New Movie Poster Released for Catherine Hardwicke's "Red Riding Hood"

The movie is opening March 11, 2011 and this poster is doing a great job of making me even more curious about it. Gorgeous image and great use of imagery too! Thorny trees? Not only teeth and claws but iron maidens come to mind. Yikes! And something about the tilt and movement of the shapes puts me in mind of a figure -ie. prey- caught via infrared vision...

A plot/premise summary, if you don't know the variations this particular movie is exploring, can be found HERE at the image source.

The previous movie poster is below:

Red With A Twist Makes "Top 10" Best Designed Movie Posters

The movie is "Hard Candy", the year was 2006 and features our beloved Red - sort of. It's a psychological thriller (as you might have guessed from the poster) and it doesn't take much to see why this design is so good.

From Total Film:

... the best thing about this poster is that it throws us a complete curveball – our immediate assumption that this kid is in for a torrid time, but then we look again and notice, hey, she isn’t actually caught in that trap...

You can read the rest of the poster review HERE.If you're interested, you can learn more about the movie on Wikipedia HERE but please note: this movie (or its description) is not for the faint of heart. The review excerpt above has given you a clue...

Red Riding Hood in Blue

Yep. Red Riding Hood is wearing blue - at least in the photos we've seen so far. Cast-in-costume photos shot behind-the-scenes of the movie-currently being shot in Vancouver, Canada, include pics of co-stars Virginia Madsen (Red’s mom), Gary Oldman, Cole Heppell, Jen Halley, Billy Burke and Lukas Haas.

(Yes, that's the on-screen love interest, played by Shiloh Fernandez.)

You can see all 17 photos HERE.

But that's not all.

All sites posting and commenting on the photos agree the costuming for Amanda Seyfried, who plays the title role in The Girl With the Red Riding Hood (working title), isn't sporting the iconic Red Riding look. But I suggest you take a closer look.

Maybe I'm reading much more into this than is intended but is anybody else looking at the virgin blue, the red threads woven in, the 'horny' headdress and thinking that maybe the costume is perhaps closer to a red hood than it first appears? Of course I could totally be reading into it. I do love symbology and have a tendency to see it everywhere but if this isn't intentional I'll be very surprised. Any costume designer worth their salt builds story into their characters' costumes, even if it's story that's never directly addressed. This appears a little less subtle than that to me, but it's effective, nevertheless.

The plot remains largely a mystery at this point other than "a Gothic retelling of Red Riding Hood" (actually it would be 'Little Red Cap' as 'Hood' is the Perrault version) and the IMDB one sentence synopsis:

Set in a medieval village that is haunted by a werewolf, a young girl falls for an orphaned woodcutter, much to her family's displeasure.

... but the dress, particularly the one with the horned headdress (which would logically appear to follow the 'walking in blue with boots' one at the head of this post), says a lot. Particularly about transformation, magic, blood magic, lust (and hormones) and innocence.

Until the script and story come to light speculation is king but so far I haven't seen anyone connect the dots like in this particular way. iO9 mentions magic but even the 'sexy superstar' sites haven't twigged to the horned = lust = sexual maturation aspect of Red that I've seen.

Just my take.

Of course, you didn't really think they would do a 'Red' film completely minus the hood, did you? I found the other half to the top photo. Take a look at what Amanda's harried assistant (dresser?) is holding over her arm.
Note: Additional horned headdress costume images via HERE and Amanda-plus-assistant photo found HERE.

Felicia Day to be Sy Fy's "Red"

Little Red Riding Hood
by DaakSM

Felicia Day is no stranger to werewolves, thanks to her "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" history (she played potential-slayer, Vi, in the final season) and in Sy Fy's fairy tale remake "Red", she gets to play a werewolf hunting descendant of our famous Little Red Riding Hood.

From The Wrap:

Day, a Twitter powerhouse more recently known for her web video series "The Guild," (has signed on for) the Syfy project, dubbed simply, "Red." The movie is set to bow in 2011 and is part of the network's new series of fairy tale reboots, announced last month.

From the Syfy release:

In the action-packed Red, Red (Day) brings her fiancé home, where he meets the family and learns about their business – hunting werewolves. He’s skeptical until bitten by a werewolf. When her family insists he must be killed, Red tries saving him. Red also stars Kavan Smith (Stargate Atlantis) and Stephen McHattie (Watchmen). Red is produced by Angela Mancuso and Vesuvius Productions in association with Chesler Perlmutter Productions.

Felicia Day from her very funny music video from her web series The Guild,
titled "Do You Want To Date My Avatar?"

