Posts tagged sleeping beauty

First official image of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent revealed Disney has unveiled the first official image of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, the wicked fairy who was the big bad in Sleeping Beauty.Continuing the trend of reinventing fairytales for the cinema (which has seen sizeable box office returns for Alice In Wonderland and Snow White And The Huntsman), Maleficent is pitching itself as the untold story…

First official image of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent revealed

Disney has unveiled the first official image of Angelina Jolie as Maleficent, the wicked fairy who was the big bad in Sleeping Beauty.

Continuing the trend of reinventing fairytales for the cinema (which has seen sizeable box office returns for Alice In Wonderland and Snow White And The Huntsman), Maleficent is pitching itself as the untold story…

50 Greatest Disney Movie Moments

50 Greatest Disney Movie Moments

50 Greatest Disney Movie Moments

50 Greatest Disney Movie Moments

50 Greatest Disney Movie Moments

50 Greatest Disney Movie Moments

50 Greatest Disney Movie Moments

50 Greatest Disney Movie Moments

Tim Burton no longer making Maleficent for Disney Tim Burton has departed pre-production of Disney’s fairytale reimagining Maleficent.The re-telling of Sleeping Beauty was in very early stages, with Burton interested in helming the story of evil witch Maleficent, who casts a nasty spell on Princess Aurora.Burton’s departure from the film appears to be an amicable one, with his Alice In Wonderland scriptwriter Linda Woolverton still attached to scribe Maleficent’s script.Meanwhile, Burton is still pressing ahead on his Frankenweenie feature over at the Mouse House.

Tim Burton no longer making Maleficent for Disney

Tim Burton has departed pre-production of Disney’s fairytale reimagining Maleficent.

The re-telling of Sleeping Beauty was in very early stages, with Burton interested in helming the story of evil witch Maleficent, who casts a nasty spell on Princess Aurora.

Burton’s departure from the film appears to be an amicable one, with his Alice In Wonderland scriptwriter Linda Woolverton still attached to scribe Maleficent’s script.

Meanwhile, Burton is still pressing ahead on his Frankenweenie feature over at the Mouse House.

Cannes 2011: Emily Browning on Sleeping Beauty Sleeping Beauty premiered at Cannes yesterday, and Total Film were big fans - you can read our reaction to the film here. We sat down for a chat with star Emily Browning who is at the festival to promote the film; On taking the role… “There was no hesitation, I was sent the script and halfway through I knew I wanted to be a part of it. I had no idea who was making it, I knew whoever had written it was also directing. I thought ‘I wanna be a part of this’.  I had such a visceral reaction to the script, it made me so physically uncomfortable, which I think is a good thing, when something affects you that much. When I met Julia we clicked instantly, and even though she’d never made a film before it was so clear in the script that she had such a knowledge of cinema - the way it was written was so cinematic already, that I just trusted her instincts. The fact that she was being mentored by Jane Campion, and that she could just call Jane up if she had a problem - that made me feel pretty safe also.” On her character, Lucy… “Julia is an amazing writer, and it was very, very clear to me on the page who Lucy was. Obviously you bring your own subtlties I suppose, but the character was very clear from the start. Also, when I met Julia I though, ‘Oh, you’re kind of like Lucy.’ I think this characters is in some ways like Julia, and so that actually helped me a lot, just watching Julia.  I don’t know if she realised what was happening (laughs). When we finished the film, Jane Campion wrote me a letter and said there’s a duality with you and Julia, she saw that that was there too, between Julia and the way I’d played the character.  I took a lot of Julia and the way that I saw her and put that into Lucy, but it was very clear on the page to me as well.” On preparing for the role… “I watched Belle Du Jour, obviously, everyone guesses that (laughs).  I watched Anti Christ at Julia’s request, less because there’s a similarity in the female characters, but because Charlotte Gainsbourgh’s performance in that film was so brave.  She totally threw herself into that role, and that was inspiring to see somebody else do that.  Another film that I really connected with in terms of this film was The Piano Teacher by Michael Hanneke. I think Isabelle Huppert’s character in that film is similar to Lucy in her coldness, and stillness, and the perverse fascination with the disturbing things going on around her. On the nudity in film… Nudity isn’t a taboo in European film, which is great. I think that’s the best attitude - everybody has one, I don’t really see an issue there. In Australia people have been a little bit weird about it to me, and I think in America it’s absolutely still a taboo, which I don’t get. I don’t really understand. People are saying ‘oh you’re being exploited’ but I entirely disagree. I felt as though I had so much control in terms of this character. I really trusted Julia, and I think it’s far more freeing to play a character where you feel so comfortable that you can be naked, but it’s not exploitative.  I would feel far more used if I was playing  a vacuous arm candy in a romantic comedy.  I couldn’t think of anything worse, it’s really not my cup of tea. In this industry if you’re not passionate about the work you’re making it can become a sad place, if you’re there just for money or exposure it can become kind of devastation.  I’m far more interested in playing challenging roles and I feel like this film challenged me so much, now I’ve got to see how much further I can take it, see if there’ anything more intense out there. I don’t find this film sexy at all, I mean the scenes in the sleeping chamber, it’s disturbing. I felt more comfortable being fully naked than I did being dressed up in lingerie, having to dress sexy - and it was the same thing in Sucker Punch - that made me feel more insecure.  Of course, you get nervous, but after the first time I did it realising that I go into a different world when the camera is on, that it’s not really me, I’ve thrown myself into the character - it didn’t really bother me that much. It’s more when you see it on that giant screen that you go, ‘oh… really?’ (laughs), that’s when it’s more shocking.

