If it wasn’t enough that both ABC and the CW networks will be bringing ‘Beauty and the Beast’ to the small screen, we now hear that director Christophe Gans will also be adapting the story for the big one simply called ‘Beauty.’
Gans is best known for directing the movies ‘Silent Hill’ and ‘Brotherhood of the Wolf.’ He not only will direct this version of ‘Beauty and the Beast’ but also wrote the screen adaptation that aims to “unleash” his imagination. Gans recently told Variety that his ‘Beauty’ is based on one of the earliest versions of the tale and will be aimed at both adults and kids. “It talks, among other things, about the power of dreams and love versus materialism and corruption, which makes it more than ever relevant today.”
“Although I will keep to a form of storytelling of this timeless fairy tale that is in keeping with the same pace and characters as the original,” he explains, “I will surprise the audience by creating a completely new visual universe never experienced before and produce images of an unparalleled quality. Every single one of my movies has presented me with a challenge,” he continued, “but this one is, by far, the most exciting and rewarding.”
Producer Richard Grandpierre adds, “’Beauty’ is above all a family film which tells the universal tale of love between two people who fall for one another in spite of their differences.”
The lead roles of the movie have already been cast with Vincent Cassel as the Beast and Lea Seydoux as the fair beauty. Cassel is best known as the ballet instructor, Thomas Leroy, in ‘Black Swan.’ He has a certain presence that commands your attention and seems quite fitted for this role. Seydoux can be seen in the Tom Cruise movie ‘Mission Impossible-Ghost Protocol’ as the sexy assassin Sabine Moreau. However, she has played someone on the sweet side as she was also Gabrielle, the shop girl who Owen Wilson flirted with in ‘Midnight in Paris.’
It’s been reported that the movie will be a French language film which seems apropos as the lead actors are French themselves. Production is set to start filming on October 8.
The last movie version of this tale called ‘Beastly’ had starred Vanessa Hudgens and had a mediocre showing in the theaters. With 2 versions already in the works on television, are audiences ready for yet another re-telling of this classic fairy tale? What are your thoughts?
