Maleficent

Juno Temple Joins MALEFICENT Starring Angelina Jolie

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: May 17th, 2012 at 2:06 pm

Juno Temple has joined the cast of the Sleeping Beauty re-imagining, Maleficent.  The movie is from the point-of-view of the eponymous evil sorceress (Angelina Jolie), who cursed Aurora (Elle Fanning) to a permanent sleep on her 16th birthday.  According to THR, Temple will play Temple will play the pixie Thistletwit who, like the other two pixies, Knotgrass (Imelda Staunton) and Flittle (Leslie Manville), is neglectful and superficial.  The cast also includes Sharlto Copley, Miranda Richardson, Kenneth Cranham, Sam Riley, and India Eisley.

I feel like I’ve missed a movie where Juno Temple was great and led her to be in plenty of other movies.  I’ve seen her in Year One, Killer Joe, Greenberg, Cracks, and Small Apartments, and I’ve found her forgettable every time.  If someone could please direct me to her breakthrough film, I would greatly appreciate it.  There’s plenty more Temple on the way as the actress co-stars in The Dark Knight Rises, The Brass Teapot, Lovelace, Truck Stop, Little Birds, and Wild Side.  Maleficent opens March 14, 2014.

Imelda Staunton, Miranda Richardson and More Join Angelina Jolie in MALEFICENT

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 7th, 2012 at 1:30 pm

Director Robert Stromberg just took a major step forward in assembling his cast for Disney’s live-action fantasy Maleficent.  Angelina Jolie is already set as the titular lead in this retelling of the Sleeping Beauty tale from the villain’s point of view, and we recently learned that District 9 star Sharlto Copley had joined the cast as the male lead.  Now it appears that Imelda Staunton (Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix), Miranda Richardson (Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire), Kenneth Cranham (Hot Fuzz), Sam Riley (On the Road), and Lesley Manville (Another Year) have been added to the roster.  Hit the jump for more.

[Update: Variety adds that India Eisley (The Secret Life of the American Teenager) will play a younger version of Jolie's character in the opening sequence of the film.]

Sharlto Copley in Talks to Join Angelina Jolie in MALEFICENT

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 3rd, 2012 at 3:03 pm

It’s turning out to be a very exciting month for District 9 star Sharlto Copley.  He recently landed the villain role in Spike Lee’s Oldboy remake, he’s poised to star in the thriller Open Grave, and now he’s set in a starring role opposite Angelina Jolie in a tentpole Disney release.  Deadline reports that Copley is in talks to play the male lead in the Mouse House’s Maleficent.  He’ll play the character of King Stefan in the pic, which tells the Sleeping Beauty story from the villain’s point of view.

We heard in March that the very talented Elle Fanning was in talks to star as the do-gooder princess, but this latest report makes no mention of the actress.  It’s possible that she’s still in negotiations, or things might have gone south and she’s now out of the project completely.  Nevertheless, production is set to begin next month in London under the direction of Robert Stromberg, the production designer of Avatar and Alice in Wonderland who is making his feature directorial debut with the fantasy pic.  Maleficent is slated for March 14th, 2014.

New Release Dates for THE DICTATOR and MALEFICENT

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: April 9th, 2012 at 1:36 pm

Release dates have been announced for The Dictator and Maleficent.  Here’s the breakdown:

• Paramount has moved back the comedy The Dictator five days to May 16th in order to avoid sharing the May 11th weekend with Tim Burton‘s comedy Dark Shadows. [Deadline]
• Disney has slated the Sleeping Beauty re-imagining, Maleficent, for March 14, 2014.  The film stars Angelina Jolie as the eponymous evil sorceress.

Hit the jump for more on both films and their box office competition.

Angelina Jolie Talks MALEFICENT; Says the Character Will Keep the Horns

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 26th, 2012 at 10:13 am

After getting behind the camera for the drama In the Land of Blood and Honey, Angelina Jolie will get back in front for the fairy-tale re-imagining Maleficent.  Director Robert Stromberg‘s spin on the Sleeping Beauty tells the story from the eponymous villain’s point of view.  Jolie recently commented on what we can expect from the upcoming film, which is scheduled to start shooting in June.

Hit the jump for what Jolie had to say about Maleficent including her take on the character’s personality, how Maleficent can be good for young girls, and how the sorceress will look.

Elle Fanning in Talks to Join Angelina Jolie in MALEFICENT (Update: MALEFICENT to Start Shooting in June)

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: March 8th, 2012 at 2:50 pm

We recently reported that Angelina Jolie had settled on Disney’s Maleficent as her next movie, and now it looks like producers have found their protagonist. Jolie has long been attached to play the powerful villain in the pic, and now Twitch reports that Elle Fanning is in talks to Princess Aurora, “the young beauty sent into a lengthy slumber in the classic tale.” Jolie no doubt has a meaty character to dive into, but I think Fanning is an inspired choice for the princess. The actress has come into her own as of late with turns in Cameron Crowe‘s We Bought a Zoo and Francis Ford Coppola‘s Twixt, but I was particularly impressed by her work in Sofia Coppola’s Somewhere. She has a youthful innocence that goes hand in hand with her emotional maturity, and it’ll be interesting to see her stretch in the fantasy film.

