Snow White And The Huntsman (June 1) I have to say that I find it hard to believe out of the two duelling cinematic takes on the Snow White the one that looked more visually compelling would not turn out to be Tarsem Singh’s Mirror, Mirror, but this film from new comer director Rupert Sanders. Thanks to Disney’s ultra-cuddly animated classic, people have forgotten that the story has some dark underpinnings but this definitely looks as if it aims to remind them of that. (In case they miss the PG-13 rating.) Drop in Chris Hemsworth, subbing out his Thor hammer for an ax, as the titular huntsman going after Kristen Stewart’s Snow White at the behest of evil queen Charlize Theron and add Bob Hoskins, Nick Frost and Toby Jones among the seven dwarves for spice and you have got the makings for a really good film. – Rich Drees

Prometheus (June 8) To say that most people were skeptical of Fox’s first announcement that they were developing a prequel to their classic Alien franchise may be an understatement. And considering how that franchise has puttered out with the fairly terrible duo of Alien Vs Predator films, it was hard not to blame them. But then something happened. The director of the original film Ridley Scott became involved and then the project slowly evolved from being a prequel to another story set in the same universe that would share some “DNA” with the original film. Now I’ve had friends who have criticized the trailers for looking too much like an Alien retread – Spaceship crew lands on mysterious planet, discover alien lifeform, much running and screaming ensue – but I have to believe that Scott has something far more deeper and smarter than that in store for us. -RD

Rock Of Ages (June 15) When Rock of Ages opened on Off-Broadway in 2008. I didn’t give it much of a chance to succeed. It’s well-worn star-crossed lovers plot set against the rock clubs of the Sunset Strip didn’t seem the type of show New Yorkers would go for, even if it didn’t feature a score provided by an iPod Shuffle full of 1980′s Hard Rock hits. But succeed it did, moving to Broadway in 2009 where it still resides, and it has made it to the big screen before many other high profile musicals–most notably Wicked.

The biggest thing about the film seems to be the curiousity surrounding Tom Cruise making his musical debut as washed up hair band singer Stacee Jaxx. But the original musical had less going for it and is still going strong. This film could be the surprise of the summer.  - William Gatevackes

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (June 22) I didn’t expect much out of this film other than it being a tounge in cheek piffle. However, the ads for the film look good. Really good. Granted, the film cannot be all that serious. I mean, it portrays our most iconic President as a male Buffy. But it appears to be slightly more than just one note.  - WG

Brave (June 22) Cars 2 was a critical disappointment for Pixar. Not that Disney even noticed, the film was one of the Top Ten highest grossing films of 2011. But it showed a chink in the armor of the usually dependable output from Pixar and some might be worried that it was the first step in the downward spiral of diminishing quality. From what I’ve seen of this film, I think Cars 2 more an abberation than a warning sign. This film seems utterly charming and even the trailer evoked an emotional response from me. It appears to be a return to form for Pixar. – WG

GI Joe: Retaliation (June 29) I can’t wait for this film since I…wait, what? Really? Nevermind.- WG

Ted (June 29) – Judging by the red band trailer, this story about a grown man and his living teddy bear will be just as profane as one would expect from Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane. Mark Wahlberg has made a few stabs at doing comedy before but this looks like it might actually be the film where he scores a hit. Also, in a summer full of big budget tentpole action pics an original high concept comedy could be just the cinematic sorbet we need in the middle of the summer movie season. – RD

I admire Tarsem Singh as a visual stylist, even when he finds himself working with a script that may not be a match for who the director intends to realize it on screen. (Yes, Mirror, Mirror, I’m looking at you.) Singh’s next film is to be a telling of the life of explorer Marco Polo and the asian settings certainly lend themselves to the lush visual vistas he likes to create. Set to get in front of cameras sometime before the end of the year, Singh has now hired the first cast member for the project.

Screen Daily is reporting that Memoirs Of A Geisha actress Gong Li has signed on to play a Mongolian empress in the upcoming film. They also intriguingly report -

Gong has yet to meet Tarsem but said that he was just the kind of “audacious film-maker you need to make a film about Marco Polo.”

That seems fairly unusual but I hope that it works out for all.

I really want to like this film. I really, really do.

When it was announced that visual stylist Tarsem Singh was going to direct the Snow White film which became Mirror, Mirror, I was intrigued as to what he could bring to a telling of the classic fairy tale. Unfortunately, outside of some interesting production design elements, I’m not sure that this is what the result would be. It could be just bad trailer editing, but the humorous moments don’t play all that comically. Judge for yourself.

