Beastly is out Today, will you see it?
March 3rd, 2011
Beastly
This Friday, the new film Beastly plans to entice viewers with an all-star cast (Alex Pettyfer, Vanessa Hudgens, Neil Patrick Harris) and engaging storyline about outer vs. inner beauty.
Beastly is told through 17 year-old Kyle (Pettyfer) a spoiled and popular student who foolishly falls for Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen), a goth classmate that some students speculate to be a witch.
Hell-bent on teaching Kyle a lesson for the way he treats others, Kendra puts a spell on the shallow teen therefore making him as ugly on the outside as he is on the inside. His only hope now is to find someone who will look past the surface and appreciate his inner beauty.
Unless he is able to find someone that will love him for his true self, Kyle is left with the possibility of remaining “Beastly” forever. His only hope – an outcast student named Lindy (Hudgens) who may be his best chance to prove that love is never ugly.
The movie is in theaters today, March 4. Do you plan to see it?
Alex Pettyfer
If you feel like you have been hearing Alex Pettyfer’s name a lot these days it’s probably because the 20 year-old British actor is the star of not one but two new movies in the early months of 2011.
The sci-fi thriller I Am Number Four arrived in theaters February 18 and portrayed Alex as a typical high school student with a mysterious background, placed in an immediate need for survival.
On March 4, Pettyfer will once again star on the big screen as a student but this time, as Kyle Kingson, the shallow but popular teen in Beastly. Although Kyle has relied on physical charm in the past he is transformed into an ugly beast that must now rely on his inner beauty to find true love.
The film was written and directed by Daniel Barnz and is based on an Alex Flinn novel of the same name.
Do you think Alex Pettyfer is one of the brightest young talents in Hollywood?
Vanessa Hudgens
Vanessa Hudgens became an overnight sensation thanks to the incredible success of the High School Musical franchise but the 22 year-old actress, like any star of a breakaway hit, has been left with the challenge of continuing her legacy post-HSM.
How has she done thus far?
Vanessa recently appeared in the critically acclaimed Bandslam and can be seen in the highly anticipated Zack Snyder directed Sucker Punch. However, her role as “Lindy Taylor” in the new film Beastly may really be the most challenging role yet.
Portrayed as an unassuming classmate that goes by rather unnoticed, Lindy is quite possibly Kyle’s (Alex Pettyfer) only hope of breaking his ugly spell, a burden the character received after the formerly good looking student used his popularity and status to bullying and mock others.
Director Daniel Barnz remarked about Hudgens contribution, “This is a very different kind of role from those (Vanessa’s) done in the past, and the fact that she really wanted to challenge herself and grow as an actress…for a director there's just nothing more exciting than that.”
Co-star Alex Pettyfer added, “Vanessa will blow you away in this film. She’s a stunning girl and so talented. I had a terrific time working with her.”
Getting the Look
When director Daniel Barnz (Phoebe in Wonderland) signed on to adapt the big-screen version of Alex Finn’s novel Beastly, the first major challenge for the filmmaker was to bring the imaginary “Beast” to life.
As a result, it would have been conventional to make the “Beast” disgusting and full of fur but the director insisted that from day one the unofficial mantra for the production be “No Fur”.
Barnz explained that for the modern day take on Beauty and the Beast the “animalistic” approach was just not appropriate.
He noted, “In every traditional incarnation of this myth, the beast character takes on a look that's animalistic. We didn’t want to follow that expected path.”
Producer Susan Cartsonis added, “The beast look is a combination of Kyle’s (Pettyfer) worst nightmare and what Kendra (Mary-Kate Olsen) feels is the most appropriate punishment for the kinds of things he said about her, specifically, and says about people in general.”
Transforming the look for the film did not come easy. Pettyfer spent over three hours per day in the make-up department, prepping for the “Beast”.
Are you impressed with how the “Beast” turned out?
