Christophe Gans to direct Beauty and the Beast starring Lea Seydoux and Vincent Cassel

Fairy tales have always been all the rage - whether it be for education, entertainment, or both.  And it seems that they're even more popular these days, what with there being three different versions of Snow White alone being worked on as we speak, though maybe it's all just due to the bewildering success of Tim Burton's cinematic atrocity ALICE IN WONDERLAND (it grossed over $1 billion worldwide). But whatever is up and for whatever reason, there's now another version of Beauty and the Beast readying itself to begin shooting. This one does seem a bit more promising though, especially after the very beastly BEASTLY.

Untitled and to be rewritten/directed by Christophe Gans, whose SILENT HILL was hampered most of all by a bad script not written by him, the film will star Lea Seydoux (MIDNIGHT IN PARIS) and Vincent Cassel (BLACK SWAN). Gans' version is adapted from one of the very earliest renditions of the fairy tale, will be in French, and will shoot for around $40 million this fall. The director has said that on this project he wants to “surprise the audience by creating a completely new visual universe never experienced before.”  Cassel meanwhile has been doing fantastic work for years and years, including in Gans' own BROTHERHOOD OF THE WOLF, so provided that they don't go with some of the earlier illustrations that make the Beast look like a walrus this project has the potential to be something really special.