Beastly (film)

Name	Beastly
Caption	Theatrical release poster
Director	Daniel Barnz
Producer	Susan CartsonisRoz WeisbergMichael Flynn
Screenplay	Daniel Barnz
Based on
Starring	Alex PettyferVanessa HudgensMary-Kate Olsen
Music	Marcelo Zarvos
Cinematography	Mandy Walker
Editing	Thomas J. Nordberg
Distributor	CBS Films
Runtime	86 minutes
Released
Country
Language	English
Budget	$17 million
Gross	$38,028,230

Beastly is a 2011 romantic fantasy film loosely based on Alex Flinn's 2007 novel of the same name. It is a retelling of the fairytale Beauty and the Beast set in modern-day New York City. The film is written and directed by Daniel Barnz and stars Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer.

The plot focuses on Kyle Kingson, a wealthy and arrogant high school student. During an environmental event, he disrespects a classmate, who is secretly a witch in disguise. The witch then casts a spell on Kyle to disfigure his body and face, giving him a year to find love or be left with his monstrous appearance forever.

It was expected to be distributed to theaters by CBS Films and Alliance Films on July 30, 2010. However, it was moved to March 18, 2011, in order to avoid Hudgens's film from clashing with the release of Zac Efron's film Charlie St. Cloud, but in January 2011, it was bumped up to March 4, 2011.

Plot

Kyle Kingston (Alex Pettyfer) is the arrogant and vain son of wealthy and equally as arrogant and vain news anchor Rob Kingston (Peter Krause). When he wins student body president, he bullies the eccentric Kendra Hilferty (Mary-Kate Olsen) for being ugly and strange at the after-party. Disgusted, Kendra magically transforms Kyle into a bald, and scarred shell of his once-handsome self. Kendra says Kyle has until the next spring to find someone who loves him or he stays this way forever. Rob takes Kyle to live in a private condo with their maid, Zola (Lisa Gay Hamilton), and Kyle's blind tutor, Will Fratalli (Neil Patrick Harris). Rob initially promises to support his son, but gradually neglects his son over time and stops visiting him after work altogether. Angry and hurt, Kyle finds sympathy from Will, Zola and her sister, Letisha (Regina King).

As spring draws closer, Kyle finds himself infatuated with Lindy Taylor (Vanessa Hudgens), a girl from his former school who he had initially been as distant to as he was to Kendra. When Lindy and her father are about to be mugged by two brothers on the street, Lindy's father shoots one of the brothers, the surviving one vowing vengeance by taking Lindy's life. Kyle saves Lindy and her father, and arranges for Lindy to move in with him for her own safety. Initially, Lindy is furious about hiding, since she was to go to Machu Picchu on a field trip - but after she claims she's seen worse when Kyle reveals himself to her (now calling himself "Hunter" around her), they warm up to each other. Kyle writes a letter to Lindy professing his love to her, but he never plans to give it to her, in fear of Lindy not feeling the same way. Will and Zola continue to help Kyle win her over, as the two begin to fall in love. In time, he completely wins her over when they read Frank O'Hara's poem "Having a Coke with You" together out loud. Closer to spring, Kyle makes a deal with Kendra that if he succeeds in winning Lindy's heart, she will restore Will's vision and grant citizenship to Zola's three children in Jamaica.

Lindy receives a text message from her father that the criminal who threatened her life is in jail. She and Kyle spend an afternoon at one of Rob's private cottages on a lake. As they are about to kiss, Lindy receives a call notifying her that her father overdosed and is in a hospital. She leaves to see her father, and Kyle gives her his letter, but regrets doing so when she tells him he's a good friend before leaving. Heartbroken, Kyle does not answer Lindy's phone calls, after she reads his letter. Inspired by Will and Zola, Kyle goes to meet Lindy one last time before she leaves for Machu Picchu, and explains he did not answer her calls because he thought she only liked him as a friend. Lindy professes her love, and departs for Machu Picchu. Kyle's normal, handsome self is restored with Kendra's spell broken, but Lindy decides against leaving and tries to find "Hunter" again. She initially ignores Kyle while searching for Hunter, only for Kyle's phone to ring when she calls "Hunter". Realizing Hunter was Kyle, the two share a kiss in the street.

