Perhaps in those cases I took my cue from reality to transfigure it into a fantasy-like, or dreamlike, dimension. Whereas this time I’m doing the reverse, I’ve taken fable-like situations and turned them into something more realistic and believable. However, it’s the first time I’m venturing into supernatural territory and playing with magic.  

Q: In terms of genre how would you describe it?  A: I would call it a fantasy film with horror elements.  

Q: What are some of the themes in “Tale of Tales”?  A: The stories we chose to work with are amazing because they are so modern, so contemporary. They comprise a yearning for youth and physical beauty, the suffering of a woman willing to do anything to have a child, generational conflict, the struggle for power.

Parmetella gathering the golden leaves from The Golden Root by Warwick Goble

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Added from The Hollywood Reporter today:

Garrone said: “I chose to enter Basile's world because I found in his fables the mix between reality and fantasy that has always defined my artistic research. The stories described in Tale of Tales form a world in which all the opposites of life are exposed: the ordinary and the extraordinary, the magical and the mundane, the real and the surreal, the simple and artificial, the sublime and the filthy, the terrible and the pleasing.”

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Interestingly, while many places shoot on set to look like it's set in a real place, Garrone has taken the opposite approach. They spent seven moths location scouting throughout Italy, looking for real and complete places that looked as if they might actually be a set.

According to IMDB (which isn't exactly the best source, but the only one I could find with a date) the film is set to be released sometime during 2014 in Italy at least. That will be some quick post production if they do! Maybe Christmas..?

I already like the sound of how this is going to look and what it's about. I hope it's stunning and draws a lot of people in. I was just thinking at the beginning of the year that there aren't enough beautiful looking volumes of Basile's tales. Other than the versions with Warwick Goble's illustrations and the one with George Cruikshank's, they all look old, outdated, cheaply printed and not at all precious or important, which is not how they should be presented at all. We need some Il Pentamerone volumes that look like the gorgeous - and loved - collections available of Grimm's andAndersen's tales. Then people might actually pic them up and read them again. Hopefully this film will do that too.

The Lizard showing Goat-Face the palace by Warwick Goble

Click on the image below to go to a simple overview of The Pentamerone:

And once you have the overview, head over to SurLaLune to do some in depth reading, starting HERE.

"Maleficent" Clip: Fairy Godmother

Sun Princess

Beautiful, a faery’s child;

Her hair was long,

her foot was light,

And her eyes were wild.

~John Keats

Oh Aurora, bless your little heart... I do hope we get to see that Maleficent encouraged your "wild side" just a bit.  

Such naivety does not become a ruler-to-be.

Did you see Maleficent's face at the end? Perfect.It's how I often feel when I see fairy tales brought to life too...

"Cinderella" Live Action Movie Teaser Trailer Released

OK so it's more of a music preview video with a shoe. But the response so far today has been CRAZY! One glass slipper and people are nuts.

(And people ask why Disney keeps making Cinderella.)

Anyway, enjoy the shoe!

Disney's live action Cinderella is slated for release in March, 2015.

OK Disney MARCH. That's NEXT year. What about this year's Into the Woods. Can't we even have a poster yet?

Also: Did that butterfly just DIE??! OMG no! :(

Lisa Stock's "The Buried Moon"

The Buried Moon (Self portrait) by Lisa Stock: InByTheEye
(See larger version HERE)

Mythic filmmaker and fairy tale friend Lisa Stock has once again found a new expression to explore hers - and our - connection with fairy tales and the universal themes and questions they hold.

The new image is actually a very unusual, and beautiful, self-portrait, inspired by the fairy tale The Buried Moon.

From Lisa's filmmaker blog (for InByTheEye):

A big thank you to Lisa (Lisa Derrick of Fire Dog Lake) for sharing this (fairy tale, The Buried Moon) with me. I was so moved by the mutual admiration between humans and the moon.  It’s also one of those stories where you can see yourself in every character: days when you’re the mischievous crawler who wants to hiss at any thought of vibrancy; or perhaps your light has been diminished, and you feel like you’re sinking in the muck; but there too are humans, that part of us that goes out and faces our fears to regain our light.  Therefore I decided to make this image a self-portrait (that’s me inside the moon).

Read more about her inspiration and the process of creating the image HERE.

