SyFy's Red

Well, SyFy just may get some of us to watch one of their fairy tale movies with the casting news for their interpretation of Little Red Riding Hood that will be appear next year. Yes, not until 2011.

From Syfy Puts Felicia Day In Her Own Fairly Tale by Graeme McMillan:

We may have been uncertain about Syfy's new fairy tale Saturday Night Original Movies, but that was before we learned that Dr. Horrible and Dollhouse's Felicia Day had gotten involved in a case of near-perfect casting.

Syfy announced today that Day will play "a werewolf-hunting descendant of Little Red Riding Hood" in Red, a Syfy Channel Original Movie scheduled to premiere next year. According to the press release, Day won't be the only werewolf-hunter in the movie:

In the action-packed Red, Red (Day) brings her fiancé home, where he meets the family and learns about their business – hunting werewolves. He's skeptical until bitten by a werewolf. When her family insists he must be killed, Red tries saving him.

There are many news stories about this press release, but this was my favorite...

And aren't you at least a little tempted by Felicia Day as Red?

And in similar news, today it was confirmed that Amanda Seyfried [Is] To Star In Catherine Hardwicke's 'Red Riding Hood'.

On SyFy This Weekend--Red: Werewolf Hunter

This weekend brings us the second in SyFy Channels fairy tale movie series, Red: Werewolf Hunter.  From the little I heard the first movie, a Beauty and the Beast interpretation, was a bust but this one looks much more promising. The star, Felicia Day, is doing a publicity circle around the web in promotion of the movie.

From Felicia Day talks RED:WEREWOLF HUNTER:

Felicia stars in Syfy’s original movie RED: WEREWOLF HUNTER, airing Saturday, October 30 at 9pm/8 central. She plays Virginia Sullivan, a descendant of the original Red Riding Hood who is trying to live a life outside her family’s normal business of hunting werewolves, but runs into problems when she brings her fiancé home to meet the family and he’s bitten by a werewolf.

***

On Red: Werewolf Hunter

Felicia said that the film uses the original ‘Little Red Riding Hood’ tale as a jumping off point to create a modern day story. While there are a few brief flashbacks to the original Red Riding Hood, Felicia said, “This movie is set in the real world and my family is tasked with keeping werewolves from the real world.” There is a struggle of family and obligation in the movie, and Felicia teased, “There’s a lot of drama and blood, too, which is fun.”

The film shot in Toronto and used a lot of cool locations, including a shanty town that was an old set that had deteriorated. They also used a very old house that was half-renovated and Felicia said the fight scenes there utilized every aspect of the home’s architecture. She called it a whirlwind shoot and said the cast and crew all worked well together.

Felicia said Red is a very dramatic, serious film with strong horror elements, but that it also infuses a sense of fun. She said that it sometimes goes over the top in “the very best way,” and used the arsenal of weapons in the film as an example of that. Virginia uses guns, knives, even a harpoon and other characters uses a kind of cyberpunk Tommy gun. She also said to watch out for all the weapons on the walls.

On the role of Virginia

When asked what drew her to the role of Virginia, Felicia explained it actually came at a time when she had already turned down two things because she was so busy writing season 4 of The Guild, but she read the script and it was right up her alley: “I was a huge fairy tale fan and I tried to minor in folk lore in college, but my dad said that was ridiculous.” She also said that it looked like a fun challenge because it is different than the roles she normally plays and she was flattered to be asked to star in a Syfy film.

According to Felicia, Virginia is more mature than much of what she plays and she had to work to keep her grounded. She said, “I have a perception in my head that I’m tougher than I look,” and she had to draw on that for this role. She thinks that she and Virginia share a desire to bring out the best in other people because both are deeply caring people. She also thinks both put others first.

When asked whether Red is similar to her Buffy character, Vi, Felicia said that Red “takes that idea of being chosen and shows the dark side of it.” Virginia is not comfortable with the destiny of being a werewolf hunter that was decided before she was even born, whereas Vi found herself in her destiny. Felicia thinks Mag, her character on Dollhouse, is more similar to Virginia.

Felicia trained very hard for the role and had a great time shooting the fight scenes. She said she loved “being able to run and jump on people and slash.” She ended up with a lot of bruises, but no real injuries.