If you missed "Beauty & the Beast: A Dark Tale" last weekend, it's typical Sy Fy - things tend toward the bloody and gory. The difference is that the (very) happy ending. Certainly not in everyone's taste and "Red" should provide even more opportunity for random arterial spray BUT it does show you what people are aiming for in their entertainment right now: gritty monster fighting (a great metaphor for the difficulties many are facing right now) and Hope (ie. a happy ending). No matter what the interpretation is like, it's a wonderful thing to see people, including adults (these movies are NOT for kids), turning to fairy tales.

Fairy Tale Felted Wool Art by AndreasFelts

LITTLE RED CAP

(In this scene, the girl more commonly knows as Little Red Riding Hood is on her way to visit grandmother.)

I found these and had to share.

The work is so gorgeous and unique, not only do I want a complete notecard set but I'd love to see these in person. What's more, the artist, Andrea, obviously reads the old tales rather than relying on newer childrens versions, as you'll see from her descriptions of the pieces.

CINDERELLA
(In this scene, Cinderella kneels at her mother’s grave under the hazel tree and receives her dress for the ball. )

Here's what the artist says about her work:

I am a watercolorist turned felter. Using a felting needle, I "paint” scenes with fiber. Each work begins as a sketch and is felted by hand, using no machine, pattern or mold.

I sincerely urge you to go to her shop HERE for the close-ups views, as well as to see all her work. It's just stunning and completely reminiscent (for me) of impressionist pastel work.

FROG PRINCE
(In this scene, the princess bargains with the frog over the return of her lovely golden ball.)

HANSEL & GRETAL
(In this scene, the brother and sister are alone in the woods collecting small stones in their hopes of being able to find their way back home.)

LITTLE MERMAID
(In this scene, the little mermaid gazes up at the ocean’s surface in contemplation of trading her mermaid’s tale for human form.)

There's information about her techniques under the 'shop policies' section of her Etsy shop, which is very interesting too.

Just stunning work. I'd love to see a whole story book illustrated this way.

You can find her work in her Etsy shop HERE.

Syfy Fairy Tale Line-Up - Update

I just read this news in a blog and haven't been able to substantiate it with other reliable sources but here's the list of tales to be adapted (including the ones I announced a couple of days ago):

• Beauty and the Beast
• Red Riding Hood
• Hansel & Gretel
• The Voyage of Sinbad
• Aladdin and the Magic Lamp
• Enchanted Forest (this is likely to be either a Babes In the Wood adaptation or use multiple tales as sources)

Shot with Emily Blunt from the remake of "The Wolfman" due for release in 2010

Here's an excerpt from Get Addicted: TV News explaining the premises:

o "Beauty & the Beast" — In this gritty celebration of Valentine’s Day, a young Beauty with a gift for healing helps a deformed Prince regain his throne and defeat the ruthless nobleman who wants to be king — and then together they try to destroy a power-hungry witch.
o "Red" — A young woman who is a descendant of the real Little Red Riding Hood brings her fiancé home, where he meets the family and learns about their business – hunting werewolves. He’s skeptical until bitten by a werewolf. When her family insists he must be killed, Red tries saving him.

o "Hansel" — Twenty years after his encounter with the witch, a grown-up Hansel returns to the haunted forest, seeking revenge. But there’s a surprise waiting – his sister Gretel (who he thought had been killed) is the witch’s protégée.
 (Edit by FTNH: Doesn't this sound similar to the Hansel & Gretel-as-witch-hunters movie currently in production? I like the twist with Gretel though.)

Origami unicorns from an ad for the re-branded Syfy Channel

o "8TH Voyage of Sinbad" — Sinbad searches for the golden head of the long lost Colossus of Rhodes and, instead, discovers an island where the mythical Minotaur still rules, protecting a vast treasure. Sinbad and his crew have to battle the creature and its minions to get the treasure and save their own lives.

o "Aladdin" (working title) — After accidentally releasing an evil genie from an ancient lamp, Aladdin must find a way to imprison the genie again before it wreaks havoc on the world.
o "Black Forest" — A group of naïve tourists take a sightseeing tour into a supposed enchanted forest, where they encounter evil creatures from the world of fantasy. Trapped in the Black Forest, their only hope of survival is fighting their way out.

Sounds like we have some interesting viewing coming our way! All this follows (and is propelled by) the success of "Tin Man" and the recently aired "Alice". The good news about this is that Syfy strongly believe (backed up by ratings and other statistics) that the general cable-viewing public enjoy fairy tale adaptations. Let's hope this series of movies proves the point and that we'll see even more fairy tales given the movie-of-the-week treatment in the future.

What's Happened To "Hoodwinked Too!"?

