Charlize Theron Snow White and the Huntsman

Snow White and the Huntsman

Cast: Kristen Stewart, Charlize Theron, Chris Hemsworth, Sam Claflin
Director: Rupert Sanders
Genre: Action, Adventure
Rated: PG
Running Time: Action, Drama, Adventure

Synopsis: In the epic action-adventure Snow White and the Huntsman, Kristen Stewart (Twilight) plays the only person in the land fairer than the evil queen (Oscar® winner Charlize Theron) who is out to destroy her.

But what the wicked ruler never imagined is that the young woman threatening her reign has been training in the art of war with a huntsman (Chris Hemsworth, Thor) who was dispatched to kill her.

Sam Claflin (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) joins the cast as the prince long enchanted by Snow White's beauty and power.

The breathtaking new vision of the legendary tale is from Joe Roth, the producer of Alice in Wonderland, producer Sam Mercer (The Sixth Sense) and acclaimed commercial director and state-of-the-art visualist Rupert Sanders.

Release Date: June 21st, 2011
Website: www.snowwhiteandthehuntsmanmovie.com

About the Production

From Alice to Snow White: Reimagining Epic Tales
Joe Roth, former chairman of 20th Century Fox and Walt Disney Studios and producer of Tim Burton's fantastical global hit Alice in Wonderland, knew that his team had found something incredible when Evan Daugherty's script for what would become Snow White and the Huntsman arrived at his Los Angeles-based production house, Roth Films. At the time, Joe Roth's head of development (and executive producer of this film), Palak Patel, saw the potential in Evan Daugherty's story, which was an innovative take on the age-old Brothers Grimm tale, originally published in 1812 in the text "Kinder- und Hausmärchen" ("Children's and Household Tales").

Joe Roth and Palak Patel were also responsible for finding the man who would helm the company's next epic action-adventure. Rupert Sanders, a highly decorated commercial director, had made his way to the top of his game with a unique visual style that distinctly branded ad campaigns such as those for the juggernaut video game Halo 3. Joe Roth, Palak Patel and fellow executive producer Gloria Borders grew fascinated by the uncompromising tone and impressive variety in Rupert Sanders' work, as well as the depth of soul to his commercials.

When Joe Roth's team had a draft of the script with which all were comfortable, Rupert Sanders was the first and the only filmmaker to whom they sent the idea. A veteran of imaginative gaming spots, Sanders believed it was as important to reimagine the story as it was to open up a filmic Snow White to both genders. Everyone felt that Rupert Sanders' vision and skill set offered a deft balance that would guarantee the production its green light.

Joe Roth reflects that with this time-tested story and Rupert Sanders' visual arsenal, he knew they were on the right track: "I loved the idea of turning this story on its head. What I realised after making Alice in Wonderland is that if you find the right story and you put a visionary filmmaker on it-someone who's got a real eye-and you have a modern take and use all the modern tools, you have the best of all worlds." He tells that he found that man in Rupert Sanders: "When we looked at his commercial reel, it was clear he had a fantastic eye. I was impressed at how bright he was, and I knew he would be a fast learner."

Admittedly, it wasn't initially an easy sell to the British filmmaker. Recounts Rupert Sanders: "I'd been looking for a project, and I'd been close on a couple of things. Then I was sent the script, and I thought, 'Snow White? Are you having a laugh?' But after I read it, I thought, 'Wow, this is an incredible opportunity to create a world that people haven't seen before.' What touched me about the story was that it drew on something that so many people have within them. We all read it as a child and saw the cartoon that was done in 1937-the first Disney foray into fairy tales. I loved the idea of a reinvention."

Rupert Sanders acknowledges that he was also excited by "the chance to do something more masculine with the story." He says: "Snow White has an arc that is a very mythical rise of a hero. She's almost the female Luke Skywalker. We've built a universe that touches on her themes, including the iconic metaphors and imagery, but everything is skewed. We still have the mirror, the red apple and the evil Queen, but we've thrown into that massive battles and a rebellion. This story is much bigger, and the stakes are much higher. It's a battle of life against death."

