Would you like to see another fairy tale re-imagining?  Your answer is moot because you're getting more re-imaginings whether you want them or not.   Heat Vision reports that that Sony has picked up a re-imagining of Hans Christen Andersen's The Little Mermaid, Carolyn Turgeon's novel Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale (although "A Twist on a Classic Tale" could be applied to every single re-imagining that's out there).  Filmmaker Shana Feste (Country Strong) will adapt the story, which "centers on a princess who, in order to save her ravaged kingdom, sets out on a dangerous journey to marry the prince of her rival kingdom, not knowing that a beautiful mermaid has fallen for the same man and has sacrificed everything to be with him."  Aaaaawkwaaaard...

While the film is being billed as a "dark re-imagining" of Andersen's tale, the original Little Mermaid was already incredibly dark.  In the original tale, the mermaid sacrifices everything to be with the prince, he marries someone else anyway, and she kills herself.  If she had a singing Caribbean crab as her friend, maybe that wouldn't have happened.  Hit the jump for the synopsis of Turgeon's novel.

Here's the synopsis for Carolyn Turgeon's Mermaid: A Twist on the Classic Tale:

Two sheltered princesses, one wounded warrior; who will live happily ever after?

Princess Margrethe has been hidden away while her kingdom is at war. One gloomy, windswept morning as she stands in a convent garden overlooking the icy sea, she witnesses a miracle: a glittering mermaid emerging from the waves, a nearly drowned man in her arms. By the time Margrethe reaches the shore, the mermaid has disappeared into the sea. As Margrethe nurses the handsome stranger back to health, she learns that not only is he a prince, he is also the son of her father's greatest rival. Sure that the mermaid brought this man to her for a reason, Margrethe devises a plan to bring peace to her kingdom.

Meanwhile, the mermaid princess Lenia longs to return to the human man she carried to safety. She is willing to trade her home, her voice, and even her health for legs and the chance to win his heart….

A surprising take on the classic tale, Mermaid is the story of two women with everything to lose. Beautifully written and compulsively readable, it will make you think twice about the fairytale you heard as a child, keeping you in suspense until the very last page. [Amazon]

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