We’ll find out how the film plays out in full on March 16, 2012.

Universal’s upcoming Snow White And The Huntsman may have a bit more star power in front of the camera, but Relativity’s take on the classic fairy tale has it behind the camera in the form of director Tarsem Singh, one of the best visual directors currently working. Thanks to EW, we get out first look at what he has in store for his version of the story. That’s a stunning costume and I can already imagine fan costumers planning on rising to the challenge of recreating it for next year’s San Diego Comic-Con. Hopefully, we won’t have long to wait to see Julia Roberts as the Evil Queen.

As the two dueling Snow White films speed towards their release dates, it is a little surprising how to see the different stages of production they are at considering their relatively close release dates.

Getting in front of cameras first is Relativity Studio’s still untitled project with Tarsem Singh in the director’s chair. The studio has announced that production on the film will commence next Monday, June 20th. The film is starring Julia Roberts as the evil queen and Lily Collins as Snow.

Meanwhile, Universal Studio’s Snow White And The Huntsman is getting a last minute rewrite before it starts shooting later this summer. Deadline is reporting that Hossein Amini has been hired by the studio to give the screenplay a quick rewrite. On his resume Amini already has the film Drive which premiered at Cannes and a rewrite on the upcoming Keanu Reeves film 47 Ronin. He’ll have to hurry, though, if he’s going to turn in a screenplay that will let the film get into production and finished in time to make its scheduled June 1, 2012 release date.

When Lily Collins runs into the woods to escape the evil queen Julia Roberts in Relativity’s upcoming untitled Snow White film, she’ll encounter what the seven men who will help her regain her usurped kingdom.

And as production gets underway for the Tarsem Singh-directed project, Relativity has announced who will play those seven rebels – Mark Povinelli (Water for Elephants), Jordan Prentice (Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle), Danny Woodburn (Watchmen), Sebastian Saraceno (Bedtime Stories), Ronald Lee Clark (Epic Movie), Martin Klebba (Hancock) and Joey Gnoffo (Pirates of the Caribbean).

Additionally, the studio also announced two other cast additions – Mare Winningham (Brothers) as Baker Margaret and Michael Lerner (Elf) as Baron, whomever those two characters are.

Relativity is racing towards its March 16, 2012 release date to place it three months before before Universal’s similar Snow White And The Huntsman.

The war of the dueling Snow White projects continues, though the last blow may have been struck.

Relativity announced today that they were moving their untitled Snow White film currently in production with Tarsem Singh in the director’s chair to March 16, 2012. The move was inevitable after Universal moved their own Snow White film, Snow White And The Huntsman, to June 1, just four weeks before Relativity’s originally staked out date for their film.

This should be the last time either project moves. Relativity’s film is already in production and Universal’s is scheduled to begin production later this summer so there would be no way that the film could be finished in time to beat Relativity’s film to theaters.

Relativity’s film is set to star Lily Collins, Armie Hammer and Julia Roberts. Universal’s film has the more marquee cast in Charlize Theron, Kristen Stewart and Chris Hemsworth, but the direction of tyro Rupert Sanders remains the question with this version.

Now that Universal has found its Huntsman in the form of Chris Hemsworth for their fairy tale adaption Snow White And The Huntsman, the studio is moving aggressively to get their film into theaters before a rival Snow White project from Relativity.

Universal announced late yesterday that they were moving the film from its planned December 2012 release berth forward six months to June 1. This puts its release just four weeks before the scheduled release of Relativity’s currently untitled, Tarsem Singh-directed Snow White film on June 29.

Snow White And The Huntsman will be taking the spot on Universal’s release schedule that had been reserved for Judd Apatow’s next, untitled comedy. That film is getting moved back to Snow White‘s former December spot.

In a joint press release statement Universal Chairman Adam Fogelson and Co-Chairman Donna Langley said -

As [director] Rupert [Sanders] and [producer] Joe [Roth] were finalizing casting and preproduction of Snow White and the Huntsman, we realized that the ambitious and fully-formed world they had promised was blowing away all expectations.. .We’re thrilled that Universal will be bringing this singular version of a timeless story almost seven months earlier than anticipated.

