Relativity Media have pulled off
a huge deal last night, securing
Julia Roberts to ham it up as the Evil Queen in
Brothers Grimm: Snow White. The Oscar winning actress had been in talks for much of January and the hiring of the A-lister has given the studio a tentpole, for which the visually unparalled by his peers filmmaker Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall) will direct. Filming begins in April and Relativity have slapped a June 29th, 2012 released date to it - leaving the ball very much in rival studio Universal's court who themselves
last month announced plans to bring Snow White and the Huntsmen out on Dec. 21st, 2012 - which itself has a marketable cast in Viggo Mortensen, Kirsten Stewart in the title roles, and Charlize Theron as their version of the Evil Queen. Hollywood history usually dictates that the first movie to land a huge star or the quickest to begin filming wins the race but both Universal and Relativity are casting and developing their projects as if neither of the other existed. Are we really about to see two high profile, Snow White re-imaginings next year? Relativity and Tarsem's Snow White supposedly begins with the title character's step-mother killing her father and it pulls no punches in its R-Rated, edgy horror. Universal's Snow White and the Huntsmen, to directed by commercials helmer
Rupert Sanders; takes a revisionist buddy movie spin on the tale, seeing the titular huntsman being hired by the evil queen to track down her runaway stepdaughter, the fairest in all the land. When he realizes that the queen intends to kill Snow White, he helps her escape, and the pair go on the run. Id like to think that both productions wont just be Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderlands with different characters but Id also like to think that sweet old lady who offers me an apple isnt trying to poison me.