Within 24 hours of reading the screenplay, Rupert Sanders put together a library of ideas for his producers. He presented his preliminary vision the next day, incorporating into Evan Daugherty's story visual concepts for that borrowed from English and French sculptors, as well as German artists. Rupert Sanders had no interest in delivering a fragile Snow White who was relegated to being saved by someone else; his heroine was as laser-focused upon her mission as her antagonist was.

As the script developed, the director found the symbols in the Brothers Grimm tale to be quite imperative in moving along the narrative. He notes: "They're very potent. Everything in that story-the mirror, the apple-is iconic and has so many deeper themes. The apple is the knowledge in the tree of life. The Snow White story helps us to understand mortality and teaches us not to bury ourselves in jealousy and rage, because that stops your living. It teaches that you should enjoy your life and not try to seek something that is ultimately irrelevant."

To demonstrate to executives at Universal Pictures the action and emotion of which a first-time features director was capable, Rupert Sanders took a skeleton cast and crew in January 2011 and filmed select visual scenes that would be captured in his vision of Snow White and the Huntsman. Pulling in several favors from friends and colleagues in the industry, he cut together a short reel, added a few special effects and relied upon a friend to conduct the voice-over. When the studio saw the tonal guide that took Rupert Sanders approximately a week to complete-with the Queen dissolving into ravens, her apple disintegrating to its core, and fairies emerging from the breasts of birds-it green-lit the film. Everyone recognised that the young filmmaker was more than capable of helming and delivering an epic with a distinctive vision.

Rupert Sanders sums his thoughts on the visual style for this film: "I wanted to make a very rich, fantastical world, but I wanted to separate fairy tale from fantasy; they are very different to me. I wanted to create something that was muscular but very emotional and to make a grand, epic-scale film that carried as much emotion as it did scale. A lot of the times, you see a film of this nature that is very heavily visually affected but has very little heart. I wanted to find that emotion in the story."

As preproduction took shape, The Blind Side's John Lee Hancock and 47 Ronin's Hossein Amini contributed to what would become the final script based upon Evan Daugherty's story, and Joe Roth requested that a seasoned filmmaker and longtime M. Night Shyamalan collaborator, Sam Mercer, join the team as a fellow producer.

Sam Mercer describes that his interest in coming aboard the production was due to how this reinvention still honored the lasting appeal of this character. He reflects upon our heroine: "Snow White is on a journey, but she hasn't yet accepted it. She's got to take control of the kingdom and ascend to what her father left her. The character is someone who is out for her people, and those core issues fundamentally resonate with us. With Rupert Sanders's aesthetics and eye for cinematic detail, we knew he would give this material a contemporary feel and make it into a big, fun summer action movie."

By Fairest Blood: Casting the Action-Adventure
Joe Roth, Sam Mercer and Rupert Sanders aimed to create a film that was not only timeless, but would also capture the spirit, style and tone of the Brothers Grimm, perhaps in the way these folklorists might envision a version of their story 200 years after they first wrote it down. With production due to start in the United Kingdom in fall 2011, casting director Lucy Bevan began the search for actors all across the world to bring life to this new vision.

The first role cast was also the wickedest: Queen Ravenna. The daughter of a sorceress, Ravenna slowly found her way to the dark side. Abducted by a vicious master when she was a girl, the only power Ravenna wielded was her astonishing beauty. Though her mother bestowed upon her an enchantment to protect her from the ravages of time, Ravenna is forced to maintain it by consuming the life force of young maidens. After she bewitched and killed Snow White's father, King Magnus, Ravenna stalled her death and threw off the balance of life with an evil that spread like cancer across the kingdom. But her cruelty did not end there. To become truly immortal, Ravenna must consume the heart of Snow White…the moment her stepdaughter becomes the fairest in the land.

