Rønning had previously cited the "privilege to be working with the legendary Michelle Pfeiffer" and "the great @ellefanning" and now cites the "Amazing cast," but still no specific mention of Maleficent herself. In the only other set photo he posted of the two of them to celebrate "How it feels to have the#1
movie in the world" he did not mention her. In fact, he has never mentioned her by name. It isn't clear if relations between them were already strained during filming. He had said he thought her lipstick in the first Maleficent was too red and they had "hours and hours" of discussions on what shade to use, the angle of her horns, etc It was a total and unnecessary waste of time given that the audience already knows and likes Maleficent's appearance from the first. Instead of focusing on how best to tell the new story, he was arguing over details that were long settled and best left to others. This was reflected in his direction which missed the forest for the trees.
A Disney employeetweeted: "Regardless of how it does, I’m still v thrilled to watch this film that #AngelinaJolieworked & pushed so hard to mold into its best shape possible in spite of all the hardships & over bearing men." It might be one man in particular since she obviously loves working with Disney and Disney
loves her. From the lengthy debate over the shade of
Maleficent's lipstick, Angelina had to battle for every inch past Rønning's focus on minutiae instead of the storytelling. When Rønning gave an anatomy of the pivotal dinner scene to VF,
he talked more about how they rigged and positioned the cameras
instead of providing further insight into the critical interactions around the table and
what they signified. This was symptomatic of his fatal flaw as a director
-- he is not a good storyteller and shows little interest in the story. His singular focus was on the visuals but instead of enhancing and providing greater clarity to the story, he muddled it. Angelina had to work
and push so the story she and Linda Woolverton worked on could shine
through. It is the story that audiences connected with. The unrelentingly dark trailers did not hint enough at the feel-good story at the heart of the film that would have attracted more families to see it.
Disney's choice to direct the first Maleficent was Robert Stromberg who won 2 Oscars as an art director but had never directed before. The thinking apparently was they had a strong script and only needed someone who could conjure up a magical world. Disney found what he submitted to them problematic and CCO and co-Chair Alan Horn reportedly personally recut Maleficent. But if Angelina had any creative differences with Stromberg, it didn't show as she posed with hm and his family at the premiere. In the London press con for MMoE, she said he "had made a beautiful film."
Rønning was also Disney's choice and MMoE is similarly the first film he directed on his own without his directing partner, Espen Sandberg His previous films including Pirates OTC Dead Men Tell No Tales and Kon Tiki were all done alongside Sandberg. In a battle of unproven directors, Stromberg's M had better reviews than Rønning'sMMoE -- 53% to 40%. There was not enough time to rework MMoE the way they did with M since its release was advanced from May 2020 to October 2019. Based on his propensity for needless debate, Rønning was also more intransigent than Stromberg. A manifestation of the rocky relationship between Rønning and Angelina is they never stood next to or even near each other at any
premiere or press con -- highly unusual for a director and his principal
star. As noted previously, she was cold and evasive when asked about him during the London press con, avoiding any comment about him or his work.
It was Disney's decision to go with two inexperienced directors to helm the two Maleficents so they don't have to look far to assign responsibility for the problems both films had. If they had chosen better, proven directors, they would have had better films, better critical reception, better box office receipts.
HOLLYWOOD, CA - MAY 28: Actress Angelina Jolie (L) and director Robert Stromberg attend the World Premiere of Disney's "Maleficent", starring Angelina Jolie, at the El Capitan Theatre on May 28, 2014 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)
It appears the roles of Queen Ulla and King Kinloch, Maleficent's aunt and uncle played by Miranda Richardson and Peter Capaldi, have been edited out of Maleficent. While the changes may have been deemed necessary to streamline and improve the flow of the story, I am disappointed that I will not be seeing the two fine veteran actors onscreen. Richardson has been nominated for two acting Oscars while Capaldi won an Oscar for Best Short Film.
Sharlto Copley joined the Elysium panel at ComicCon and dropped some hints regarding his character in Maleficent. Copley plays Stefan, the half-human, half-fairy bastard son of King Henry and is, according to Copley, Maleficent's "true love." (In the 1959 classic Sleeping Beauty, "King" Stefan is Princess Aurora's father.)
During a chat with HitFix, Copley expounded further on his thoughts about the film, calling it a "more advanced and truthful" fairytale with "real honesty and heart." He said it gives a "more honest portrayal of flawed human beings and relationships and why
they do the things they do." He added that Maleficent shows the "truth to what love is and the pain that love causes if your heart is broken. "
In related news, a few more actors have been added to Maleficent'scast, led by Peter Capaldi who earned raves for his role in the political parody In the Loop. Capaldi plays King Kinloch, a new character not seen in Sleeping Beauty.
