First SWATH Trailer and Articles About It

The Snow White battle royale is over

And not because one project is better than the other. It’s over because they’re so DIFFERENT that comparing becomes pointless.

If you’ve been living under a rock, an ongoing movie business story this year is the “Snow White war” being waged between Universal and Relativity. These two used to be financial partners and used to get along pretty well but obviously somebody ran over someone’s dog because they’ve had a falling out that has led to hundreds of millions of dollars in production spending. On Relativity’s side, they’ve got the newly-titled Mirror, Mirror which stars Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen, Lilly Collins as Snow White and Armie Hammer as Prince Charming and it’s directed by Tarsem Singh. Universal is doing last year’s black-listed Snow White script, Snow White and the Huntsman (now sporting a Hossein Amini rewrite) and starring Charlize Theron as the Queen, Kristen Stewart as Snow White, Chris “Thor” Hemsworth as the Huntsman and Sam Claflin as the Prince.

The fighting began early in the summer when Universal kicked their project from a December 2012 date to June 1, 2012, putting it ahead of Relativity’s project. Relativity answered by going even earlier, to a March 2012 date. A lot of people thought Relativity “won” but then Tarsem went to Comic-Con and talked about how he doesn’t care about scripts or story and Rupert Sanders, the commercial director turned feature-film guy for Huntsman, floored Hall H with his presentation of concept material for his version of the tale. What emerged next was a strikingly different take on the Brothers Grimm classic. Tarsem is making an action-comedy movie aimed at familiesand kids and Sanders is making a more grown up, medieval-ish, Lord of the Rings-ish take that involves a sword-weilding Snow White.

Over the last month we’ve seen several stills from Mirror, Mirror that show Tarsem’s signature bright colors and some elaborate, acid-trippy costumes. It looks fun and pretty. In the first trailer that was just released, Huntsman reveals a considerably darker, more twisted vision. (See it soon before it gets pulled down.) So who is winning now? Well now I don’t think it matters. They’re aiming for totally different demographics ten weeks apart. Ten weeks in movie time might as well be six months. The audiences going to theaters in March vs. June are totally different. I think this whole thing got hyped because of the obvious rift between Universal and Relativity, not because 2012 can’t support two Snow White movies. I think it can support these two Snow White movies.

As for Huntsman, well, it looks terrific. And no, I don’t say that as a Kristen Stewart fan—she’s barely in the trailer. No, it’s all Charlize and she looks incredible, purring her way through her lines and killing people (!!!), and the mirror effect made me gasp out loud. If the whole movie is as gorgeous as this trailer, and if it is as good as advertised (I’ve heard the folks at Universal are ecstatic with it so far), Sanders will emerge as a major, major talent. Universal has bet a lot on this pony and so far, it’s looking like they’re in for a championship ride.


Top 5 aspects of the new ‘Snow White and the Huntsman’ trailer

Today, the first trailer for Snow White and the Huntsman - featuring Kristen Stewart ("Snow White"), Chris Hemsworth ("Huntsman"), and Charlize Theron ("Evil Queen") was unveiled, and a lot can be said about what we saw with it. So, here are the top five favorite aspects of the SWATH trailer.

• The DIALOGUE

Unlike many film trailers, SWATH’s contained a lot of voiceover. These are lines from the film and/or promotional phrases. Whatever the case may be, the writing of these lines was brilliant. They present the fabric of this film to be very fantastic and mystical . . . Like a fairy tale. How about that.

EVIL QUEEN: Do you hear that? It’s the sound of battles fought and lives lost. It once pained me to know that I am the cause of such despair, but now their cries give me strength. Beauty is my power.

EVIL QUEEN: Mirror, mirror on the wall, who is fairest of them all?
MIRROR, MIRROR: You are the fairest, but there is another destined to surpass you. Consumer her heart and you shall live forever.
EVIL QUEEN: Find me someone who doesn’t fear the dark forest to hunt her down.

HUNTSMAN: Why is she of such value?
EVIL QUEEN: That is none of your concern.
HUNTSMAN: And if I refuse?
[Answered with a half dozen spears aimed at his gut.]

EVIL QUEEN: Lips red as blood. Hair black as night. Bring me your heart my dear, dear Snow White.

• THE CGI

The CGI and artwork involved in the promotional posters and the trailer are very advanced, considering production on the film is still on-going. Director Rupert Sanders has a strong background in video game-related films, which means he’s probably been exposed to a great deal of original, well-made CGI concept art over the course of his young career. This has obviously come as a benefit to SWATH. The effects in this (the bursting crow, the slashed torso of the statute minion, the rapid age-to-death victim’s face, THE MIRROR, the BROKEN MIRROR, shall I go on?) all serve the purpose of saying, “Yes, this is the tale you know, but you have never seen it like this.”

• CHARLIZE THERON

There’s a reason this chick won an Oscar for her performance in Monster. She knows how to be the bad guy, unfailingly and without holding anything back. I actually think this villain is a better match for her because – and this is not to infer anything about Theron’s character as an individual, mind you – it allows her extreme beauty to be a factor in her villainy. It was helpful to her portrayal of Aileen Wuornos in Monster for her to be a touch haggard, but it will go an incredibly long way for her work as the Evil Queen to be as gorgeous as she is. But enough about her looks . . . She’s also got a new brand of ferocity to share in this as well.

• THE COSTUMES

The Evil Queen’s costumes were superb. I cannot wait to see more of them. Also, Snow White and the Huntsman wore pretty unremarkable pieces until the battle sequences, and this is a plus. Up until that point, they aren’t supposed to be remarkable. Until she ran away and found the dwarves’ cabin, Snow White was a peasant to the Evil Queen. Until the mirror told her Snow White threatened to take the real crown of her life, “the fairest of them all,” she had little interest in Snow. When she – presumably – winds up storming the Queen’s castle, Snow White should look more significant than before, and so should the Huntsman. Mission accomplished.

• KRISTEN STEWART

Kristen Stewart is said to be working with a few new tools in this one, and while some might say we haven’t seen enough of her to decide here, I’d say we are given a very adequate teaser of what she’s up for with Snow White. For the first time – pretty much ever, except perhaps the as-yet-unreleased The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2– she’s going to be a centerpiece of action sequences. Also, she’ll be a very evolving central character. Here’s an opportunity for her to put it all out there. She’s going to take that up, that much is clear.

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xoxo
Carrie