A few weeks back, Lisa was interviewed at Fire Dog Lake about her filmmaking, her journey to becoming a filmmaker, her work, current projects and her love of myth and fairy tale. I've been aiming to transcribe the portion of the Q&A in which Lisa discusses fairy tales but it's taken me a while to get all the notes and comments in order (it was conducted in a comment-and-reply-to-comment fashion so multiple threads were being discussed simultaneously at some points!). I've finally managed to finish putting together the sections discussing fairy tales, to coincide with her releasing a new fairy tale image we can enjoy and reflect on.

Here's Lisa Stock on fairy tales (and her work using fairy tales) excerpted from the interview at Fire Dog Lake:

Lisa Derrick

You directed a Neil Gaiman play–that’s pretty rad! Tell us a bit about that… (we're getting to your films, honest!)

Lisa Stock 

“Snow, Glass, Apples” was a great experience. I was working with a group to raise money for the East Atlanta community association. I contacted Neil to see if I could adapt the short story. It’s done as a radio play – but I did my own adaptation. I’ve always really loved that story and the way it unfolds. The narrative structure is so interesting. He said Yes! And I directed it as an immersive theater experience. The audience literally walked into the market where the play took place. BUT… my favorite part about the play – was my forest chorus. I created a traditional Greek classic chorus using dancers who had branches in their hands – and they would guide the audience and sometimes interact with the characters. I loved them!

"SNOW, GLASS, APPLES" Photos: https://www.flickr.com/photos/inbytheeye/sets/72157627465912949/

Neil Gaiman's "Snow, Glass, Apples"
with the Forest Chorus and Victoria Hay as The Queen poisoning the apple

We also tricked the audience a bit. We drew them in close in the beginning as the princess was walking among the trees and then the huntsman cuts her heart out right there in the very beginning in front of all of them. Blood everywhere – it was so gross. But we had fun.

Created for Snow, Glass, Apples
by Jen Parrish of Parrish Relics

Lisa Derrick

Wow! Theater should surprise and excite.
You live/create in place where the veil between world is very thin (you contributed to a book about mythical origins of favorite foods). Did you read a lot of fairy tales as a child (I did, and I see most things that go in my life on a few different story tellling levels).

Lisa Stock 

Yes – Primal Picnics! Great book and it comes with recipes from each of the authors. What I like about that book and its tie to food – is that food is so important in so many fairy tales. It’s the breath of life, food, sun, earth.

Lisa Derrick

The little girl who trod on loaf…one of the creepiest stories ever!

Lisa Stock 

I read a lot of fairy tales – I also read a lot of things with fun language, Dr. Suess, Shel Silverstein. When it came to fairy tales – I more wanted to see paintings and the pictures, I was very visual. Then I’d make up my own stories to with the pictures. My parents put big pictures on my walls as a child – animals and trees, and I’d lie in bed at night and just make up stories in my head until I fell to sleep. (After they had read me a story or two)- I still do that just on a bigger scale now.

Lisa Derrick

So re Persephone (which Lisa recently finished filming a web series on) –I have a version in my head that I think is true–that humans got lazy with the endless sun and harvest and stopped worshipping the Olympians, and in despair turned to the Titan Hekate, who had been given to Hades as his bride. She came up a plan to make Demeter weep–and more importantly ne which allow her to go above ground for part of the year.
And Persephone thought hades with his black steeds and smoke was kinda hot (like a rock star on his Harley), so she wasn’t exactly “kidnapped” she ran off with the bad boy who promised her gems and and a kingdom…

Lisa Stock

I like it!
Several years ago – I had the amazing opportunity to see Clarissa Pinkola Estes give a talk on Little Red Riding Hood and she traced it’s origins back to the myth of Persephone. Amazing!
The same idea though – Red was in charge of her own fate in the earliest versions of the tale.
It was important to me that my Persephone make her own decision by the end of the series. She’s a very different person from episode 1 to episode 8.

Lisa Derrick

I just started watching it! Can’t wait to see all 8! Wow…I hadn’t thought of that (Persephone being traced back to Red).

Lisa Stock

Let me know your thoughts!

Production photo from Persephone

Lisa Derrick

One of my favorite stories is from Andrew Lang’s More English Fairy Tales: "The Buried Moon".
The creatures who live in the swamp capture the moon and bury her so they can do their mischief. It’s very scary for mankind, but luckily the wise woman tells them to look for a cross, a candle and a coffin…they see the moons hair flickering (candle), the rock covering her (coffin), and the vines used to bind her hand (cross) and set her free..