Her two favorite scenes to shoot were one where Virginia is “completely disempowered” because it was fun to do such a dramatic scene and the finale, which had so much to coordinate.

So set your DVRs for this one if it interests you or if you are just a Felicia Day fan.  And on a side note, the SyFy channel has added Riese to their website, a steampunk series that has gotten a lot of positive buzz.  I haven't watched it yet, but it's on my list...

Syfy's New Fairy Tale Film: Witchslayer Gretl and Black Forest

The Syfy (Silly*) Channel is having an enchanted Saturday this week on 2/25/2012. They are re-airing Red: Werewolf Hunter which premiered last year starring Felicia Day as well as two new films in one night, Black Forest and Witchslayer Gretl (also titled Gretl: Witch Hunter on the SyFy site, great way to simplify the branding, Syfy, it's not clear which title is preferred). Beauty and the Beast (2010) is not on the schedule but two premieres in one day is impressive.

And the campiness will be thick across your screen, so be warned.

From the SyFy press release at the Examiner:

Tinsel Korey (The Twilight Saga) and Shannen Doherty (90210) become embroiled in two dark takes on the increasingly popular fairy tale genre – the first ever Syfy Original Movie Double Feature.

Black Forest, starring Tinsel Korey and Ben Cross (Chariots of Fire), tells the chilling story of tourists lost in a magical forest, who battle evil fairy tale creatures plotting to kidnap one of their babies and slaughter the rest of them. A production of UFO Films, Black Forest airs Saturday, February 25 at 7PM (ET/PT).

Shannen Doherty and Paul McGillion (Stargate Atlantis) star in Gretl: Witch Hunter, premiering Saturday, February 25 at 9PM (ET/PT). Twenty years after his encounter with the witch, a grown-up Hansel returns to the haunted forest, seeking revenge. But there's a surprise waiting -- his sister Gretl (who he thought had been killed) is the witch's protégée. Gretl: Witch Hunter is a production of Vesuvius Productions and distributed by Sony Pictures Television.

Here is a promo for both movies, very short:



Here is the official promo for Witchslayer Gretl:



Here is a longer preview for Gretl:



There was a longer promo video on Syfy.com but I couldn't find a version to embed here. Be warned that Snow White doesn't make it after meeting the dwarves....

*I am NOT calling science fiction and fantasy silly here. I am still protesting SciFi Channel's rebranding into a silly name as well as logo design that now looks like Silly whenever I first look at it. I know there's a long standing debate over the diminuitive term 'sci-fi' which never much mattered to me but I find syfy rather insulting myself for some reason.

And then one sees movies like these and begins to wonder anyway... But I never miss Merlin (even if it is BBC) and Face Off can be fun.

New Release: The Twelve Dancing Princesses and Other Fairy Tales (Calla Editions)

The Twelve Dancing Princesses and Other Fairy Tales (Calla Editions) is another new release from Calla Editions. This, my dear readers, is one of my favorite books from the Golden Age of Fairy Tale illustration. I adore Kay Nielsen's illustration work, perhaps in part because it is so unexpected for me to love it. And this book is worth owning for The Twelve Dancing Princesses alone but then you get extra French fairy tales!Illustrated! By Kay Nielsen! How many more exclamation points do you really want from me on a Monday morning?!

And if you love this one, don't miss East of the Sun and West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North (Calla Editions) either. Because then you get East of the Sun and West of the Moon! Illustrated by Kay Nielsen! (I could do this all day so I'll try to stop the enthusiastic punctuation now.)

Book description:

Twenty-three exotic color illustrations in the Art Nouveau style complement a noted folklorist's masterful retellings of traditional fairy tales in a splendid hardcover edition. Seven tales of enchantment include "Minon-Minette," "Felicia, or The Pot of Pinks," "Rosanie, or The Inconstant Prince," "The Man Who Never Laughed," "John and the Ghosts," "The Czarina's Violet," and the title tale.

And for all of you not already in the know: Kay Nielsen was a man. And his first name rhymes with "high" not "hay." I hear it mispronounced all the time--well, the rare times his name is said in my presence. I am a horrible name and pronunciation person, but this one I can get right!