Once upon a time, Hollywood went looking for plot ideas in a place far, far away. The studio executives skipped over moviemaking brothers like the Coens and Farrellys and found what they were looking for with the Brothers Grimm.
Whether they all live happily ever after will be determined on various Sundays when the opening weekend box office numbers come out.
“If you look at this fairy tale, it’s not a happy ending,” Jeremy Renner told the Star earlier this month as he talked about his upcoming co-starring role in Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters.
He and Gemma Arterton (Quantum of Solace) play the now-grown storybook siblings 15 years after their escape from the kiddie-munching witch. They are now a team of rifle-toting bounty hunters who take down witches for pay.
“Call me mistaken, but I always thought fairy tales had a happy ending,” said Renner with a chuckle. “But I’ve come to realize it’s just not true. We’re revisiting Hansel and Gretel as adults. The last time we saw them they were left alone in the forest by their parents to die. They find a witch’s house covered in candy. The witch tries to kill them; they kill the witch.”
The movie, which opens March 2, is among a bumper crop of fairy tale-inspired films due out in 2012. It’s a trend that started last year with Catherine Hardwicke’s Red Riding Hood, starring Amanda Seyfried and Gary Oldman. Then there was Beastly, a modern teen take onBeauty and the Beast starring Alex Pettyfer as the homely one and Vanessa Hudgens as the girl who sees beyond his facial failings. Neither movie did well at the box office.
Here is the latest batch of old-fashioned tales Hollywood is banking on for modern-day profits:
Mirror, Mirror: One of two Snow White movies out in 2012 and, judging from the trailer, this will be lighter once-upon-a-time comedy fare à la The Princess Bride. Julia Roberts plays the 40-something Evil Queen for laughs. Does this crown make my butt look big? Lily Collins is Snow White, Armie Hammer is the Prince and Nathan Lane adds comic relief. In theatres March 16.
Snow White and the Huntsman: Kristen Stewart is a battle-ready Snow White and Charlize Theron is the truly evil Queen Ravenna who wants her dead. The huntsman (Thor’s Chris Hemsworth), ordered to take Snow White into the woods to do away with her, switches allegiances and becomes her ally instead in a play to take down the queen. Rupert Sanders directs. In theatres June 1.
Jack the Giant Killer: Some of the special effects on Jack the Giant Killer were done in Toronto atSoho VFX for this new take on the classic story. This time the long-standing peace between men and giants is in jeopardy after Jack (About A Boy’s Nicholas Hoult) heads into their kingdom to save a kidnapped princess. Stanley Tucci, Ian McShane, Bill Nighy and Ewan McGregor also star and Bryan Singer directs. In theatres June 15.
toronto
xoxo
Carrie
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