Lisa Stock

Oh – that sounds beautiful. Haven’t read that one. (adding to nook list) Have you read Calvino’s Cosmic Comics? Not a fairy tale, but the first story is a larger than life look at the moon.

Every once in a while I just like to have a project where I have no deadlines and no expectations and can go out with my camera and see what the landscape brings, and then take it home, put the footage in my edit system and see what happens. I often come away with something I’ll use in a larger project.

Lisa Stock

I used PERSPEHONE to do a lot of experimenting, visually, but also emotionally as well. I wanted her to grow just a bit in each episode. Discover something new about her world and herself. How did her world, reveal something more about herself?

Lisa Derrick

I think some feminists are gonna show up brandishing torches and pitchforks when I say this, but i do feel a difference in the directorial styles of women and men filmmakers, even going back to Ida Lupino and Leni Riefenstahl.

Triptych Heart (experimental film inspired by Maya Deren)

Lisa Stock

I agree. I think men and women have different ways of looking at the world. But above that – it’s the unique eye of the woman – whether me, or Sophia Coppola, or Julie Taymor. A BIG influence on me is Maya Deren.

Here is a favorite quote from Maya Deren:

“Cameras do not make films; film-makers make films. Improve your films not by adding more equipment and personnel but by using what you have to its fullest capacity. The most important part of your equipment is yourself: your mobile body, your imaginative mind, and your freedom to use both. Make sure you do use them.” – MD

I hope though – that a woman would not be afraid to film the world as she sees it – because she feels it has to appeal to a certain demographic. I don’t really believe in those categories. There are audiences for all kinds of films.

One of the things I like about social media (is) I can see your work where I might not otherwise, say 10 years ago, have had the chance. It’s a great thrill to know that you can put your film up online and reach someone half way across the world. But more important to me, is that I can go out onto the web and find someone who is creating art that rally inspires me.

Connie Toebe's work for Through the Cobweb Forest

I collaborate a lot with Connie Toebe, a 3D artist in Chicago. http://www.connietoebe.com. We created an online allegory called “Through the Cobweb Forest” (www.cobwebforest.com) – it tells the story of a woman name Helena who gets shipwrecked on a mysterious island and finds her independence along the way. It’s interactive too – you can zap ships with lighting and make ghosts appear.

Lisa Derrick

Wow! Wow!!

Lisa Stock

Cobweb Forest was taught to students at the University of Malaysia as an example of contextual storytelling. Again – absolutely thrilled and honored that it was being seen across the world. :)

Official 2014 In Production/Teaser Poster

Lisa Derrick

That is astounding, how miraculous technology can be!
How far along is Tatiana, and can you tell us about it?

Lisa Stock

TITANIA – yes! We are in development on that film. It’s inspired by the fairy tale of the Armless Maiden. Titania (from Shakespeare’s fairy queen in Midsummer) has been exiled to an unfamiliar town and is missing her wings. It’s a story of healing and endurance. This one is very personal for me, as I find it has imitated my own life over the past few years. Another story of a woman coming up from her own “Underworld”. http://www.TitaniaFilm.com
We’re hoping to go into principle photography on TITANIA in the Fall. This is the biggest project I’ve ever worked on.

Making Titania - behind the scenes

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Lisa Derrick discusses more of Lisa's filmmaking with her LLC, InBytheEye, and they go behind the scenes of her latest amazing short film HELL. They also talk about why Lisa recommends FilmAnnex for filmmakers and how it has helped her. 

I recommend going and reading the whole interview HERE (you will need to scroll down to the comment section to read the exchanges).

A special and personal thank you Lisa, for continuing to create new work with fairy tales. You show people how relevant these stories are and why we need to keep them all in circulation.

"Never Alone" - A Truly Stunning Video Game Based On Alaskan Native Folklore (Genius!)

“Our stories help us understand how the world is ordered and our place within it,” a man who narrates the trailer says in Inupiat. “What good are old stories if their wisdom can’t be shared?”

This. I want this. I want to play it now. I want to learn all the tales. I want my son to play it. And I'm seriously considering investing in another game platform so we can do it together...

