Cinderella and Dorothy will follow in Alice’s footsteps
No, there are no upcoming movies with hot Dorothy and slutty Cinderella, but keep reading.
With Disney's live-action re-imagining of Alice in Wonderland making more than $330 million domestically and nearly $1 billion when you add the overseas totals, you have to expect some other projects involving classic heroines will either be pitched or dusted off the shelf. Most recently, Deadline reports that Disney has purchased a seven-figure pitch for a live-action Cinderella film and Pajiba says they've learned Drew Barrymore will be directing a once-shelved Wizard of Oz sequel.
The Cinderella pitch came from Devil Wears Prada and 27 Dresses writer Aline Brosh McKenna, who reportedly shopped the script around to other studios (The character Cinderlla is not an exclusive Disney property) before Disney decided it was right in line with their vision -- many millions of figures in line, apparently. There are no details on the script such as whether the story deviates from the classic tale, (or whether 3-D is implied). For that money, however, I can't imagine we have another Hillary Duff in A Cinderella Story on our hands.
Although Pajiba remained oddly quiet on sources, Barrymore's second directorial effort after Whip It! will reportedly be Surrender Dorothy, a sequel involving a return to Oz many generations later and saving not only Oz, but also Earth. Announced in 2002, Surrender Dorothy was scripted by Zach Helm (Stranger Than Fiction) and at the time had Barrymore starring. Now that she's directing, everyone thinks Ellen Page is automatically attached, so let those rumors commence. Warner Bros. will produce along with Barrymore's Flower Films.
Personally, I'm still waiting for the movie version of the musical Wicked, which is currently a Universal property and in my opinion the only viable option to bring the world of Oz back to the screen in a big way. Perhaps with this news we might hear more about that project.
As for Cinderella, this is not surprising. It just sounds like a lot of darn money for just another Cinderella film. Tim Burton and Alice in Wonderland worked as a great 3-D pitch because everyone knows Wonderland is just crazy and no one has seen it done in live action before. There's no intrigue factor in another version of the rags-to-princess story, at least on the visual front with exception of the pumpkin turning into a carriage and such. With Brosh McKenna's track record, we're looking at a more girl-oriented rom com version anyway.