Maleficent has assembled an exceptionally impressive cast. It has at least a dozen top actors who have all been critically acclaimed in starring or lead roles with several awards and nominations among them. Even the younger actors like Fanning and Thwaites have solid credits.
I would venture to guess that Angelina, as Executive Producer of the film and working with a first-time director, likely took it upon herself to screen and select all her co-stars and is otherwise deeply involved in every aspect of the production save the technical.
This is the first time she has taken on executive producing duties in one of her blockbuster films. Her increased involvement may be an offshoot of both her experience in Blood and Honey as well as dissatisfaction with the outcome of recent films The Tourist and, to a lesser extent, Salt. She had placed almost blind faith on von Donnermarck and Noyce and neither delivered the films she expected. Her active participation in the development, production and post-production processes bodes well for her future projects since with her stricter standards, she can ensure the quality of the final product. The same approach has helped Brad string together several critical hits including Benjamin Button, Tree of Life, Moneyball and Killing them Softly. The ongoing problems he is having with WWZ only emphasizes the importance of selecting the right talents to work with.
'District 9' actor also discusses the upcoming 'Oldboy' remake
By Chris Eggertsen Saturday, Jul 14, 2012 6:07 AM
SAN DIEGO - Angelina Jolie's King Stefan has spoken.
That would be Sharlto Copley, the South African actor who came to
attention three years ago with his starring role in "District 9" and who
recently bagged the male lead in "Maleficent" opposite the superstar
American actress. Speaking to the thesp on the Comic-Con press line for
Blomkamp's upcoming sophomore effort "Elysium"
- a sci-fi thriller in which he stars with Matt Damon and Jodie Foster -
I got Copley to hold forth a little on the revisionist "Sleeping
Beauty" tale, which is currently filming in London and which he'll be
returning to just as soon as his run at Comic-Con 2012 is finished.
"I'm so excited about that film," Copley told me. "It's this fairy tale
movie, but it's got a real honesty and heart to it. It's almost like a
more advanced version of fairytales. I think almost as society
changes...[in] the old days [it] was very much, 'the prince and the
princess live happily ever after, and the wicked queen is the wicked
queen, and the good queen is the good queen.' But you know that real
life is more complicated than that!
"And so, what they're doing in this movie I think is doing a much
more honest portrayal of flawed human beings and relationships, and why
they do the things they do," he continued. "It's still a fairytale, but
it definitely is a more advanced and more truthful and more honest
telling. 'Maleficent' is darker in that sense, but also lighter in the
sense that it really is honest, there's a truth to it, there's a truth
to what love is, and the pain that love causes if your heart is broken,
or things like that. Which are generally not too covered in fairytales."
Also on tap for the rising thesp is director Spike Lee's upcoming
remake of "Oldboy," the ultra-disturbing thriller that served as the
middle portion of Korean helmer Park Chan-wook's acclaimed "Vengeance
Trilogy." In fact, Copley begins shooting the film - in which he plays
the antagonist to Josh Brolin's character - as soon as he wraps on
"Maleficent."
"Spike and Josh are keeping it very true to the original in terms of the
grittiness, the darkness of it," said Copley of the film. "It's just
one of those classic stories...I was just like, 'I have to do this
movie, a script like this doesn't come along often!'"
As for the film's brutally dark subject matter (if the remake does
indeed stay "true to the original," American audiences who've never seen
the Korean version may be in for a rude awakening), Copley feels that
unlike many movies today, the darkness actually serves a purpose.
"It is dark," he agreed, "but it's also 'clever dark.' You know,
there's dark just for the sake of being dark to shock you, [but] this
has actually got an intelligent dark twist. It actually makes sense.
...I don't really resonate much with just dark material, for the sake of
it."
During the Q&A, Copley was asked what it was like to become a
"full-fledged star," a tag the actor is clearly uncomfortable with.
"Well, I don't know about the 'full-fledged stardom' thing, but
certainly, my life is - I move around a lot," said Copley. "People say
where do you live and I don't know right now. Right now I'm living in
London trying to work out how to play Angelina Jolie's true love [in
"Maleficient"] - I still can't believe that's happening. My friends from
school are like, 'No way! You play nerds!' I'm like, 'Apparently not!'"
gregoryellwood
@HitFixGregory Shalto - 'I'm trying to figure out how
to play Angelina Jolie's true love.' My friends at school are like 'You
play nerds!' 'Apparently not'