Robert Stromberg is making his feature directorial debut on the project, but his resume as a production designer on films like Avatar, Alice in Wonderland and Oz the Great and Powerful promise that he’s got a vast imagination to bring to the table. Not many plot details are known about the project other than the fact that it tells the Sleeping Beauty story from the villain’s perspective. If Fanning signs on, expect more casting announcements soon.

Update: THR reports that Maleficent will start shooting this June in London.

Angelina Jolie Says Her Next Film Will Be the SLEEPING BEAUTY Re-Imagining, MALEFICENT

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: February 13th, 2012 at 10:23 am

Angelina Jolie can almost always move forward a project of her choosing, and it looks like she’ll be taking the Sleeping Beauty re-imagining, Maleficent, as her next feature.  While promoting her directorial debut, In the Land of Blood and Honey, and the Berlin Film Festival, Jolie told THR,

“I haven’t acted in two years, and I haven’t done anything else since this [Land of Blood and Honey]. The next thing I am looking at is a Disney movie,” said the actress.

The “Disney movie” would almost certainly be Maleficent unless it’s another project that we haven’t heard anything about. Jolie’s last film was The Tourist although audiences heard her voice last year in Kung Fu Panda 2.  Hit the jump for more details on Maleficent and a refresher on her other projects.

Robert Stromberg to Direct Disney’s MALEFICENT Starring Angelina Jolie

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: January 6th, 2012 at 3:12 pm

Apparently it’s Disney’s day to attach directors to their projects. Just after the Mouse House filled the director’s chair on their Matterhorn movie, Deadline reports that Disney has finally settled on Robert Stromberg to helm Maleficent. The revisionist take on the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale has been gestating for some time now with Angelina Jolie attached to star, but it now looks as though things are finally moving forward. Though Maleficent will act as Stromberg’s feature directorial debut, he’s no stranger to big-budget Hollywood movies. He’s served as production designer on films like Avatar and Alice in Wonderland (he won the Academy Award for Art Direction on both films), and he’s most recently been working on Disney’s Oz the Great and Powerful. Hit the jump for more, including how soon production on Maleficent could begin.

David O. Russell Circling MALEFICENT, Talks About Upcoming Projects and Why He Left UNCHARTED

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: June 14th, 2011 at 6:58 pm

When a director is coming off an Oscar nomination, or better yet a win, he or she automatically has some clout in choosing his or her next project.  It’s a tough decision, and you may only get once chance, so you best choose wisely. David O. Russell, coming off his Oscar nomination for The Fighter, seems to be circling 1,000 projects at the moment, and another one has just been added to the list.  THR reports that Russell is currently one of the directors being considered to helm Disney’s fantasy flick Maleficent. Angelina Jolie is attached to star, and Tim Burton was previously set to direct before backing out last month.

Disney is looking at a number of directors for the job (Darren Aronofsky and David Yates have been mentioned) and Russell has plenty on his plate already, so this deal is far from a sure thing, but it appears Russell is on the list of candidates.  The Fighter director recently dropped out as director of Uncharted, and today he explained a bit about why he left that project.  Hit the jump to check out what he had to say, which includes updates on a number of his upcoming projects.

Darren Aronofsky Wanted for MALEFICENT and MOSES?

by Adam Chitwood    Posted: May 20th, 2011 at 2:53 pm

Since dropping out of Fox’s The Wolverine, director Darren Aronofsky has been linked to a number of projects. Everyone wants to know what he’ll choose as his follow up to the smashing success that was Black Swan. Earlier this month, it was reported that he was eyeing the sci-fi flick Human Nature with George Clooney attached to star. Now, Badass Digest reports that the director is being courted for two other high-profile projects: Disney wants him to helm Maleficent and Warner Bros. is courting the director for Moses.

Maleficent just recently lost its director, as Tim Burton bowed out a few days ago, but David Yates has been mentioned as a possible replacement. The film is set to start Angelina Jolie as the notorious Sleeping Beauty villain. Moses is one of two dueling projects centered on the biblical figure. Warner Bros’ version focuses on the Exodus, while the Fox version is said to be more in the vein of 300 (because violence and sex is exactly what the Old Testament is lacking). While neither of these sounds particularly up Aronofsky’s alley, neither did a sequel to Wolverine. Personally, I’d much rather see him take on that other biblical project: his long-talked-about Noah.

