I tend to get a little cynical when it comes to fairy tale remakes, just because they’re everywhere and I’m sick of them. But there was one I was really looking forward to: Disney’s live-action Cinderella remake, because Cate Blanchett is going to be the evil stepmother and Mark Romanek (Never Let Me Go, One Hour Photo) was going to direct, and how can I resist that?
Except now Romanek’s gone, reportedly because Disney thought his take on the material was too dark. What, was he trying to do an accurate-to-the-original-story version or something? Complete with chopped-off toes and pecked-out eyes?
Deadline writes that “Romanek and the studio have differing views on how to tell the story. Romanek’s is darker, and it’s too dark for this to turn out to be a fairy tale ending.” Darnit. If only it weren’t Disney making this film we might have gotten a shot at seeing a truly dark (as opposed to just “edgy”) fairy tale film.
Disney confirmed that Romanek is leaving, saying “We are committed to moving the project forward and have begun the search for a new director.” The search for a star is ongoing as well: It was reported last month that Saoirse Ronan, Gabriella Wilde, and Alicia Vikander are up for the role of Cinderella, though there’ve been no further developments on that to my knowledge.
At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if Blanchett left, but hey, maybe I’ll be surprised. It’s possible that she will stay and another director will come on board who will make the yet-untitled movie something more than just a blatant cash grab, à la Disney’s upcoming Alice in Wonderland sequel. Maybe if I keep on believing, the dream that I wish will come true.
(via: io9)