If you didn't see Hoodwinked when it came to theaters in 2005, do yourself a favor and have a little movie night. Despite the cheap look (especially now we've gotten used to the Pixar films) the story is wonderful, funny and surprisingly tight and entertaining. It did far better at the box office than anyone expected, especially once word-of-mouth got around that this was worth a looksee. I even know people who have added it to their favorite kids movies list who don't normally go for fairy tales. The news that a sequel was in the works was good news but there's been a hitch...
You may not have noticed, unless you were eagerly anticipating the release of this movie in mid-January, but not only has Hoodwinked Too: Hood vs Evil not hit theaters yet, it's quietly disappeared from release schedules in theaters. In fact it seems that even the creator himself, Cory Edwards, has no idea when it will now be coming out (according to his personal blog).


BUT that hasn't stopped Burger King from releasing the Hoodwinked Too toys on the original schedule. I was alerted to the toys via a TV ad but a visit to the website didn't have nay information. I took the plunge and walked into a Burger King last week (first time ever!) and sure enough, there were the toys on display and we got one in the kid's meal.Turns out it was the best one (the others are rather 'plas-tacky' - see images in this post) so our timing was excellent and I highly recommend grabbing one while they're out. It's a little plastic gingerbread house that you open and inside is a double-sided soft toy of Hansel and Gretel. Double-sided play toys! (My just-3 yr old loves it by the way). As I haven't been able to find any photos of the product online, I've taken & uploaded photos of our prize so you can look out for it.

In the meantime, with the movie being delayed till who-knows-when, those toys aren't likely to be at BK's very long.
If I hear an update on the movie's release I'll be sure to let you know. Whatever the holdup is (speculation is it's the parent company & money, rather than anything to do with the movie's production, so even if it doesn't come to theaters - which would be a real shame) it should be available on DVD sometime in the future.

Sources: Cartoon Brew & Cory's Curiosities

Syfy Adapting Fairy Tales for Movie-of-the-Week Franchise

"fairy tales"
by Vincent Grey

Before I get to the news I wanted to encourage you to take a look at the full size version of this illustration, which I thought fit the theme of 'sci-fi-ed' fairy tales (click on image for full size). It references many tales and the more you look, the more you see. This is, of course, one example of how fairy tales can represent different things different people - something which I always find very interesting.
Which ones can you identify?

You know by now that there are many fairy tale adaptations in the works in the movie industry this year, some of which we will actually see in 2010 but it seems Cable TV is getting on board too.

Syfy is currently working on a new made-for-TV movie franchise with a Saturday night time slot and it's starting this month.

First up is Beauty & the Beast, airing on February 27th.

Here's the details from The Hollywood Reporter & Dread Central:

Syfy is reinventing fairy tales and pop culture characters as part of its Saturday night TV movie franchise.

The network is airing five titles that give a contemporary twist on a classic story, from Hansel & Gretel (years after escaping the witch in the haunted forest, Hansel returns seeking revenge) to Little Red Riding Hood (a descendant of Little Red discovers her family secretly hunts werewolves).

Piper
by Avijit/Avi Das

(Please note: There is no mention of The Pied Piper being adapted by Syfy at this time)

"It's exciting to take a treasured brand and put our own sideways spin on it," said Thomas Vitale, executive vp programming and original movies at Syfy. "By turning familiar timeless stories inside out, we're creating an entertaining new genre for our popular Saturday night movie franchise."

You can find a little more info HERE.

A 'fairy tale movie of the week'? Nice. As a bonus, it looks like there's a good chance these will make it to DVD eventually as well. Very nice.

I knew 2010 was going to be a good year for fairy tales!

Note: The illustration at the head is by German concept artist Vincent Grey. You can see his gallery HERE. The other illustration is by Avi Das. You can see his portfolio HERE. If you're interested in how he came to illustrate The Piper in this manner, you can see his inspiration & thought process HERE.

Fairy Tale News New Year's Bumper Edition: Fashion

• Wild at Heart (Fall fashion slideshow feature by ZoomZoom) In this fall fashion feature, Erik Almas takes 1930s paintings, taxidermy animals, and the modern woman to create diorama-like images of fashion in the wild. The result is an amalgam of the fairy tale and the mythological muse. The images conjure narratives of the heroine who can talk to animals, live amongst the brown bears, and rule nature itself.

• Ko Ara's Fairy Tale Shoot in Korean Singles Magazine 2008 (Thumbelina, Red Riding Hood, Princess and the Pea, Bremen Town Musicians, Peter Pan, Hansel & Gretel)

• Cinderella's Closet, which provides dresses to under privileged teens for their proms, is calling for gently used prom dresses.

• Fairy tale themed jewelry by LunarraStar (Alice in Wonderland, Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood, Wizard of Oz and more) Etsy find.