Less than a week ago, a trailer was released for an indie puzzle platformer game and it's been making headlines in gaming and geek communities - not only for it's gorgeous visuals and animation but for the premise behind it: Never Alone's inspiration comes from the centuries-old stories and folklore of the Iñupiat people and was created to assist in imparting the thousands of years old Alaskan native tales and folklore to the next generation.

Take a look:

This is truly a genius way to pass the legends and stories on to the next generation.

As someone deeply interested in both folklore and games, I think it’s wonderful to see a very old storytelling tradition join hands with a new one. (The Mary Sue)

While other games have tapped into this to a small extent with their cultural mythology and legends, like Folklore (based on Celtic tales & myth, which no one seems to have heard of) and Okami (using Japanese myth, legend & folklore, which is fairly well known, award winning and critically acclaimed and incredibly amazing but hard for younger kids to play and get into), there has been nothing quite like this. On top of this Never Alone is beautiful to behold. I really hope it's as wonderful to play and explore as it looks.

Here's the description from Upper One Games, who created it, and are incidentally, the first indigenous-owned game company in history, though their products are for people everywhere. Their mission? To provide games with an educational edge:

Welcome to the top of the world. Where nature challenges life in the extreme. Where death lies waiting in the cold. Where you must explore the fantastical world of Iñupiaq stories to help a young girl save her people from an endless blizzard.

You must succeed or all is lost. This is the first in a new category of games — games which draw fully upon the richness of unique cultures to create complex and fascinating game worlds. Upper One Games paired world class game developers with Alaskan Native storytellers and elders to create Never Alone (Kisima Inŋitchuŋa), a game based on stories that have been handed down for thousands of years. A game which delves deeply into the traditional lore of the Iñupiat people to present an exprience like no other. An atmospheric puzzle platformer of wondrous adventure. A game of survival in a place where survival shouldn't be possible. A game that opens the gateway to explore what it means to be human. 

“We’re extremely proud and excited to be building a truly unique game,” said Gloria O’Neill, president and CEO of Upper One Games. “We’d like to think we’re creating one of the most authentic – and fun – games of the year. Video games are powerful tools for making the history, tradition and culture of indigenous peoples relevant to both the next generation of Native people and the rest of the world.”

Here are the gaming details:

Top Level Features of Never Alone (Kisima Ingitchuna) include: 

• 1- and 2-player modes, both involving cooperative play (in single-player mode, the player can switch between the roles of Nuna and Fox at any time);
• 8 sweeping chapters that take players across treacherous ice floes, Arctic tundra, ice caves, boreal forests, cliff-built coastal villages, and more;
• Game story, settings, characters and gameplay inspired by traditional Iñupiaq folklore, including the story of Kunuuksaayuka (Koo-nook-sah-yoo-ka) that has been handed down for generations among the Iñupiaq people;
• Encounters with traditional Alaska Native folklore characters such as Manslayer, Blizzard Man, Sky People, the Little People and the Rolling Heads;
• Exclusive unlockable insights into the Iñupiaq way of life, told by both Alaska Native elders and youth.
Upper One Games is an initiative launched by Cook Inlet Tribal Council (CITC) in Anchorage, Alaska and its development and publishing partner E-Line Media of New York. The goal of the partnership is to create unique and innovate game experiences that explore and extend global cultures in fresh, vibrant ways by weaving timeless living stories into dynamic and fun games.

While we're on Upper One Games, check out Historia as well; teaching history through interactive play and created to integrate with most social studies standards. I really like the way this company thinks!

Additional sources: HERE, HERE & HERE

"Maleficent" New Clip: Queen of the Moors & Spenser's "The Faerie Queene"

This seems to be from directly after Maleficent's wings were taken from her, aka beginning the transition to the dark side. We get to see a lot of little (and big) forest creatures too.

This appears to tie in with what the IMDB "leak" was saying, that part of the inspiration for fleshing out Maleficent's character comes from Spenser's The Faerie Queene (as well as the ancient Welsh tale of Culhwch and Olwen).

Because this seems the perfect time to post these, here are some pictures of Walter Crane's magnificently illustrated pages from the volumes (note: the Folio Society reproduced these as a special limited edition, sadly way out of my price range). There's a free ebook available HERE. In case you're wondering, the Faerie Queene's name in the poem is Gloriana or Tanaquill (her name before she was queen).

And here is one of my favorite artist's rendition of Acrasia, a character from Spenser's The Faerie Queene.