Cannes 2011: Emily Browning on Sleeping Beauty

Sleeping Beauty premiered at Cannes yesterday, and Total Film were big fans - you can read our reaction to the film here.

We sat down for a chat with star Emily Browning who is at the festival to promote the film;

On taking the role…

“There was no hesitation, I was sent the script and halfway through I knew I wanted to be a part of it.

I had no idea who was making it, I knew whoever had written it was also directing. I thought ‘I wanna be a part of this’. 

I had such a visceral reaction to the script, it made me so physically uncomfortable, which I think is a good thing, when something affects you that much.

When I met Julia we clicked instantly, and even though she’d never made a film before it was so clear in the script that she had such a knowledge of cinema - the way it was written was so cinematic already, that I just trusted her instincts.

The fact that she was being mentored by Jane Campion, and that she could just call Jane up if she had a problem - that made me feel pretty safe also.”

On her character, Lucy…

“Julia is an amazing writer, and it was very, very clear to me on the page who Lucy was. Obviously you bring your own subtlties I suppose, but the character was very clear from the start.

Also, when I met Julia I though, ‘Oh, you’re kind of like Lucy.’ I think this characters is in some ways like Julia, and so that actually helped me a lot, just watching Julia. 

I don’t know if she realised what was happening (laughs).

When we finished the film, Jane Campion wrote me a letter and said there’s a duality with you and Julia, she saw that that was there too, between Julia and the way I’d played the character. 

I took a lot of Julia and the way that I saw her and put that into Lucy, but it was very clear on the page to me as well.”

On preparing for the role…

“I watched Belle Du Jour, obviously, everyone guesses that (laughs). 

I watched Anti Christ at Julia’s request, less because there’s a similarity in the female characters, but because Charlotte Gainsbourgh’s performance in that film was so brave. 

She totally threw herself into that role, and that was inspiring to see somebody else do that. 

Another film that I really connected with in terms of this film was The Piano Teacher by Michael Hanneke.

I think Isabelle Huppert’s character in that film is similar to Lucy in her coldness, and stillness, and the perverse fascination with the disturbing things going on around her.

On the nudity in film…

Nudity isn’t a taboo in European film, which is great. I think that’s the best attitude - everybody has one, I don’t really see an issue there.

In Australia people have been a little bit weird about it to me, and I think in America it’s absolutely still a taboo, which I don’t get.

I don’t really understand. People are saying ‘oh you’re being exploited’ but I entirely disagree.

I felt as though I had so much control in terms of this character.

I really trusted Julia, and I think it’s far more freeing to play a character where you feel so comfortable that you can be naked, but it’s not exploitative. 

I would feel far more used if I was playing  a vacuous arm candy in a romantic comedy. 

I couldn’t think of anything worse, it’s really not my cup of tea.

In this industry if you’re not passionate about the work you’re making it can become a sad place, if you’re there just for money or exposure it can become kind of devastation. 

I’m far more interested in playing challenging roles and I feel like this film challenged me so much, now I’ve got to see how much further I can take it, see if there’ anything more intense out there.

I don’t find this film sexy at all, I mean the scenes in the sleeping chamber, it’s disturbing.

I felt more comfortable being fully naked than I did being dressed up in lingerie, having to dress sexy - and it was the same thing in Sucker Punch - that made me feel more insecure. 

Of course, you get nervous, but after the first time I did it realising that I go into a different world when the camera is on, that it’s not really me, I’ve thrown myself into the character - it didn’t really bother me that much.

