Maleficent Movie Is A Go

[devores]

After the boxoffice success of their reimagining of Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, Disney and screenwriter Linda Woolverton are planning yet another original take on a classic tale; the target this time round is the evil queen in the 1959 animated feature Sleeping Beauty.

Woolverton's wants audiences to see things from the view point of the self-proclaimed ?Mistress of All Evil'. In Sleeping Beauty, Maleficent is a tall green-skinned woman who can morph into various terrifying forms. She's the most serious character in the Disney villain world, featuring a ruthless evilness that is not found in other comparatively tame villains.

It is no wonder then that after directing Woolverton's Alice in Wonderland script, it is being rumoured that Tim Burton might join the project. The iconic director is, after all, the kind of kooky character that could bring the original project to life. It's an all together different question though as to how far the script and the studio will allow Tim Burton to delve into the darkness that he so often depicts in his films.

 

[Brian_WDW74]

This isn't about the theme parks, so I've moved it to the Rumors and News board.

 

[Uncleromulus]

Interesting!! Look forward to see how this plays out..

 

[Jolly Ole Bert]

This is going to be good, and Tim Burton is the guy to get the job done. I'm hoping this film really twists the perspective of Maleficent's character; making audiences have more sympathy as to why she "turned to the dark side", so to speak. I'm guessing that if in order to make Maleficent seem more of a "good" character in this film, the royal family (Sleeping Beauty's parents) would be the main antagonists, and would show audiences why Maleficent felt shunned by the kingdom, causing the turn to evil. I am also guessing that if Burton does direct, Johnny Depp will end up in this film somewhere. I have been intrigued over this project ever since the rumor mill started spinning, and am very glad it has finally gotten the green-light.

 

[BlakeNJ]

There was an online pole I saw this morning asking who you'd like to see play Maleficent.

Choices were:
Catherine Zeta Jones
Angelina Jolie
Kim Catral

FWIW, Maleficent is the most frightening to me and the craziest of them all! In the Villains In Vogue shop at HS, there used to be books that were "My Side of the Story" with the hero on one side and you flipped it over to read the villain's side on the back. I haven't seen them in a while but we have Peter Pan/Hook and it's great.

 

[Ron from Michigan]

Maleficent would make a great movie. I would love to see Tim Burton do this movie.

 

[mike the canuck]

Elle Fanning in Talks to Play Sleeping Beauty in ‘Maleficent’

http://www.slashfilm.com/elle-fanning-sleeping-beauty-maleficent/

After a very long development period, the Sleeping Beauty retelling Maleficent, with Angelina Jolie as the fairy tale’s evil queen, is finally getting rolling. Robert Stromberg was set to direct not long ago, and with a script in hand, a star who wants to make the picture now, and a director ready to go, the Disney project needed just one thing: someone to be Sleeping Beauty.

Now it looks like Elle Fanning could take that role.

Twitch, which has been on point with a good many Oldboy casting breaks of late, says that Fanning is in talks for the role of Princess Aurora, “the young beauty sent into a lengthy slumber in the classic tale.” Deadline quickly confirmed the news.

The younger Fanning was great in last summer’s Super 8, and and you might have had a chance to see her in We Bought a Zoo over the holidays as well. There have been fewer chances to see her in Francis Ford Coppola’s new film Twixt, but hopefully that chance will come soon enough.

If Stromberg seems like he came out of nowhere, rememer that he has effects experience on movies like G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End, and The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, and has worked as production designer on Avatar, Alice in Wonderland, and the upcoming Oz: The Great and Powerful. Those last two are Disney films, which probably made all the difference in getting this job.

 

[diamondpixienc]

Can't wait. I think it will be a hit.

 

[DulcetDiscord]

Awesome, now how can I get myself cast as Merryweather?

 

[Heidi Lou]

O my! How exciting! I have always loved Sleeping Beauty the most and cant wait to see a new spin on this classic!!!

 

[mike the canuck]

Sharlto Copley in Talks for ‘Maleficent’
http://www.slashfilm.com/sharlto-copley-talks-maleficent/#more-126471

Forget Demián Bichir – this week belongs to Sharlto Copley. Just a couple of days ago, the District 9 star was confirmed as the villain in Spike Lee’s Oldboy remake, even as he was packing his bags to shoot Gonzalo Lopez-Gallego’s dark thriller Open Grave in Hungary. Today, Copley’s has entered talks for Disney’s live-action Sleeping Beauty retelling Maleficent, which stars Angelina Jolie in the title role. More details after the jump.

