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Mark Romanek Exiting Disney’s ‘Cinderella’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Monday January 7, 2013 @ 6:00pm PSTTags: Cate Blanchett, Cinderella, Disney, Mark Romanek
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Disney and director Mark Romanek are parting ways on Cinderella, the revisionist fairy tale movie that has Cate Blanchett attached to star. It’s all going down now, but I’m told that Romanek and the studio have differing views on how to tell the story. Romanek’s is darker, and it’s too dark for this to turn out to be a fairy tale ending. The studio has a script by Chris Weitz and Aline Brosh McKenna, and Disney began testing young actresses for the title role late last year, a group that includes Saoirse Ronan. It’s certain they’ll go out to directors quickly, trying to keep on track to get the picture into production by the summer. Simon Kinberg is producing. Romanek, who helmed Never Let Me Go and One Hour Photo, has dropped from films before. The helmer, renowned for his commercials and video work, exited The Wolfman again because he had a darker vision than the studio was looking for. In hindsight, that didn’t work out badly at all for him.

Disney just confirmed to me that this is happening, and the studio gave me this statement: “The Walt Disney Studios and Mark Romanek have parted ways on Disney’s Cinderella project. We are committed to moving the project forward and have begun the search for a new director. The team here at Disney respects Mark as both a director and a friend, and we hope to find something to work on together in the future.”

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Cate Blanchett Poised To Join Disney’s New ‘Cinderella’

By DOMINIC PATTEN | Tuesday November 27, 2012 @ 6:41pm PSTTags: Big Deals Film, Cate Blanchett, Disney, Mark Romanek

Cinderella could soon have a new evil stepmother – played by Cate Blanchett. The Oscar-winning actress is in deep talks to join Disney’s live action retelling of the glass slipper classic tale, Deadline has confirmed. Blanchett would … Read More »

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Mark Romanek Frontrunner For Sony’s ‘The Lost Symbol’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday October 19, 2011 @ 1:23pm PDTTags: Andrew Garfield, Brian Grazer, Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, Mark Romanek, Paul Greengrass, Ron Howard, Sony Pictures, The Lost Symbol
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Mark Romanek has emerged as frontrunner to direct The Lost Symbol, Sony Pictures’ third installment of the Dan Brown-penned thrillers focusing on symbologist Robert Langdon. After directing the global blockbusters The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons, Ron Howard this summer opted out of directing a third, preferring to produce with his Imagine Entertainment partner Brian Grazer. Grazer produced the first two films in the series with the late John Calley, who acquired the property before he left the Sony Pictures executive suite to become a producer.

Sony Pictures has been interviewing helmers for one of the more prominent open directing assignments. Romanek hasn’t got the job locked up yet, but I’ve heard negotiations should begin soon. Romanek, a top video director, made his feature helming debut on One Hour Photo, and most recently directed Never Let Me Go with Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan and Andrew Garfield. Romanek has so far made mostly budget films. He nearly helmed a big one in The Wolfman but left weeks before production started in a dispute with Universal over budget and other creative disagreements. Read More »

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Disney Courting Mark Romanek To Direct Re-Imagined ‘Cinderella’

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Friday August 12, 2011 @ 10:30am PDTTags: Aline Brosh McKenna, Mark Romanek, Simon Kinberg
Mike Fleming

EXCLUSIVE: Disney is trying to fit the glass slipper on Mark Romanek. The studio is circling Romanek, the accomplished video director and helmer of the features Never Let Me Go and One Hour Photo, to steer a new … Read More »

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CAA Signs Director Mark Romanek

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Tuesday January 18, 2011 @ 5:39pm PSTTags: Andrew Garfield, CAA, Carey Mulligan, David Bowie, Keira Knightley, Mark Romanek, Michael Jackson, Never Let Me Go, WME
Mike Fleming

Feature and video director Mark Romanek has signed with CAA. Romanek, who just directed the Fox Searchlight adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Never Let Me Go with Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan and Keira Knightley, had been repped by WME. Romanek previously … Read More »

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Miranda Otto To Star In Fox’s ‘Locke & Key’

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday November 22, 2010 @ 2:24pm PSTTags: Alex Kurtzman, Comic-to-Series, Fox Locke & Key Pilot, Fox Pilots, Josh Friedman, Locke & Key, Locke & Key Casting, Mark Romanek, Roberto Orci, TV, TV Deals
Nellie Andreeva

EXCLUSIVE: Miranda Otto is set to headline Fox’s drama pilot Locke & Key, from producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. Based on Joe Hill’s comic, Locke & Key tells the story … Read More »

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Four Drama Pilots Land Directors

By NELLIE ANDREEVA | Monday November 22, 2010 @ 7:39am PSTTags: Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome Pilot, Eden Pilot, Fox Locke & Key Pilot, Jace Alexander, Mark Romanek, Syfy, TNT Allan Loeb Project, TV, TV Pilot Directors, TV Pilots, USA Eden
Nellie Andreeva

UPDATED: Four high-profile pilots have found directors. Mark Romanek is in negotiations to helm Fox’s Locke & Key, Jace Alexander is set to direct USA’s Eden, Jonas Pate has come on board to direct Syfy’s  Battlestar Galactica: Blood & Chrome, while Jim Sadwith has closed a deal to direct TNT’s … Read More »

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‘Never Let Me Go’ Opening London Festival

By TIM ADLER in London | Thursday August 5, 2010 @ 4:00pm PDTTags: Alex Garland, Andrew Garfield, Carey Mulligan, Keira Knightley, London Film Festival, Mark Romanek, Never Let Me Go

Keira Knightley and Carey Mulligan are expected to make Red Carpet appearances on October 13th because their film Never Let Me Go is opening the London Film Festival. Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo) has directed Alex Garland’s (Sunshine) adaptation of Kazuo … Read More »

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