Reflects Rupert Sanders on the power of this creature in our minds, as well as her role in this interpretation of the iconic story: "The Queen symbolises death, and she is trying to stop her own from arriving. She is seeking immortality, so everything in the kingdom is thrown off balance. Oppositely, Snow White is the beating heart of life, and the Huntsman's job is to take that life. If the Queen fails, life and death may fall back in sync and the kingdom will return to how it once was."

Academy Award® winner Charlize Theron was brought aboard to play the fabled monarch. Discussing his decision to cast Charlize Theron, Rupert Sanders commends: "Charlize has given such staggering performances in her career, but she is also such an incredibly beautiful woman. She encompasses, more than any other actor out there, both power and beauty personified. She is Margaret Thatcher-meets-Kate Moss."

Expounding upon the film's symbolism and Charlize Theron's decisions in bringing those tropes to life, Rupert Sanders adds: "When you are dealing with archetypes, you can play them big. People want to relish when the Queen says, 'Mirror, mirror, on the wall.' We want to see them coming from someone of this stature and beauty."

Joe Roth walks us through the team's casting process: "Choosing Charlize Theron was the idea right from the start. I'd worked with her in the past. We went over to the commercial shoot she was on and waited for her to take a break. When she came over, in four-inch stiletto heels and dressed in a very commercial way, I thought, 'Rupert Sanders is going to be blown away!'"

The producer was just as pleased when she arrived on set to begin filming and was game for the most intense of situations to get into character, including an uncomfortable swim in a tub of black oil. "Charlize Theron gives a performance as ferocious as the one she was asking for," adds Joe Roth. "It's an interesting amalgam: She's always in control, she's magnificent to watch and she's fearsome."

Charlize Theron was attracted to the part because of the complex humanity of a betrayed and wounded creature-one that easily could have been drawn as a screeching stereotype. She explains a bit of the Queen's backstory: "Ravenna's mother instilled into her at a very young age that she can only be her true best self if she remains young and stays beautiful. She realises that her magical powers are her survival. And that's the road she travels."

Though Ravenna has, according to Charlize Theron, "brutal instincts" and "an obsession with needing Snow White's beating heart to give her immortality," the reigning monarch hasn't completely lost all traces of her humanity. Like Rupert Sanders, the actress appreciated the difficult lessons inherent in this timeless story. Charlize Theron shares: "Ravenna realises that she wants something that, if she made different choices in her life, she could have had. But because of how she decided to live and the bed that she made for herself-one that she's lying in right now-she can't. It's not even an option for her."

When Snow White's mother died and her father married Ravenna, the young princess found her innocence and compassion to be qualities the new Queen loathed. Locked away in a tower for seven years, Snow White grew up watching her father's murderer rule the kingdom with an iron fist. But the young beauty, who had begun training as an archer, falconer and horsewoman, has escaped and now trains with an uneasy ally. The time has come for her to defend her people from the one who's been crippling them. She makes an oath that she will become their weapon and challenges her fellow outcasts to ride with her against Ravenna.

Rupert Sanders knew that they had to walk a fine line with the character of Snow White. In adapting the centuries-old fairy tale, originally about a little girl who is more victim than fighter, it was important to the filmmakers that Snow White and her journey remain identifiable for contemporary audiences across the world. The hurdles and problems that she faces are issues with which girls and women grapple in modern day: loneliness and maturation, plus issues of trust, love and the power (as well as the ultimate fading) of beauty.

The casting of Ravenna's nemesis was slightly trickier than finding her pursuer. The filmmakers were searching for an actress who could capture both sides of the archetypal character: the innocence, naiveté and tenderness that Snow White demonstrates in the first half of our story, and the tough, physical warrior princess that she becomes in the second half. They discovered a number of younger actresses who could play the first half of the movie brilliantly but had trouble convincing the team that they could carry off the tougher persona. Likewise, when older actresses auditioned, they could well portray the battle-hardened soldier but were unconvincing as the recessive captive that the film's early scenes demanded.

