Anytime you hear that another director is being brought in this late into production you assume there is a conflict between the studio and the original director, but perhaps not in this case. According to a source for
The Hollywood Reporter, John Lee Hancock, who directed
The Blind Side and wrote
Snow White and the Huntsman is only being brought in to
help director, Robert Stromberg, complete
Maleficent. In this case, Stromberg is making his directorial debut, as his background is with production design, having won Oscars for his work on Tim Burton's
Alice in Wonderland and James Cameron's
Avatar. Add in the fact that the budget is just north of $200 million, it is understandable that Disney would ask Hancock to help make sure the film is in tiptop shape
"We asked him to be on set," producer Joe Roth says of Hancock. "He's not directing. He wrote pages and I hired a first-time director and it's good to have him on set." Asked why a film of this magnitude was entrusted to a novice director, Roth notes that Stromberg won Oscars for production design on Alice in Wonderland and Avatar. "The movie is gorgeous to look at and the last 75 minutes are really entertaining," he says. The issue is the opening, which is being re-shot over eight days.
The new scenes do not involve Jolie, as the actress is in Australia prepping to direct her World War II drama.
“Maleficent” is the untold story of Disney’s most iconic villain from the 1959 classic “Sleeping Beauty.” A beautiful, pure-hearted young woman, Maleficent has an idyllic life growing up in a peaceable forest kingdom, until one day when an invading army threatens the harmony of the land. Maleficent rises to be the land’s fiercest protector, but she ultimately suffers a ruthless betrayal—an act that begins to turn her pure heart to stone. Bent on revenge, Maleficent faces an epic battle with the invading king’s successor and, as a result, places a curse upon his newborn infant Aurora. As the child grows, Maleficent realizes that Aurora holds the key to peace in the kingdom—and perhaps to Maleficent’s true happiness as well.
Maleficent is being directed by Robert Stromberg, based on a screenplay by Paul Dini and Linda Woolverton. The cast includes: Angelina Jolie, Elle Fanning, Sharlto Copley, Juno Temple, Sam Riley, Miranda Richardson and Imelda Staunton. Will land in theaters May 30, 2014.