With all the positive hype surrounding Snow White and the Huntsman, we figure Disney must be kicking themselves. Why? The director, Rupert Sanders, went to Disney with the film idea first. And they turned him down.
Disney gave us Snow White and the Seven Dwarves in 1937 but the actual Snow White tale is public domain. Of course the general story most people are familiar with came from Schneewittchen und die sieben Zwerge by the Brothers Grimm in 1812.
But for obvious reasons, Sanders approached Disney to produce the film. Here’s what he had to say about the experience.
“It’s not their property. They can whistle as loud as they like,” he told Hero Complex when they asked if he’d had any trouble with the company. “Ironically, we went to Disney first with the project. They didn’t want it. It’s not owned by Disney. It’s public domain. There is no copyright. There are things they did to the story that are Disney, but the story is for everyone, which is great. So I haven’t heard from Walt.”
As for his versions of the dwarves, “They’re not called Happy, Grumpy, Sneezy and Dopey. In our film, they used to noble gold miners because they could see light in the darkness, and they see that light in Snow White. But while they were down in the caves, the Queen took over, and when they came up, the land was blackened, and all of their tribe was lost. So they’ve lost everything, and they’ve become highwaymen, basically.”
Sanders also said that while his film is intense, it’s still for families, and that it’s definitely different from the other Snow White adaptations we’re seeing these days.
“I think ours has a massive scale to it. I think it has a very rich, emotional web to it. There’s a lot of times people cry when they watch the film, which I’m very happy with,” he said. “And there’s a lot times when they’re like, ‘Holy … !’ It’s very intense, the world comes at you, and you’re like, ‘Whoa!’ I really try to immerse people in that world and put them right in the thick of it. I think it’s a lot visceral and a lot more grounded than the other renditions.”
A lot of folks are wary of the film because of its star, Kristen Stewart, and her connection to the Twilight franchise. “She’s really good. First thing I saw her in was probably Panic Room, and then I saw her in The Runaways and Into the Wild. She’s an incredibly talented actor. I think a lot of people think that she’s Bella Swan because she played that part so well, and she really epitomized that character from the books,” said Sanders. “She’s very serious about what she does, and she’s incredibly gifted, and she’s incredibly intuitive, and she’ll just try different things. It was great to work with her. She’s a very one-of-a-kind actor.”
(via Hero Complex)
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