Beastly

Vorlage:Infobox film Beastly is a 2011 romantic fantasy film based on Alex Flinn's 2007 novel of the same name. It is a retelling of the fairytale Beauty and the Beast set in modern-day New York City. The film is written and directed by Daniel Barnz and stars Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer.

The plot focuses on Kyle Kingson, a wealthy and arrogant high school student. During an environmental event, he disrespects a classmate, who is actually a witch in disguise. The witch then casts a spell on Kyle to disfigure his body and face, giving him a year to find love or be left with his monstrous appearance forever.

It was expected to be distributed to theaters by CBS Films and Alliance Films on July 30, 2010. However, it was moved to March 18, 2011, in order to avoid Hudgens's film from clashing with the release of Zac Efron's film Charlie St. Cloud, but in January 2011, it was bumped up to March 4, 2011.

Cast

• Vanessa Hudgens as Lindy Taylor, the main female character of the story.
• Alex Pettyfer as Kyle Kingson/Hunter, the handsome man with an ugly streak who gets transformed when he disses a girl at his school.
• Mary-Kate Olsen as Kendra Hilferty, the eccentric girl behind Kyle's transformation.
• Neil Patrick Harris as Will Fratalli, Kyle's blind tutor
• Lisa Gay Hamilton as Zola, the Kingson's maid
• Peter Krause as Rob Kingson, Kyle's father
• Dakota Johnson as Sloane Hagen
• Erik Knudsen as Trey Madison
• Regina King as Letisha
• Roc LaFortune as Lindy's father
• David Francis as Dr. Davis
• Brian Eastman as Dan Granburg
• Gio Perez as Victor barrel

Production

Development

I was very inspired by 'Say Anything.' I thought there was this kind of rawness and visceral qualities of those years. Being 18 and 19 and what those years are like. So, I wanted to translate that into this film as well. —Daniel Barnz, director of Beastly on writing the screenplay

The film is based on Alex Flinn's 2007 supernatural romance novel of the same name, and has been in production since CBS Films bought the rights in December 2007. In February 2009, it was announced by CBS Films President and Chief Executive Officer Amy Baer that Daniel Barnz would direct and write the screenplay. This is one of the first projects to be put into development by CBS Films. Susan Cartsonis produced the film through Storefront Films with Roz Weisberg as co-producer. Initially, the executives hoped for a late 2008 theatrical release; however, the WGA strike delayed that possibility.

Baer expressed excitement about the director, saying, "Daniel’s fresh vision makes him one of the most exciting directors of his generation. We are thrilled to partner with him as he brings his unique voice to arguably the most universally resonant myth in storytelling." Barnz anticipated bringing an indie sensibility to Flinn's story. "It's a very commercial idea that I get to tell in a highly artistic fashion," he said. Barnz stated:

There was this sort of hyper-modern version of this story and that it was told from his perspective, which we'd never seen before and thematically, because it's all about beauty and how you look and inner beauty that this was such a great story set in the teenage world and for teenagers, because it has such a great message to it.

In writing the script, Barnz was inspired by the films Say Anything keeping the experiences of teenagers in mind while still basing the screenplay on the novel. He "immediately fell for it, because [he] saw that there was an amazing opportunity to tell a modern version of this fairytale and [he] loved the idea of it." Barnz remarked that he was happy to see the story told through the beast's perspective and that it focused more on the romance than the supernatural.

Design

Datei:BEAST alex.jpg

Alex Pettyfer in prosthetics as the beast. The makeup includes 67 pieces, and 60 tattoos and individual scars in his whole body. It took 7 hours to apply the full-body makeup.

Pettyfer's appearance in the film mostly features him wearing heavy makeup and prosthetics. The prosthetics differ from what is described in the book. Having no fur or fangs, Pettyfer was pleased with the revision:

I was very happy to know I wasn't going to be furry. Question is, were you happy I wasn't furry? Well, I think the audience will be happy. This beast make-up is phenomenal. You're talking to someone who is a fanatic about it [prosthetics and movie make-up] and I've never seen anything that looks remotely similar to this.

The makeup was composed of 67 pieces. There were 7 pieces on his head, as well as 60 tattoos and individual scars applied following application of full-body makeup. The facial prosthetics and tattoos took almost three hours to apply, and to put on the full body makeup took the artists 6 hours to finish. Pettyfer commented on his 'transformation':

It really affected me because as soon as I shaved my head it kind of put me in this weird place, the same place [Kyle is in after his transformation] which really helped me with the role a lot. But at the same time, it kind of is a challenge because you are fighting personally with your own problems off set, but then onset you have a great resource to go to.

Tony Gardner and Alterian, Inc. were responsible for the design and creation of the prosthetics and tattoos. Jamie Kelman handled Pettyfer's makeup application from day to day. Hudgens described the beast's look as "crazy" and that it moved her in "a really weird and peculiar way." Several days before the announced production date, several members of the cast were photographed while headed to a wardrobe studio for fittings. The costumes and the wardrobes used in the film were designed by Suttirat Anne Larlarb.