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Fairy Tale News New Year's Bumper Edition: Books (and reviews)

• "Four Generous Fairies" by Diana Liiv, Illustrated by Reti Saks (2005) - Tchaikovsky's "The Seasons" told as a fairy tale with illustrations, which also educates about music and instruments - an Estonian book-with-CD, also available in English translation.

• "A Fair Maiden" by Joyce Carol Oates - (review) plays with the conventional Cinderella story in a modern setting - not a retelling. You'll find this on of the 'literature' shelves.

• "The Girl With Glass Feet" debut novel by Ali Shaw - soon to be released in the US (if it isn't out already) using European fairy tales. Very promising reviews from the UK, including The Guardian. I'm currently reading this and will review it for Once Upon A Blog soon too.

• "Tempest Rising" by Nicole Peeler - fairly new urban fantasy using the Selkie myths and fairy tales as well as other European tales. Very promising first novel in a trilogy.

• "Red" by Jordan Summers - Not new or faultless but I've been wanting to mention this one for a while because it's quite different. It's a 'futuristic' (not quite sci-fi) retelling of Red Riding Hood. Premise: what if Little Red Riding Hood and the bad wolf turn out to be the same person? I'm not sure if it belongs under the an urban fantasy label or a very-edgy-paranormal-romance label but it's a unique and interesting retelling. Please note - contains very graphic descriptions of violence as well as explicit sex.

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Fairy Tale News New Year's Bumper Edition: Artists & illustrators (past & present)

• Coco Miles, a props and sculpture artist, has fairy tale pieces in her portfolio, including Baba Yaga and Rumpelstiltskin.

• "Jack and Jill Return to the Hill" A too-late entry to the Sci-Fi Fairy Tales contest held by Super Punch during December 2009. This entry came with a complete story about Jack and Jill in a sci-fi context too. See link for a summary.

• Little Red vs Wolves - LOTS of wolves! by woohyun Nam. see more of his work at the link.

• Belarus beautiful fairy tale coins - Fairy tale designs include The Stone Flower, The Twelve Months, The Nutcracker, Turandot, Alice in Wonderland, Alice Through the Looking Glass, Thousand and One Nights, Symon the Musician. Simply gorgeous!

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12 Days: Fairy Tale Quilt

Fairy tales are a popular choice for advanced quilters (many of whom might be considered fiber artists with their innovative use of dying fabrics, applique and embroidery combinations). I have a few unique artworks in my archives to show you sometime, including the original subject I was looking for - a Princess and the Pea quilt - but while I didn't find any P&tP quilts that stood out to me, I did find a simpler, lovely multi-tale quilt for sale on Etsy. It comes with a rod pocket sewn into it so you can choose to use it as a wall hanging if you wish.This one is by MoonGazerQuilts and I'd consider grabbing it myself if it had a more gender-neutral color for the border. It's called "Fairy Tales and Dreams" and you can find the quilt HERE (for under $50!) and also see the details of a lovely Noah's Ark quilt at the shop too.

NOTE: As usual, please note I am not affiliated with any of these stores or products. I do not receive any commission from any visit to the site or any purchase. These are just items I thought may interest people as fairy tale themed gifts for the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yuletide/Holiday Season. :)


Don't forget the "Pursuit of Happiness" Giveaway!

Entries close IN LESS THAN A WEEK on December 20th, so be sure to email me before then.
(A preview of the prize is coming soon too.)

Details for the giveaway are HERE and the wonderful London Particulars (who are making this giveaway possible through their generosity) can be found HERE.

12 Days: Nebulous Kingdom iPod & Laptop Skins

Here are s0me different and lovely 'skins' for your various electronic items. From iPods to laptops, Anne-Julie Aubrey, who creates fairy tale themed paintings under the banner "Nebulous Kingdom", has made a few of her designs available as 'skins' to put on your portable electronics. You can find the pieces and see a preview of them on various items HERE. (Amounts are in Euros but you can also pay through PayPal.)There's also an Etsy shop with a large and lovely range of fairy tale-type prints (I've included just a few in this post), cards, notebooks and more HERE.Just a note: Ms. Aubrey is closing the shop for a vacation from December 17th through to the first week of January, so if you're ordering for Christmas be sure to do it soon.NOTE: As usual, please note I am not affiliated with any of these stores or products. I do not receive any commission from any visit to the site or any purchase. These are just items I thought may interest people as fairy tale themed gifts for the Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Yuletide/Holiday Season. :)

Don't forget the "Pursuit of Happiness" Giveaway!

Entries close December 20th, so be sure to email me before then.
Details for the giveaway are HERE and the wonderful London Particulars (who are making this giveaway possible through their generosity) can be found HERE.