slice_beastly_01.jpg

A recent behind-the-scenes featurette shed some light on how Beastly, a teenage update on the Beauty and the Beast story, will approach its source material.  CBS Films has released a new trailer for the reimagining, which shows off Beastly's brooding tone amid a more narrative form.  The film stars Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Hudgens, Neil Patrick Harris, and Mary-Kate Olsen; Daniel Barns (Phoebe in Wonderland) directed from his own script.

Check out the trailer--plus a look at the Beastly's potential--after the jump.

beastly_movie_image_neil_patrick_harris_01.jpg

Of course, Beastly is a play for the Twilight audience--likely in its inception and certainly within its promo department, but perhaps not among the cast and crew.  Of the emulators, I'm not sure anything has piggybacked directly on the success of Twilight to great reward, though The Vampire Diaries has been immensely successful by The CW's moderate metrics.  As is to be expected, there are some cringeworthy lines in the trailer ("I thought I'd take the ugly thing and turn it into something not."--Ick).  But hey, they let a blind Neil Patrick Harris gag at one of them.

The film should hinge on Pettyfer's performance, as he has all the lines to inspire disgust in Harris's character.  Pettyfer is very pretty--the makeup department ugly him up plenty (he's more hideous than, say, Twilight's Edward is pale), but not to the degree where they completely obscure his prettyness.  Having just been cast in DJ Caruso's high school alien flick I Am Number Four, his star is rising, and we could be witnessing Pettyfer break out in a very big way very soon.  Do Pettyfer and Hudgens make a good enough pairing for the tabloids to speculate endlessly about their relationship status?  We'll find out soon enough.

-

beastly_movie_image_vanessa_hudgens_alex_pettyfer_01.jpg

Here's the official plot synopsis:

Kyle Kingson has it all--looks, intelligence, wealth and opportunity--and a wicked cruel streak. Prone to mocking and humiliating "aggressively unattractive" classmates, he zeroes in on Goth classmate Kendra, inviting her to the school's extravagant environmental bash. Kendra accepts, and, true to form, Kyle blows her off in a particularly savage fashion. She retaliates by casting a spell that physically transforms him into everything he despises. Enraged by his horrible and unrecognizable appearance he confronts Kendra and learns that the only solution to the curse is to find someone that will love him as he is - a task he considers impossible. Repulsed by his appearance, Kyle's callous father banishes him to Brooklyn with a sympathetic housekeeper and blind tutor. As Kyle ponders how to overcome the curse and get his old life back, he chances upon a drug addict in the act of killing a threatening dealer. Seizing the opportunity, Kyle promises the addict freedom and safety for his daughter, Lindy if she will consent to live in Kyle's Brooklyn home. Thus begins Kyle's journey to discover true love in this hyper-modern retelling of the classic Beauty and the Beast story.

Umm, what does "hyper-modern" mean?  Like, is that as close as you can get to "futuristic" without crossing over into Jetsons territory?

Beastly is slated to hit theaters on July 30, 2010.