'The Blind Side' director writes new scenes and will be on set to oversee the reshoots by director Robert Stromberg.
- Oct 11, 2013
AceShowbiz - "Maleficent" is having problem with its opening. John Lee Hancock, who wrote "Snow White and the Huntsman" and penned as well as helmed award-winning "The Blind Side", is enlisted to by Disney to help with the reshoots.
Hancock has rewritten the problematic scenes and will also oversee the reshoots. "We asked him to be on set," producer Joe Roth says. "He's not directing. He wrote pages, and I hired a first-time director, and it's good to have him on set."
The film made on a whooping $200 million budget is helmed by Robert Stromberg. When asked why they assigned a project of this magnitude to a novice director, Roth insisted they made the right decision noting Stromberg's Oscar-winning production design in "Alice in Wonderland" and "Avatar".
He went on to say that, other than the opening scenes, "Maleficent" is exactly what they hope for. "The movie is gorgeous to look at, and the last 75 minutes are really entertaining," he states.
Angelina Jolie who plays the title role will not be involved in the reshoots. She is preparing to direct "Unbroken" in Australia. It depicts the true story of Louis Zamperini, a former Olympic track star who survived a plane crash. After days of hunger and shark & aerial attacks, he ended up behind enemy lines and was taken hostage by the Japanese.
Meanwhile, "Maleficent" will explore the backstory of the evil sorcerer from the classic "Sleeping Beauty" tale. It was originally set for July 2, 2014 before being moved up to May 30. Elle Fanning, Juno Temple, Sharlto Copley, Brenton Thwaites and Sam Riley are among the cast.
A reshoot is, though rare, not unheard of. Brad Pitt's mega-budgeted "World War Z" previously had to be delayed from its initial 2012 schedule to summer 2013 to give filmmakers time to fix some scenes and make more coherent ending.