After a worldwide search for a performer who could fulfill the demands of this expansive role, Kristen Stewart, known for her role as Bella Swan in the blockbuster Twilight saga, was cast in the much coveted role of Snow White. Comments Rupert Sanders of the team's choice: "Kristen Stewart is such an incredible talent. She has obviously done amazing work in her projects to date, but this opens her up to an even larger audience and gives her a classical role. She's previously been in films that are of our era and not done a film quite like this. This is her chance to rise, and to shine as well. The two track well together."

Joe Roth gives a bit of background on her casting: "We all felt convinced that Snow White was not shy but somebody who was an aggressive, assertive, positive Joan of Arc-like figure. We originally were looking for an unknown to play the character, in the same way we did on Alice in Wonderland, where we found Mia Wasikowska. However, Rupert Sanders and I decided to fly down to New Orleans, where the last Twilight film was being shot, and sat and talked to Kristen Stewart. We felt great about casting Kristen Stewart. She really did her homework for this role. She spent four months riding horses and four months with an English accent."

Kristen Stewart introduces us to a young woman we thought we had long known: "We're not trying to take Snow White and turn her on her side; we stay very true to who she is in the story. She represents a reminder of just how great people can be to one another." Agreeing with Charlize Theron, the actress appreciated the material's thoughtful take on beauty and power. Kristen Stewart says: "It's been interesting to play a young girl who is completely unaware of any vanity. She just has none. In almost every other role you play, you're at least aware of yourself and might have to play a girl dealing with vanity as she grows into a woman. The fact that Snow White has absolutely none of that, and Ravenna has the ultimate opposite, says something very nice about what people find beautiful in life."

The performer appreciated the writers' take on Snow White, a character initially trapped in a forest that draws its strength from any weakness. Kristen Stewart reflects: "I do admire strong characters, but this wasn't strong for the sake of strong. It was so feminine and so human, and I love playing a character who is someone that you're going to root for and throw your drink on the ground and stand up and go, 'Yeah!'"

This part represented Kristen Stewart's first time as an action heroine, albeit a conflicted one. She says: "Snow White is initially this disconnected martyr. After she escapes, she's becoming this human being again, but she's not necessarily fighting for herself. It's like there's a hole that can't be filled. Most action characters are so self-righteous and vindictive, but she won't do that. I've never seen that before, and I think it's awesome."

Kristen Stewart knew there would be much stunt work involved in a production of this size and scope, and she was more than ready for the challenge. For example, during Snow White's escape scene, the actress was required to be literally up to her shoulders in an enclosed sewer set with dozens of live rats. As well, she had to jump off of a two-story building into a pool on a chilly London day to make this daring escape.

The other title character to be cast was, of course, the Huntsman: Eric, a hunter who knows the Enchanted and Dark Forests like the back of his hands. Not only did the Huntsman once have respect for the animals he tracked, he also still has the ability to think like one. But after his wife, Zara, died, Eric found his only comfort as a mercenary and a drunk. Now, the Huntsman has been tasked to follow Snow White into the forest and return her to Ravenna, who needs to consume her heart. But when Eric discovers the treachery of the Queen, he channels his rage into training a young woman who is determined to end what Ravenna began. Eric begins to see in Snow White an end to the darkness and to believe that the king's standard could fly again.

Initially conceived as a character much older than Snow White, the Huntsman morphed during the screenplay's development. Thor himself, Chris Hemsworth, was courted for the part after the filmmakers watched him in his career-defining role as the Nordic god of war. His charisma and on-screen presence convinced them that he could embody the tortured former soldier who finds salvation in a young woman called Snow White.

