The entertainment behemoth has paid a seven-figure sum for a screenplay based on the classic fairy tale, reports say

First, Alice fell down the rabbit hole. Now it seems Cinderella shall go to the ball. In the wake of Tim Burton’s hugely successful 3D version of Alice in Wonderland, Disney has paid a seven-figure sum for the rights to a new screenplay based on the classic tale of a serving girl who wows a prince with the help of her fairy godmother.

The Devil Wears Prada’s Aline Brosh McKenna has penned the new version, which is intended to be shot as a live action movie. Disney, fresh from its success with Burton’s film, which has taken a staggering $980m worldwide, also made the hitherto most famous screen version of Cinderella, the 1950 animated tale.

According to the Deadline blog, executives are not revealing whether the new project will be shot in 3D, nor whether it will update the original story, or stick closely to it. In recent years, Hollywood has borrowed elements of the folk tale for movies such as Ever After, starring Drew Barrymore, and A Cinderella Story, featuring Hilary Duff.

As well as Cinderella, Hollywood is currently scrambling to bring a new version of The Wizard of Oz to the big screen. Several studios and a number of independent companies have movies in the pipeline: Disney’s proposed take is titled Oz the Great and Powerful, and could see Sam Mendes directing Robert Downey Jr as the wizard.

Read the whole article at The Guardian