March 23, 2010
Disney, 'Alice' scribe team for film about 'Sleeping Beauty's' evil queen (exclusive)
Having scored a hit with "Alice in Wonderland," Disney and screenwriter Linda Woolverton are teaming to bring to the big screen "Maleficent," a live-action take on the evil queen in the 1959 animated classic "Sleeping Beauty."
"Maleficent" might reunite Woolverton with Tim Burton; it's one of a handful of projects the filmmaker is circling. His interest in the character was piqued in the summer when he was in post on "Alice," and the studio and Burton's camp have been trying to keep a lid on the project, though the Web site Ain't It Cool News mentioned Burton's interest in January.
No deal has been made with Burton, and the hiring of Woolverton is the first concrete step forward in its development.
In "Beauty," Maleficent is a tall green-skinned woman with horns who can morph into several forms, including a terrifying black and purple dragon. The character, who has appeared in many Disney books and TV shows and is a popular Halloween costume, is also the most serious character in Disney's villain stable, featuring a darkness not found in other Disney characters.
Woolverton_linda_200 Woolverton's "Maleficent" movie would tell the classic fairy tale from the point of view of the self-proclaimed "Mistress of All Evil," offering a new take on a classic tale as she did with Lewis Carrol's "Alice."
It is unclear just how dark and edgy Disney -- which had no comment on the project -- wants to make "Maleficent." The dragon scenes in the 1959 feature, for example, are notable for their intensity. But if any filmmaker has a successful track record of making the dark and weird work for families, it's Burton.
CAA-repped Woolverton has a long history with Disney, and is best known for having written on the 1991's "Beauty and the Beast" and 1994's "The Lion King."