Acrasia by John Melhuish Strudwick
from Spenser's The Faerie Queene

While you're here, have some extra screen caps from today's Maleficent clip (click to view larger). :)

I just adore these forest creatures. C'mon Disney, my office, ahem, I mean my son could use some toys of these guys! (Whom I kidding, he'd take them to bed with him he loves these little guys so much already.)

Parody of Sofia Coppola's "The Little Mermaid" is Pretty Much Perfect

Yes, it's not even filmed yet, but that's kind of the point.

It’s got all of the Coppola quirks: the indie soundtrack, the drunken karaoke, and of course, the Chateau Marmont. Actually, that’s “Shellteau” Marmont. See you if you can spot the rest. (Source)

It should be noted, this is not meant to disparage Ms. Coppola's work in any way. She's brilliant and amazing. She also has a definable style and that's what is fun to play around with when "predicting" how this live action version of The Little Mermaid could go.  If anything, it's a loving homage disguised as a spoof by Funny or Die.

Personally, I think she's going to have more fun with the fantastic aspects and hit the history more, especially because she's not remaking the Disney film (like they are here) but going back to Andersen's version, but this approach would be fun to see as well.

Admit it, you'd watch this too.

(AnnaSophia Robb is the actress playing the part of Ariel.)

By the way, if you like the main song (Kara Leslie, The Strokes cover of "I'll Try Anything Once"), you can hear and download the extended version of it HERE. 

I'd kind of love it, if this song was ultimately included in the Coppola soundtrack for the movie.

OUAT: The Ice Queen (press release - no spoilers) & "GALAVANT" Is the Bridge For How We Get There (TRAILER ALERT!)

Hi Elsa! (And probably Anna too.) This is your official welcome by ABC to the world of Storybrooke, Maine and the Once Upon A Time fandom:

 

By the way, I've been seeing complaints (and occasionally outrage) that there are "so many people" getting upset that ABC is doing the Frozen version of Elsa instead of The Snow Queen. I just gotta say.... well that's interesting! (And it's not from me.) While I'd personally love to see a little traditional fairy tale Ice Maiden/Snow Queen input, it's pretty clear that OUAT's format and popularity relies upon using known fairy tale characters (usually, but not always, from the Disney canon) in order for the twists in their stories to have so much impact, so, of course it's going to be Elsa from Frozen. I'm very curious to know where all these "fairy tale hipsters"(their term, not mine) causing such a ruckus are from. Although I think it's a little misguided because of what the show essentially is, I kinda love that they're making fans of OUAT and Frozen take somewhat of a look at the old tales, even if it's only to note that they exist.

The other main beef on the interwebs today? That Dreamworks owns the Jack Frost character that a huge portion of the (various) fandoms want to 'ship with Elsa (who is Disney) - and the tears of despair that there is no way that can possibly happen because Dreamworks/Disney = mortal enemies. O.o

Elsa & Jack cosplay by Akatsuki Tsukasa
(click this to see more amazing cosplay including with Anna)

We're so far out from how they're going to manage this yet... I'm just going to say it: let it go, people!  (Don't kill me. )If you're a fan, odds are you will love what they do, if for no other reason than apparently the writer room is like a Frozen mini-fandom and cares just as much as you do. Chill. (And please don't kill me.)

Worried about how you're going to last that long? Enter Galavant (the musical comedy fairy tale show I've posted on HERE as being in development at Disney).

But before it gets too boring to keep reading, look! A crazy, fun, Princess-Bride-meets-Monty-Pythonesque trailer (but with less dirt) to show you we're very unlikely to be bored while we wait... From the writer of Crazy, Stupid, Love and Oscar-Winning Composer Alan Menken… ABC brings you… um, this:

This is so much better than expected. I'm heaving a huge sigh of relief. (And I'm going to take it as an excellent sign that my kid thought it was funny too.)

And yes, it makes complete sense that Galavant would be the bridge show for Oncers. We also know that this time they're not going to screw up the between season programming for this show either, after what happened with OUATinWonderland (for OUATinW it was a mid-season kafuffle, but still, cancellation is a serious price to pay for an oops).

So: fairy tale shows from ABC for the next year at the least. Woot!

(Note: Fairy tale writers: got an ice maiden or Jack Frost story bubbling away? This is the year to get it out there. Just sayin'.)