It’s more when you see it on that giant screen that you go, ‘oh… really?’ (laughs), that’s when it’s more shocking.

Crowds of people trying to get into Sleeping Beauty, good job we saw it yesterday… Dan #cannes (Taken with instagram)

Crowds of people trying to get into Sleeping Beauty, good job we saw it yesterday… Dan #cannes (Taken with instagram)

Cannes 2011: Sleeping Beauty reaction The second film to screen on the opening day, Sleeping Beauty couldn’t have been more different from the first - Woody Allen’s Midnight In Paris. Described in the notes as a ‘dark, erotic fairytale’, the film sees Emily Browning’s struggling student being paid to sleep while rich men have their way with her. Here are the reactions from the Total Film office; Matthew Leyland: You could pitch it as a cross between Somersault (Abbie Cornish’s breakout) and Belle Du Jour; or, given the numerous scenes of a sexual nature, Sucker Punch: The Unrated Cut. Although in many ways it’s less exploitative than Zach Snyder’s often hopeless opus. Leigh strikes so many inscrutable and ambiguous notes that the film is occasionally in danger of disappearing in a cloud of its own mystique (or up its own whatsit, given all the emphasis on orifices), yet her cool, restrained handling casts an absorbing spell. The director demands a great deal from Browning, but she doesn’t flinch - after this she’ll be a go-to actress for many an edgy auteur. Dan Goodswen: The word ‘erotic’ has been placed quite irresponsibly in the byline; this isn’t a film trying to promote an erotic agenda, instead director Julia Leigh turns the camera into a lingering voyeur, making the near constant nudity unsettling - at times quietly so, and at times thoroughly disturbing. Browning’s performance is at once commanding, assured and fragile. Shedding more than just her clothes, this isn’t the Emily Browning of Sucker Punch or The Uninvited, but a performer who should rightly be in contention for Best Actress come the end of the festival. A brave and highly confident debut from director Julia Leigh (herself competing in the Camera D’or competition for best first time filmmaker), Sleeping Beauty is worth a watch, and will pay off for those who stick with it. Those who tune in expecting gratuitous erotica will likely turn off in disappointment; there are no cheap thrills here.

Cannes 2011: Sleeping Beauty reaction

The second film to screen on the opening day, Sleeping Beauty couldn’t have been more different from the first - Woody Allen’s Midnight In Paris.

Described in the notes as a ‘dark, erotic fairytale’, the film sees Emily Browning’s struggling student being paid to sleep while rich men have their way with her.

Here are the reactions from the Total Film office;

Matthew Leyland:

You could pitch it as a cross between Somersault (Abbie Cornish’s breakout) and Belle Du Jour; or, given the numerous scenes of a sexual nature, Sucker Punch: The Unrated Cut. Although in many ways it’s less exploitative than Zach Snyder’s often hopeless opus.

Leigh strikes so many inscrutable and ambiguous notes that the film is occasionally in danger of disappearing in a cloud of its own mystique (or up its own whatsit, given all the emphasis on orifices), yet her cool, restrained handling casts an absorbing spell.

The director demands a great deal from Browning, but she doesn’t flinch - after this she’ll be a go-to actress for many an edgy auteur.

Dan Goodswen:

The word ‘erotic’ has been placed quite irresponsibly in the byline; this isn’t a film trying to promote an erotic agenda, instead director Julia Leigh turns the camera into a lingering voyeur, making the near constant nudity unsettling - at times quietly so, and at times thoroughly disturbing.

Browning’s performance is at once commanding, assured and fragile. Shedding more than just her clothes, this isn’t the Emily Browning of Sucker Punch or The Uninvited, but a performer who should rightly be in contention for Best Actress come the end of the festival.

A brave and highly confident debut from director Julia Leigh (herself competing in the Camera D’or competition for best first time filmmaker), Sleeping Beauty is worth a watch, and will pay off for those who stick with it.

Those who tune in expecting gratuitous erotica will likely turn off in disappointment; there are no cheap thrills here.

Sleeping Beauty update gets an atmospheric trailer

The first trailer for Julia Leigh’s Sleeping Beauty has arrived, and it looks considerably darker than the other fairytale-inspired movies heading our way. Offering more in the way of evocative imagery and ominous mood-setting than cold hard plot details, the modern update of the story stars Emily Browning (Sucker Punch) as university student Lucy. It appears she’s sucked into a high-class prostitution ring, where she’s drugged into sedation for her clients in a quite radical deviation from the original story.