Which way is a studio to go when reaching for a Grimm retelling? Bubbly comedy with family dysfunction, or dark fantasy with evil mayhem? It’s fairly obvious which one is which just by looking at the costume choices for the two Evil Queens.

(L) Charlize Theron in Snow White and the Huntsman; (R) Julia Roberts in Mirror Mirror
The latest trailer for Snow White and The Huntsman seems to be channelling Lord of the Rings with a Game of Thrones overlay:
The trailer for Mirror, Mirror shows a much more Shrek meets Tangled vibe:
I imagine I’ll probably end up seeing both of them, but I think I might actually part with folding money for the Charlize Theron version. I’ll be having my hawkeye mounted for spotting the various iterations of the monstrous feminine, naturally; as I will also be hoping very hard for Snow Whites that are more than just a Token Feisty.
Categories: arts & entertainment, gender & feminism, media
I’m looking forward to both, but not holding high hopes for either…
In totally non-fairytale movie trailer news, the new Ridley Scott film Prometheus looks damn cool.
Comments crossed, Stuffed O. I suspect that I will find the darker one more satisfying entertainment, but that both will have moments that make me cross. Here’s the official synopsis for Mirror Mirror
and for Snow White and the Huntsman
(Just noting, the SWATH official site needed heaps of javascript enabled in order to run, and their official blurb for the film was a flash file that cannot be cut and pasted, so the above is an earlier blurb from IMdb. Way to make it hard for folks to share your stuff on social media, geniuses.)
Just on the photos you have chosen I like that they have allowed Julia Roberts to look like an older woman (which she is). I am hopeful that this means that Hollywood is not wanting to give up their older leading ladies (mostly because of their $$ value) but at least we still get to see older women in mainstream movies.
Along similar lines, I am enjoying a TV show called “Once Upon a Time”. Anyone else watching it? Involves a town where all the inhabitants are fairy tale characters who are trapped in ordinary lives through an evil curse. Each episode tells the story of one of the characters and relates back to their current life. Quite well done and looks gorgeous.
Ebony. Hair black as EB-ON-Y. Three syllables too daunting for Hollywood filmmakers?
Mirror Mirror will be worth going to see just because of Eiko Ishioka’s (Bram Stoker’s Dracula) costumes! (Even if she has a thing about making cloaks and dresses that are too heavy for the actors to actually move in….)
In more movie trailer news, seeing the one for The Hunger Games inspired me to go and add the book to my Kindle. Looking forward to getting to know Katniss.