Tis the era of revisionist fairy tales, it seems. So far this year we've had Snow White and the Huntsman, Mirorr Mirror (cough), Red Riding Hood (again, cough) and as of next year we have Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters and then, we can look forward to both Maleficent and Pinnochio, which hit cinemas in 2014. As for past fairytale adaptations? Well there's hundreds; see Shrek and Enchanted for two recent examples of a fairytale reimagining done well.
Anyhoo, one that we're most excited for is Maleficent. This flick stars Angelina Jolie and as per Total Film, we can expect a darker version of the Sleeping Beauty fairytale blended with a hint of Wicked in that it's told from the point of view of the evil hag, Maleficent. Did she scare the crap out of you when you were a youngster too? That bloody crow she has perched on her arm. Terrifying.
Joining Brad Pitt's missus are a handful of notable British actors among which Imelda Staunton, Juno Temple, Peter Capaldi and Sam Riley are included. Total Film caught up with Riley, currently appearing in On The Road (an adaptation of Jack Kerouac's classic, Beat) to get the skinny on working with Angelina Jolie and what we can expect from the fairytale reboot.
For Riley, this is a role where "I don't die and I don't smoke. I love it." Furthermore he reckons it "looks great." The actor credits Jolie for getting him the part of Diaval as it was her who saw his tape and convinced the powers that be to take him on. "I auditioned for it and then I heard that I wasn't really Disney material which I could fully understand. About two weeks after I heard that she’d seen the tape and I was back in the running so I guess I owe her a pint."