But setting aside the usual PR platitudes, it actually looks like Universal is taking a cue from 2005/2006′s  race between the two films based on the life of writer Truman Capote and his authorship of the book In Cold Blood – Capote (2005) and Infamous (2006). Capote hit theaters first, winning critical praise and an Academy Award for star Philip Seymour Hoffman. Infamous was unable to escape the previous film’s shadow and barely registered on anyone’s radar when it was released a few months afterwards.

But having the pole position doesn’t always guarantee the best box office. The summer of 1998 famously saw the release of two end-of-the-world-via-asteroid/comet blockbusters, Deep Impact and Armageddon. And while Deep Impact had an almost two-month jump out of the gate over Armageddon, it was the latter film that did the better business.

Relativity was the first to announce a Snow White project back in June of 2010, when it acquired Melissa Wallack’s spec script. The studio soon got Tarsem Singh attached and then landed the casting coup of Julia Roberts signing on to play the Evil Queen. Lily Collins and Armie Hammer round out the cast as Snow White and the Prince respectively.

Universal, meanwhile, got into the fairy tale business after it acquired Evan Daugherty ‘s Black List-placing script. Their project heated up with the casting of Kristen Stewart in the role of Snow White and Charlize Theron in the role of the Queen, though seemed to stall for a while it cycled through numerous candidates for the Huntsman. That was finally resolved this weekend with the hiring of Hemsworth.

Both films are scheduled to go into production fairly soon, and it now looks as if they’ll be sprinting as hard as they can towards their respective finish lines. But it remains to be seen if Relativity will back off from their June 29, 2010 release date or go mano a mano with Universal in thirteen month’s time.

Via The Hollywood Reporter.

Confused over the different Snow White film projects currently being developed by the studios? Here’s a handy primer to the three different potential films, ranked in the order of likelihood of arrival at your local Cineplex.

The Brothers Grimm: Snow White – By signing Julia Roberts this week to play the Evil Queen, smaller studio Relativity Media has stepped up to the plate big time in their determination to bring their version of the story to the big screen. Also in this film’s favor is director Tarsem Singh, the stunning visualist behind The Cell, The Fall and the upcoming The Immortals. Roberts is the only cast member so far announced, though it would be safe to assume that casting sessions are underway for the title role, as cameras are expected to roll on the film next month for a targeted 2012 release.

Snow White And The Huntsman – Also looking at a 2012 release is Universal’s entry into the Snow White sweepstakes. This version, from screenwriter Evan Daugherty, digs deep into the time Snow is on the run from the Evil Queen and her relationship with the Huntsman whom the Queen has sent to kill her. It is further along in terms of casting than Relativity’s film with Kristen Stewart and Viggo Mortensen in the title roles and Charlize Theron as the Evil Queen. Unless they rush through post-production though, its planned summer shooting will put its planned 2012 release months after Brothers Grimm: Snow White.

Snow And The Seven – Disney’s proposed take on the material certainly sounds like the most interesting of the three Snow White projects, but it is also the one that is furthest off from getting into production. This version transplants the story from its generic European setting to China in the 1880s and changes the seven dwarves into seven warriors. Toy Story 3‘s Michael Arndt has just been brought in by the studio to pen a rewrite of the screenplay for director Francis Lawrence (Constantine, I Am Legend). There’s no firm casting announced for the film, though Natalie Portman was linked to it at one point. But with a release not scheduled until 2013, Disney has some time yet.

I have to say that in all honestly, all three projects have some interesting things to recommend them, be it Singh as director on Relativity’s project, Daugherty’s solid script for Universal or the change in setting for Disney’s. Often in cases where multiple studios are developing similar projects, someone blinks and one or more potential films never get made. If all three films do get made, perhaps that winner of this particular race will be audiences.

Move over Charlize Theron, you’re not the only Evil Queen on the block. While Theron is set to star in Universal’s upcoming Snow White And The Huntsman, Relativity Media has entered in negotiations with Julia Roberts to star as the villainous royalty in their own version of the classic fairy tale. Relativity’s project, The Brothers Grimm: Snow White, is set to be directed by The Fall director Tarsem Singh.

Not much more is known about the project other than that it is being prepped to be shot in 3D.

While there has been some good about for The Snow White And The Huntsman script, I have to admit that if only one project gets made, I hope that it is Singh’s. With just two released movies under his belt, Singh has proven himself to have an incredible painterly eye and I can only imagine that he will actually bring something innovative to the 3D process.

Singh’s next film, The Immortals, is due to be released later this year.

Via Vulture.