Deadline reports that Copley is negotiating for the role of King Stefan, father of Aurora. I don’t recall the character being that prominent in Disney’s original animated Sleeping Beauty, although my memory of that picture is admittedly rusty. But as Stefan’s being described as the male lead in Maleficent, I imagine he’ll be a fairly major character here. Elle Fanning has been circling the slumbering princess part since March, though she hasn’t quite committed yet.

Written by Paul Dini and Linda Woolverton, Maleficent follows the classic fairy tale from the point of view of its villain, explaining why the self-proclaimed “Mistress of All Evil” was moved to curse the young Princess Aurora in the first place. After going through a string of potential helmers over the past couple of years, Disney finally gave the directing gig to Robert Stromberg in January. Stomberg has previously done visual effects and production design work on films like Disney’s Alice in Wonderland and Oz: The Great and Powerful.

Though Copley first broke out in 2009 with District 9, he’s only appeared in one other film since then, 2010′s The A-Team. If everything pans out, however, he’ll be downright ubiquitous for the next couple of years. In addition to his upcoming roles in Oldboy, Open Grave, and Maleficent, Copley’s already wrapped Europa, a sci-fi thriller, and Elysium, the sophomore effort by District 9 director Neill Blomkamp. Both of those are due out next year. Maleficent will begin lensing this summer for a March 14, 2014 opening.

 

[mike the canuck]

Imelda Staunton, Miranda Richardson, Sam Riley, and More Board ‘Maleficent’

http://www.slashfilm.com/imelda-staunton-miranda-richardson-sam-riley-board-maleficent/

Though Maleficent‘s three leads hail from the States (Angelina Jolie and Elle Fanning) and South Africa (Sharlto Copley), the Disney production is looking to the U.K. to fill up much of its cast list. American India Eisley and Brits Imelda Staunton, Miranda Richardson, Lesley Manville, Kenneth Cranham, and Sam Riley have all just boarded the Robert Stromberg-directed live-action film, which retells the classic Sleeping Beauty tale from the perspective of its villain. The descriptions of their roles also happen to offer quite a few more clues about the movie’s plotline, so hit the jump for more details.

As previously reported, Fanning is signed on to play the slumbering teenage princess opposite Jolie’s Maleficent, while Copley is set to play her father King Stefan. Interestingly, the latest story from THR expands upon Stefan’s background by describing him as “the half-human, half-fairy ******* son of the human king.” Said human king, who tries to take over the fairy kingdom, will be played by Cranham (Layer Cake, Hellbound: Hellraiser II).

Over in fairy land, Richardson is set for the part of Queen Ulla, who has a less than peachy relationship with her niece Maleficent. Veteran actress Richardson is a two-time Academy Award nominee for her work in Damage and Tom & Viv, and was last seen on the big screen as Rita Skeeter in the Harry Potter films.

Eisley, who is best known for playing Shailene Woodley’s sister on ABC Family’s The Secret Life of the American Teenager, will appear in the opening act of Maleficent as a younger version of Jolie’s character, establishing her place in the fairy kingdom’s hierarchy.

Staunton and Manville, meanwhile, will play Knotgrass and Flittle. They comprise two of the three pixies (fairies in Disney’s 1959 animated film) who take care of Aurora. Staunton can currently be heard in Aardman Animations’ The Pirates! Band of Misfits, while Lesley Manville’s recent credits include Benedek Fliegauf’s Womb and Mike Leigh’s Another Year.

Finally, Riley has been cast as Diaval, Maleficent’s right-hand man — or rather, right-hand raven who can take human male form. The rising star first broke out in 2007 with Anton Corbijn’s Control, and will next star in Neil Jordan’s Byzantium and Walter Salles’ On the Road (whenever that hits theaters).

We’ve been curious to see exactly how Maleficent would spin the Sleeping Beauty story, and based on these casting announcements it appears the conflict between Maleficent and Stefan/Aurora will somehow be tied into a struggle between the fairy and human kingdoms. Disney’s sure to reveal more as the summer start date nears, but whatever the storyline winds up being, it’s clear that it’ll have a fantastic cast backing it up. Maleficent will make its way into theaters March 14, 2014.

 

[mike the canuck]

Juno Temple Boards Disney’s ‘Maleficent’

http://www.slashfilm.com/juno-temple-boards-disneys-maleficent/

 

[super mike b]

maleficent would make a great movie. I would love to see tim burton do this movie.

x2

 

[rodkenrich]

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