Will wakes up one morning and to his delight can see again. Zola finds three green cards for her children in the mail from the government. Kendra is also seen approaching Rob Kingston's office as a new intern, implying that Kendra will likely do the same thing to Rob as she did to Kyle. In the credits, a series of photographs show that Kyle and Lindy went around the world together - including Machu Picchu.

Cast

Alex Pettyfer as Kyle Kingston/Hunter (novel: Kyle Kingsbury/Adrian King), the handsome man with an ugly streak who gets transformed when he bullies a girl at his school. Mary-Kate Olsen as Kendra Hilferty, the eccentric girl behind Kyle's transformation. Neil Patrick Harris as Will Fratalli, Kyle's blind tutor Lisa Gay Hamilton as Zola (novel: Magda), the Kingstons' maid Peter Krause as Rob Kingston, Kyle's father

Dakota Johnson as Sloane Hagen, Kyle's girlfriend before he leaves due to his deformity; she accompanies him in bullying other students. After Kyle leaves, she begins dating his best friend, Trey. She cheats on Trey with some other guy who is barely mentioned in the book.

Erik Knudsen as Trey Madison

Regina King as Letisha

David Francis as Dr. Davis

Brian Eastman as Dan Granburg

Gio Perez as Victor barrel

Roc LaFortune as Lindy's father

Production

Development

{| class="toccolours" style="float: left; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 2em; font-size: 85%; background:#c6dbf7; color:black; width:30em; max-width: 40%;" cellspacing="5" | style="text-align: left;" |I was very inspired by 'Say Anything.' I thought there was this kind of rawness and visceral qualities of those years. Being 18 and 19 and what those years are like. So, I wanted to translate that into this film as well. - Daniel Barnz, director of Beastly on writing the screenplay Susan Cartsonis produced the film through Storefront Films with Roz Weisberg as co-producer. Initially, the executives hoped for a late 2008 theatrical release; however, the WGA strike delayed that possibility.

Baer expressed excitement about the director, saying, "Daniel’s fresh vision makes him one of the most exciting directors of his generation. We are thrilled to partner with him as he brings his unique voice to arguably the most universally resonant myth in storytelling." Barnz remarked that he was happy to see the story told through the beast's perspective and that it focused more on the romance than the supernatural.

Design

in prosthetics as the beast. The makeup includes 67 pieces, and 60 tattoos and individual scars in his whole body. It took 7 hours to apply the full-body makeup. The prosthetics differ from what is described in the book. Having no fur or fangs, Pettyfer was pleased with the revision:

I was very happy to know I wasn't going to be furry. Question is, were you happy I wasn't furry? Well, I think the audience will be happy. This beast make-up is phenomenal. You're talking to someone who is a fanatic about it [prosthetics and movie make-up] and I've never seen anything that looks remotely similar to this.

The makeup was composed of 67 pieces. There were 7 pieces on his head, as well as 60 tattoos and individual scars applied following application of full-body makeup. The facial prosthetics and tattoos took almost three hours to apply, and to put on the full body makeup took the artists 6 hours to finish. Pettyfer commented on his 'transformation':

It really affected me because as soon as I shaved my head it kind of put me in this weird place, the same place [Kyle is in after his transformation] which really helped me with the role a lot. But at the same time, it kind of is a challenge because you are fighting personally with your own problems off set, but then onset you have a great resource to go to. Several days before the announced production date, several members of the cast were photographed while headed to a wardrobe studio for fittings. The costumes and the wardrobes used in the film were designed by Suttirat Anne Larlarb.

Filming

Beastly is one of the first feature films to be produced and distributed by CBS Films; it had a budget of $17 million for filming and marketing. Production began on June 13, 2009 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada and ended in August of the same year. Local Montreal diner Place Milton is also featured as Cafe Santiago. Filming was done in 45 days.

The Quebec government announced on June 12, 2009 that it was increasing its tax credit for foreign producers making films and TV shows there from 25 per cent of labour expenses to 25 per cent of the entire budget of productions shot there. Beastly was one of the film productions who chose to film in Montreal before the announcement of tax-paying increase.