Tim Burton Departs MALEFICENT; David Yates Mentioned as a Replacement Candidate

by Brendan Bettinger    Posted: May 16th, 2011 at 6:50 pm

Maleficent, the Disney project that retells the Sleeping Beauty fairy tale through the eyes of the wicked fairy godmother, is still in the early stages of development.  Early enough that Tim Burton was at most loosely attached to direct, contractually free to move on if he so chooses — and so he has.  Heat Vision does not specify why Burton left the project, but the split sounds amicable enough.  His Alice in Wonderland collaborator Linda Woolverton is on still on board to write the script, and Burton is still working with Disney on turning his Frankenweenie short into a stop-motion feature.

The studio is developing Maleficent as a starring vehicle for Angelina Jolie, though Disney would be wise to beware the precedent of abandonment set by Mr. Burton.  Feelers are out to replacement directors; Heat Vision mentions David Yates, the man behind the final four chapters in the Harry Potter saga, as an early contender.  More on the project after the jump:

Tim Burton to Direct MAI THE PSYCHIC GIRL?

by Ramses Flores    Posted: May 17th, 2010 at 7:49 pm

Not busy enough with five other projects, Tim Burton is rumored to be developing an adaptation of the Japanese manga, Mai The Psychic Girl, which he hopes to direct.  Burton was once attached to direct an adaptation of Mai in the late 80’s, which was going to feature music by the band Sparks.  Burton is supposedly back on the project after Sony gave the rights back to him after acquiring the project 8 years ago.  This is only the latest project to join Burton’s list of upcoming films.  You can find out more about Mai and what other films Burton has coming up after the jump.

Angelina Jolie Might Be the Evil Queen in Tim Burton’s MALEFICENT

by Bill Graham    Posted: March 26th, 2010 at 9:03 pm

Disney, never one to shy from striking while the iron is hot, appears to be revving up production on Maleficent, the story from the perspective of the wicked fairy godmother that casts a spell on Sleeping Beauty, and a key actor may play the villain. Angelina Jolie, who has been rumored to star in every film in pre-production, is reportedly interested in playing the antagonist according to the LA Times, and it would mark a change of pace from her action-oriented film roles of late. If Disney could land Jolie, it would mark a potential headliner that might see the repeat of the success of Tim Burton’s recent smash Alice in Wonderland. In fact, Burton was rumored to be eyeing the project not long ago, while Disney just tabbed Linda Woolverton (Beauty and the Beast, The Lion King) to begin drafting the screenplay for the live-action project earlier this week.

For more detail on the project, including a further explanation of the Sleeping Beauty mythos and why Disney is so hot on retelling old stories from a different perspective, hit the jump.

ALICE IN WONDERLAND Screenwriter Summons Evil Queen MALEFICENT for Live-Action Film

by Matt Goldberg    Posted: March 23rd, 2010 at 9:19 pm

Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland continues to rake it fat stacks of cash, so it’s only natural that the film’s screenwriter Linda Woolverton would once again team with Disney.  This time, the classic tale is that of Sleeping Beauty, or rather, the 1959 animated Sleeping Beauty‘s villain, the evil queen Maleficent.  The plan is to make a live-action adaptation where the Sleeping Beauty story would be told from Maleficent’s perspective.  Heat Vision explains that it would be “offering a new take on a classic tale as she did with Lewis Carrol’s Alice.”  I take that to mean the original tale is good where as her new take would be bad.

As much as I ragged on Burton’s creative stagnation in my review, I feel that the larger culprit was Woolverton’s script and crafting Alice as a borderline inert protagonist who’s shepherded by various characters for stakes she doesn’t even think are real for most of the movie.  Granted, Woolverton also wrote better Disney films like Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.  And if in doubt on this project, she can look over to Wicked, which is also a classic tale told from the villain’s perspective.

As for whether Tim Burton will reunite with Woolverton, Heat Vision confirms Aint It Cool’s report from January that it’s one of the projects the director is circling.

For more details on the character Maleficent, hit the jump.

Is Tim Burton Making Sleeping Beauty’s MALEFICENT His Next Project

by Keith Demko    Posted: January 19th, 2010 at 9:15 am

With Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland finally set to come out March 5 (that crazy Cheshire cat is already burned on my brain from the trailers alone), it seems he may already have his sights set on another Disney fairy tale – but, of course, from his own twisted viewpoint.

AICN is reporting he may – sort of – turn his attentions next to Sleeping Beauty, but instead of just putting his own dark touch on the original, he would transform it to be told from the viewpoint of Maleficent, the “mistress of all evil” who is the movie’s antagonist and would go on to appear in the Kingdom Hearts video game series and other Disney offerings. The movie would, in fact, be called Maleficent.

Personally, I think this sounds like great news, if it actually happens. When he coasts through by-the-numbers remakes like Planet of the Apes and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Burton seems as genuinely uninterested in making them as I was in watching them, but when he really bites into something classic and makes it his own, his movies can be a heck of a lot of fun. And it would certainly give Helena Bonham Carter something wild to play with.  Hit the jump to find out what else Tim Burton has on his plate, and of course let us know if you think Maleficent the movie would be a good idea or not.

Copyright ©2005 - 2012. All Rights Reserved. California web design