Michael Fassbender The Frontrunner To Play The Huntsman In Universal’s Version Of Project
Hollywood loves its dueling projects racing to get to the screen first. They make for a good story, and generally who ever gets there second doesn’t get there at all. See Baz Luhrmann‘s “Alexander The Great” project with Leonardo DiCaprio that was basically shuttered because Oliver Stone‘s “Alexander” arrived first, and Toby Jones‘ “Infamous” that limped unnoticed into theaters when “Capote” and Philip Seymour Hoffman‘s Oscar-winning performance stole all its heat.
So the race is fully on with two Snow White projects. Relativity Media and producer Brett Ratner have one cooking with Tarsem, the visual wizard behind “The Fall,” called “The Brothers Grimm: Snow White,” while Universal has “Snow White and the Huntsman,” from untested feature-length director Rupert Sanders (his impressive collection of short films and commercials landed him the directing gig of “The Low Dweller” starring Leonardo DiCaprio in 2009, but the project hasn’t materialized).
Both studios are chasing after some A-list talent and one bona fide superstar.
It seems as if those Charlize Theron rumors for ‘The Huntsman’ are true. Deadline reports that she is in negotiations to play the Evil Queen in Uni’s gestating project which has been rumored to co-star Johnny Depp and man-of-the-moment, “Inception” star Tom Hardy. However, the trade mentions none of their names and says the equally hot Michael Fassbender is the frontrunner for the Huntsman role.
In the other corner, Relativity Media are apparently courting Julia Roberts to play the Evil Queen in their Snow White project. Both studios are fast-tracking both projects, but they do sound different enough that it may not matter who comes first. Last we heard, Sanders’ project was hoping to shoot in early 2011, but by the sounds of it Theron will likely be shooting Clint Eastwood‘s “J. Edgar” project with DiCaprio and Armie Hammer. That’s if she signs on and it might be she has to choose between the two. The choice probably seems obvious, but if you’ve seen Eastwood’s last couple films — especially the dreadfully dead “Hereafter” — you should probably manage your expectations for that project or hope DiCaprio injects the 80-year-old filmmaker with a much-needed dose of lensing vitality.