Filming

Beastly is one of the first feature films to be produced and distributed by CBS Films; it had a budget of $17 million for filming and marketing. Production began on June 13, 2009 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. and ended in August of the same year. The first clip of the official Beastly trailer was filmed in Chicago, shooting Walter Payton College Prep High School as Buckston Academy High School. Old Montreal and Laval were used as filming locations, as well as the Mount Royal Park in Montreal, which served as Central Park in New York and other outdoor locations. Local Montreal diner Place Milton is also featured as Cafe Santiago. Filming was done in 45 days.

The Quebec government announced on June 12, 2009 that it was increasing its tax credit for foreign producers making films and TV shows there from 25 per cent of labour expenses to 25 per cent of the entire budget of productions shot there. Beastly was one of the film productions who chose to film in Montreal before the announcement of tax-paying increase.

Hudgens left for Montreal to film following the MTV Movie Awards. "I'm laid-back about it," she said. On June 4, 2009, Hudgens and Pettyfer arrived in Montreal. Neil Patrick Harris also went to Montreal to shoot his scenes, and at the same time, for his lead role in an independent film. Hudgens was the first to wrap shooting in order to promote the film Bandslam. Re-shoots were conducted in 2010 due to the push back of the film's release and in order to "emphasize the romantic relationship between the two main characters".

Music and soundtrack

The film score was composed by Marcelo Zarvos. Songs by Swedish indie band Marching Band will be featured in the film. Also featured is Natalia Kills' upcoming second single, Wonderland. The film's soundtrack will be released on March 1, 2011.

Marketing

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Promotional logo released.

The first teaser trailer was released on November 20, 2009 during the previews of New Moon. The 23-second teaser received reactions and comments from commercial sites. Annie Barrett of Entertainment Weekly remarks that "Alex Pettyfer is giving off more of a (Disney pretty-boy) Gaston vibe than the Beast here." A holographic poster was posted in some selected theaters before. The first official poster was then released in early April 2010. A featurette video which includes clips from the film was released in early February 2010. The full-length trailer premiered last April 19, 2010. There was a new trailer released in late 2010 featuring a new logo, the new date, and the song Broken Arrow by Pixie Lott.

Merchandising

CBS Films announced that Beastly would have apparel and accessories, social expressions and gaming produced for the film's marketing. Among the products which were planned around the film are proprietary and co-branded games and puzzles for release worldwide by Fundex; figures and bobbleheads worldwide by Bif Bang Pow!; costumes, masks and accessories for the US and Canada from Rubie’s; and video games worldwide from Storm City, among others. CBS Consumer Products rallied a number of partners for movie-inspired merchandise.

The latest signings include:

• Accessory Innovations for tote bags, wallets, bag clips, messenger bags, cross-body satchels, key chains and bookmarks (U.S.)
• Bif Bang Pow for figures and bobbleheads (worldwide)
• C&D Visionary for stickers, patches, magnets, buttons, key chains and (non-lenticular) bookmarks (U.S.)
• Fundex for games, co-branded games and puzzles (worldwide)
• Genki Wear for fragrances (U.S.)
• Hallmark for greeting cards and other social expressions (U.S.)
• Harper Collins for an original novel (worldwide)
• Jerry Leigh for fashion T-shirts and hoodies (U.S.)
• LTL Prints for removable wall art (North America)
• Philcos for fashion T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, mood jewelry, blankets, headwear, glassware, buttons and wallets (Canada)
• Rubies for costumes, masks and accessories (U.S./Canada)
• Rock Paper Pencils for lenticular journals, bookmarks, pens and stationery (U.S.)
• Storm City Games for 2 video games (worldwide)
• Scorpio for posters (U.S.)
• Sticker You for stickers, decals, static clings and appliqués (U.S.)

Release

Alliance Films, based in Montreal, will release the film in Canada under a deal done by Alliance and CBS Films. Sony Pictures will be handling all international distribution. It was earlier reported to have a July 30, 2010, but, a few weeks after Charlie St. Cloud moved to a July 30 release, CBS films released a statement saying that they will be moving Beastly because it will cause a "real dilemma" to some of the fans of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens' relationship, via Beastly's Official Facebook account. Eventually, they moved the film's release date to March 18, 2011 to avoid clashing with other films opening during the summer 2010. However, the reasons of moving the date vary. The new March 18 date comes four weeks after Pettyfer debuts in American cinema in I Am Number Four. This will introduce Pettyfer to the American audience, and three weeks before Hudgens' other movie Sucker Punch. Separately, CBS Films distribution head Steven Friedlandere explains, “There wasn’t much left in the summer that we could move it to. We didn’t want to go in fall, and the holidays are for four-quadrant movies. So we figured if we went to March, we’d have some school breaks happening around that time.” Due to a successful test screening, CBS Films decided to bump Beastly up to March 4, 2011.

Critical reception

It ranked #45 in The Times 50 Biggest Movies Of 2010. Hudgens and Pettyfer are honored as ShoWest stars of tomorrow for their roles in Beastly. The film was screened at ShoWest and it drew enthusiastic reactions from the luncheon crowd of exhibition officials.

Upon its release, Beastly received negative reviews. On Metacritic the film holds an average score of 40 out of 100 based on 26 reviews. The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 20% based on 70 reviews with the critical consensus being that the film was "fundamentally misguided, poorly written, but had some good performances by Neil Patrick Harris and Vanessa Hudgens" and that "Beastly adds little to the legacy of its timeless source material".

External links

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