So Universal and Relativity are playing a game of chicken with the release dates on their dueling “Snow White” projects, right? Wanna know how Relativity is serious about their just announced March 16, 2012 release date which gives them all of ten months to shoot, edit and prepare the film for release?
They’ve announced nine new actors who have joined the cast including their seven dwarves: Mark Povinelli (“Water for Elephants“), Jordan Prentice (“Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle“), Danny Woodburn (“Watchmen”), Sebastian Saraceno (“Bedtime Stories“), Ronald Lee Clark (“Epic Movie“), Martin Klebba (“Hancock“) and Joey Gnoffo (“Pirates of the Caribbean series”). Also joining the cast are more well-known actors Mare Winningham (“Brothers” and a recent, wonderful turn in HBO‘s “Mildred Pierce“) as Baker Margaret and excellent character actor Michael Lerner (“Elf,”) as Baron.
Directed by Tarsem Singh (“Immortals,” “The Cell“), the picture was once “Brothers Grimm: Snow White,” but Relativity is now referring to the picture as the untitled Snow White feature. Pre-production on the film has now begun and with 10 months to release, you better bet your ass it is.
The nine new cast members join the already announced Julia Roberts (the evil Queen), Lily Collins from “The Blind Side” plays Snow White, Armie Hammer from “The Social Network” plays Prince Andrew Alcott (he admitted he thought it was a boring role, but wants to work with Tarsem), and Nathan Lane (“The Lion King,” “The Birdcage“) will play the Queen’s hapless and bungling servant, Brighton.
Meanwhile, Universal’s “Snow White And The Huntsman” starring Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron won’t hit theaters until June 1, 2012. One has to wonder when this racing-to-the-screen game is going to colossally backfire on a studio. It’s only a matter of time before speed becomes a short-sighted strategy over quality (we hope).
The script was written by Melisa Wallack (“Meet Bill“) and Jason Keller (“Machine Gun Preacher“). Meanwhile, Tarsem, we suggest you call Matthew Vaughn before you start so you know just what kind of hell you’ve gotten yourself into.