Fairy Tale Update: Julia Roberts Locked For ‘The Brothers Grimm: Snow White;’ Famke Janssen Joins ‘Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters’
Minor news on the Snow White battle front today. We’ve talked twice aboutJulia Robertspossibly joining the cast of Relativity’sThe Brothers Grimm: Snow White, to be directed byTarsem Singh. First time was when she wasrumored, then when it looked like she wouldtake the plunge. Now we’ve got confirmation that Tarsem’s evil queen will be Julia Roberts.
No word on further casting for the film at this point, but with one of the most famous actresses in the world as the evil queen, one imagines the rest of the cast won’t take long to fall into place. This also puts the Snow White battle into a more pitched mode — neither Relativity or Universal (which hasSnow White and the Huntsmanset to shoot) seem willing to back down. Are we really going to end up with two big Snow White revamps? [Deadline]
After the break,Hansel & Gretel: Witch Huntersalso gets a female villain.
Meanwhile, as the race to get a modern, slightly revamped Snow White film to screens is currently distracting Relativity, Disney and Universal, Paramount is off playing in its own corner of the dark fantasy sandbox. The studio is assemblingHansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, withJeremy RennerandGemma Artertoncast as adult versions of the fairy tale children who nearly fall victim to a witch in their youth, then grow up bent on revenge.
In this version, the adult characters spend their time hunting witches across the countryside. And nowFamke Janssenhas been cast as the leader of the witches against whom the title characters are working.D.W. Harperwrote the script, andTommy Wirkola(Dead Snow) is directing, with a planned March 7 start date. [The Playlist]