Hudgens left for Montreal to film following the MTV Movie Awards. "I'm laid-back about it," she said. On June 4, 2009, Hudgens and Pettyfer arrived in Montreal. Neil Patrick Harris also went to Montreal to shoot his scenes, and at the same time, for his lead role in an independent film. Hudgens was the first to wrap shooting in order to promote the film Bandslam. Re-shoots were conducted in 2010 due to the push back of the film's release and in order to "emphasize the romantic relationship between the two main characters".

Music and soundtrack

The film score was composed by Marcelo Zarvos. Songs by Swedish indie band Marching Band were featured in the film. Also featured was Natalia Kills' second single, "Wonderland". The film's soundtrack was released on March 1, 2011.

Marketing

The first teaser trailer was released on November 20, 2009 during the previews of . The 23-second teaser received reactions and comments from commercial sites. Annie Barrett of Entertainment Weekly remarks that "Alex Pettyfer is giving off more of a (Disney pretty-boy) Gaston vibe than the Beast here." A holographic poster was posted in some selected theaters before. The first official poster was then released in early April 2010. A featurette video which includes clips from the film was released in early February 2010. The full-length trailer premiered last April 19, 2010. There was a new trailer released in late 2010 featuring a new logo, the new date, and the song "Broken Arrow" by Pixie Lott.

Merchandising

CBS Films announced that Beastly would have apparel and accessories, social expressions and gaming produced for the film's marketing. Among the products which were planned around the film are proprietary and co-branded games and puzzles for release worldwide by Fundex; figures and bobbleheads worldwide by Bif Bang Pow!; costumes, masks and accessories for the US and Canada from Rubie’s; and video games worldwide from Storm City, among others. CBS Consumer Products rallied a number of partners for movie-inspired merchandise.

The latest signings include:

Accessory Innovations for tote bags, wallets, bag clips, messenger bags, cross-body satchels, key chains and bookmarks (U.S.)

Bif Bang Pow for figures and bobbleheads (worldwide)

C&D; Visionary for stickers, patches, magnets, buttons, key chains and (non-lenticular) bookmarks (U.S.)

Fundex for games, co-branded games and puzzles (worldwide)

Genki Wear for fragrances (U.S.)

Hallmark for greeting cards and other social expressions (U.S.)

Harper Collins for an original novel (worldwide)

Jerry Leigh for fashion T-shirts and hoodies (U.S.)

LTL Prints for removable wall art (North America)

Philcos for fashion T-shirts, hoodies, sweatshirts, mood jewelry, blankets, headwear, glassware, buttons and wallets (Canada)

Rubies for costumes, masks and accessories (U.S./Canada)

Rock Paper Pencils for lenticular journals, bookmarks, pens and stationery (U.S.)

Storm City Games for 2 video games (worldwide)

Scorpio for posters (U.S.)

Sticker You for stickers, decals, static clings and appliqués (U.S.)

Release

Alliance Films, based in Montreal, released the film in Canada under a deal done by Alliance and CBS Films. Sony Pictures handled all international distribution. It was earlier reported to have a July 30, 2010 release date, but, a few weeks after Charlie St. Cloud moved to a July 30 release, CBS films released a statement saying that they will be moving Beastly because it will cause a "real dilemma" to some of the fans of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgens' relationship, via Beastly's Official Facebook account. Eventually, they moved the film's release date to March 18, 2011 to avoid clashing with other films opening during the summer 2010. Due to a successful test screening, CBS Films decided to bump Beastly up to March 4, 2011.

Critical reception

Although the film received mostly negative reviews, it ranked #45 in The Times predicted "50 Biggest Movies of 2010". Hudgens and Pettyfer are honored as ShoWest Stars of Tomorrow for their roles in Beastly. The film was screened at ShoWest and it drew enthusiastic reactions from the luncheon crowd of exhibition officials.

Box office

Although critically panned, Beastly still landed the third spot on the weekend gross right behind Rango and The Adjustment Bureau. As of May 25, Beastly's total US gross is $27,865,571. It garnered $10,162,659 more in other regions completing the worldwide gross of $38,028,230, doubling its $17 million budget.

References

External links

Category:Beauty and the Beast film adaptations Category:2011 films Category:2010s fantasy films Category:2010s romance films Category:American films Category:American fantasy films Category:American romance films Category:American teen films Category:English-language films Category:Films set in New York City Category:Films shot in Montreal Category:Films based on novels Category:Romantic fantasy films Category:CBS Films films