With writer-director Julie Taymor's The Tempest opening December 10 in New York and Los Angeles, we've been given 5 clips and 15 high resolution images from the film.  Adapted from William Shakespeare, Taymor has added a twist to the material by switching the gender of the sorcerer Prospero into the sorceress Prospera (who is played by Oscar winner Helen Mirren).  In addition, Taymor has brought along an all-star cast featuring Russell Brand, Alfred Molina, Djimon Hounsou, David Strathairn, Chris Cooper, Alan Cumming, Ben Whishaw, Reeve Carney, Felicity Jones, and Tom Conti.

Hit the jump to check out the clips and images.  Look for interviews with the cast next week.

Here's the official synopsis:

In her big-screen adaptation of Shakespeare's mystical thriller “The Tempest,” Academy Award®–nominated Julie Taymor (“Across the Universe,” “Frida,” “Titus”) brings an original dynamic to the story by changing the gender of the sorcerer Prospero into the sorceress Prospera, portrayed by Oscar® winner Helen Mirren (“The Queen”). Prospera’s journey spirals through vengeance to forgiveness as she reigns over a magical island, cares for her young daughter, Miranda, and unleashes her powers against shipwrecked enemies in this exciting, masterly mix of romance, tragicomedy and the supernatural.

Notes:

  • Julie Taymor is an Academy Award®–nominated and Tony Award®–winning director. She won Tony Awards for Best Director and Costume Design for the Broadway version of “The Lion King.”
  • “The Tempest” is Julie Taymor’s second big-screen Shakespeare film adaptation. “Titus Andronicus” was her first, which became her 1999 film “Titus,” starring Anthony Hopkins.
  • Academy Award®–winner Helen Mirren is no stranger to Shakespearean film adaptations, having starred in many for both film and television, but, thanks to Julie Taymor’s vision, this is the first time Mirren will play a lead character whose gender was changed from the original play, allowing her to define the classic role from a whole new perspective.
  • 2010 marks the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest.”

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