More About Guillermo del Toro's Beauty and the Beast Film

  

So Beauty and Beast are gaining momentum these days. The blog title says More About Guillermo del Toro's Beauty and the Beast because I first posted about this possible movie last July. I haven't forgotten about this one because I've been the most hopeful about it, to be honest.

Apparently all the fairy tale hype has it moving into the media's sights again, but that is good news for all of us.

And when articles like this Guillermo del Toro to Direct 'Beauty and the Beast' Tale for Warner Bros. say:

Guillermo del Toro is attached to direct Beauty, a new take on the Beauty and the Beast tale set up at Warner Bros. Harry Potter actress Emma Watson is attached to star. At the same time, the studio has hired Andrew Davies to write the script.

The deal has been in the works since last spring, when del Toro first began working with producers Denise De Novi and Alison Greenspan on a take. The project was initially an adaptation of the novel Beauty: A Retelling of the Story of the Beauty and the Beast by Robin McKinley but it has evolved since. Watson came on board last summer but it was always a question whether del Toro would act as a producer or join the project as a director as well.

Or this one Guillermo del Toro Will Direct Beauty & The Beast Film Starring Emma Watson! says:

It’s fairy tale fever this year and Hollywood is Beauty and the Beast crazy town at the moment. We summarized yesterday that two television shows are in the works as well as a movie. Well there was already another film in the works, Beauty (or Beast?), which is now moving ahead with Guillermo del Toro at the helm and Harry Potter’s Emma Watson as the star. (We assume she’d play Beauty but wouldn’t it be interesting if she played the Beast?) I think my body is vibrating with excitement.

It's easy to get a little excited isn't it?

But even Robin McKinley has chimed in on this one, mostly to keep the logjam of enthusiasm at her door to a minimum. From her blog today:

I had no idea that news of del Toro’s BEAUTY AND THE BEAST project was about to be shot out there—or that there was news of del Toro’s B&B project. Which is another part of my point. Yes, Warner’s optioned BEAUTY* a while ago, but there are like 1,000,000,000,000,000,000 options bought for every ONE movie made, so while option money is lovely because you haven’t done anything extra for it except sign your name, I didn’t take it seriously. I’ve been optioned before. I did register the fact that it was del Toro and Emma Watson behind Warner’s interest, two filmy people whom I’ve even heard of**, an almost un-heard-of situation, and I therefore asked Merrilee about six months after signing if there’d been—by wild, unforeseen circumstance—any movement on the option, and she said there wasn’t. At which point I forgot about it.

So to reiterate: I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THIS. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THIS. Except that I signed an option contract a while ago. IT IS STILL VERY UNLIKELY THAT THE MOVIE WILL BE MADE. And IF IT IS MADE IT PROBABLY WON’T HAVE ANYTHING IN COMMON WITH MY NOVEL EXCEPT THE PRESENCE OF A BEAUTY AND A BEAST. Maybe. With del Toro you never really know. Which can be a good thing. If disconcerting.

So go ahead and reread one or all of McKinley's books while we wait to see if the movie does get made.

And perhaps del Toro will make the film and it will be interesting to see since his work usually is. Or he will decide fairy tales are passe already and pass on it. Who knows?