Burbank, CA (June 19, 2012) – The Walt Disney Studios announced today that production began Wednesday, June 13th, on “Maleficent,” starring Academy Award®–winning actress Angelina Jolie.
Directed by two-time Oscar®-winning production designer Robert
Stromberg (“Avatar,” “Alice in Wonderland”), in his directorial debut, and
produced by Joe Roth, “Maleficent” is written by Linda Woolverton (“The
Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast”) and executive produced by Angelina
Jolie, Don Hahn, Matt Smith and Palak Patel.
Co-starring
in the film are Sharlto Copley (“District 9”), Elle Fanning (“Super
8”), Sam Riley (“On the Road”), Imelda Staunton (“Vera Drake”), Miranda
Richardson (“The Hours”), Juno Temple (“Atonement”) and Lesley Manville
(“Secrets & Lies”).
This
is the untold story of Disney’s most beloved villain, Maleficent, from
the 1959 classic “Sleeping Beauty.” The film reveals the events that
hardened her heart and drove her to curse the baby, Aurora.
Behind-the-scenes
talent includes Academy Award®–winning cinematographer Dean Semler
(“Dances with Wolves,” “In the Land of Blood and Honey”), production
designer Gary Freeman (“Saving Private Ryan,” “The Bourne Supremacy”),
two-time Oscar® nominated costume designer Anna B. Sheppard
(“Schindler’s List,” “The Pianist”) and seven-time Academy Award–winning
makeup artist Rick Baker (“Planet of the Apes,” “Men in Black”).
“Maleficent” is scheduled for a March 14, 2014 release in 3D.
