Production has started on Disney’s new live action feature film Cinderella, starring Lily James and Richard Madden.
The film is being directed by Academy Award nominee Kenneth Branagh (Thor) and in addition to James (Downton Abbey) and Madden (Game of Thrones), also stars Cate Blanchett (The Aviator) as Lady Tremaine, and Helena Bonham Carter (The King’s Speech, Alice in Wonderland) as the Fairy Godmother. Holliday Grainger (Anna Karenina) and Sophie McShera (Downton Abbey) play stepsisters Anastasia and Drisella, respectively. Stellan Skarsgård (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) and Nonso Anozie (Game of Thrones) play the Arch Grand Duke and the Prince’s loyal friend, the Captain.Tony Award-winner Derek Jacobi portrays the King.
“It is impossible to think of Cinderella without thinking of Disney and the timeless images we’ve all grown up watching. And those classic moments are irresistible to a filmmaker”, said Branagh.
Everyone knows the story of Cinderella from Disney’s classic 1950 animated feature film. In this new live action film, Ella is the daughter of a merchant who marries Lady Tremaine and brings her and her daughters Anastasia and Drisella into the house. He dies suddenly leaving Ella at the mercy of her cruel stepmother. Ella finds herself in the role of the servant girl and is spitefully renamed Cinderella.
After meeting a dashing stranger in the woods – and unaware that he is the prince – she feels she has met a kindred soul. Her hopes of attending the palace ball are dashed when Lady Tremaine destroys her ball gown, but the fairy godmother steps in armed with a few mice and a pumpkin, and changes Cinderella’s life forever.
Production on Cinderella is taking place at Pinewood Studios and other locations in England. The film is scheduled for release on March 13, 2015.
