Monday, May 17, 2010

Disney's Live Action Cinderella





After Disney’s new version Alice in Wonderland turned in a 3D record breaking opening weekend of $116 million and became a global juggernaut, there has been a resurgence of movie interest in timeless classics. For instance, there is a stampede for public domain literary properties like The Wizard of Oz, and Warner Bros is mulling a new version. Universal Pictures is trying to figure out when to unveil a movie version of the stage musical smash Wicked. Now Disney has made a 7-figure pitch deal for Cinderella, the working title of a live action reimagining of the classic fairy tale to be written by Aline Brosh McKenna. She’s the scribe behind The Devil Wears Prada and 27 Dresses, and the upcoming Paramount comedy Morning Glory, and We Bought a Zoo, the Fox comedy which Cameron Crowe will direct--with Fox just setting a December 23, 2011 release date.

Simon Kinberg will produce the new version of Cinderella. The deal is the first that CAA has made for Brosh McKenna since signing her in March. Disney, of course, made the 1950 animated classic Cinderella, and, though the project was shopped around town, it fit the Rich Ross/Disney branded family film mandate like, well, a glass slipper. Being kept under wraps is whether the film will be 3D, or whether there'll be deviations from the original Cinderella story. That Cinderella storyline isn't virgin territory: in recent years, Fox used the concept for the Drew Barrymore-starrer Ever After and Warner Bros used it for the Hilary Duff-starrer A Cinderella Story.

Brosh McKenna and Kinberg began working together on a production rewrite on Date Night, and liked the experience enough to make a $2 million deal last fall for an untitled pitch they are writing for Paramount and Bad Robot partners JJ Abrams and Bryan Burk.

The mind boggles. Especially after the retitling and thoughts that Rapunzel is too girlie and needs to be marketed better to boys...

1 comment:

  1. Yeah, but live action movies tend to be marketed more to adult crowds. Of course, I've never had complaints with Disney adaptions of things myself, but I do understand the wariness.

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