With his attitude, humor, intensity and physical presence, Chris Hemsworth proved he could bring life to the character and serve as the ideal balance between Kristen Stewart and Charlize Theron. Shares Sam Mercer of their choice: "We spent a fair amount of time exploring who should be the Huntsman and how to round out the triangle. Through the evolution of talking to many actors and getting their takes on it, we discovered Chris hemsworth. He is becoming a huge star, and we knew we had to have him."

Chris Hemsworth's first day on set was one of the most intimidating of the shoot: his big scene with Charlize Theron in which the Queen dispatches the Huntsman. Joe Roth knew that Chris Hemsworth was up for the challenge of matching wits with the Oscar® winner. The producer compliments: "The guy is built like a linebacker, he's gorgeous to look at, and he has great depth of character. Chris Hemsworth is the guy that puts up 110 percent all the time."

Discussing his part, Hemsworth says: "The Huntsman is a lost soul. He has given up on life and himself. When we first meet him, he's a drunk, living alone in the woods working as a mercenary, hunting and tracking. He is then assigned the role of finding Snow White and bringing her back to the Queen." Offering his reason for tackling the role, Chris Hemsworth states: "I liked the idea of playing the reluctant hero: rough around the edges but with a good heart underneath. We tried to push the inconsistencies of his character, keep him unpredictable."

Chris Hemsworth also appreciated the "classic Western character" that the writers had drawn and the visual style that his director ensured. The performer adds: "I read it with Rupert Sanders, and I saw visually how creative he was. We had discussions about character and story, and I was inspired by what he said. I've worked with plenty of people who have done far more films than Rupert Sanders, but many are not nearly as equipped, focused or innovative as he is. He's unreal. I love these types of films: big, fantastical, epic stories that have a real heart at the center of them. They're relatable characters, and the story is about hope and inspiration and love and tragedy. These are the things that we all deal with, but the story is told on an incredible, vivid background."

Although Chris Hemsworth and Kristen Stewart carefully practiced their fight scenes together, mistakes were made during production. During a particularly vigorous take, Kristen Stewart accidentally punched the seasoned kickboxer in the face. His nose swelled up, and his wound had to be covered up with makeup. Kristen Stewart was truly a match for this Huntsman.

No telling of this timeless fable would be complete without a handsome prince. And in this version that man is William, Snow White's closest childhood friend and the son of Duke Hammond, a former consort of the king. When Ravenna's dark army took control of the castle and Snow White was imprisoned, William, played by Sam Claflin, fled with his father to the outlying lands populated by trolls, dwarves and fairies. They have spent years amassing an army to protect what's left of the kingdom from the venomous woman who has upset the natural order of the world. When William learns that his boyhood love is still alive, the expert marksman vows to find Snow White and never leave her again.

Sam Claflin shares a bit about his character's motivation: "William strives to make the world a better place and does so by disobeying his father's orders, which obviously makes him quite rebellious. But he's doing it for what he believes is the good of the world. So, he's a very respectable bloke."

Tired of living in exile, William is ready to reclaim the kingdom for the people who have been oppressed by an entity whose powers seem to know no end. He finds an ally in his childhood friend Snow White. Adds Sam Claflin: "He knows that there's more to life than living behind these tall, big walls, and his father is just playing it safe and wants no one to have to risk their lives. William believes that you have to take a risk to make something better."

About the casting of Sam Claflin and William's part in this story, Rupert Sanders offers: "Sam Clafin played it excellently, and William is a difficult one to play, because the Huntsman is so charismatic because he's the bad guy, the one we love to hate and hate to love. But we've tried to make William dynamic. He's the warrior son of a statesman father, and he's out there fighting and training on his own. The image that scarred him as a child is that his betrothed, Snow White, was ripped out of his hands during a battle when Ravenna kills the king and takes over the castle. We were all so impressed by how well Sam Clafin handled a very tough part."

Supporting talent brought on to the film include Sam Spruell as the villainous Finn, Ravenna's brother, a henchman who does whatever evil his sister bids of him. Vincent Regan plays the brave Duke Hammond, King Magnus' former second-in-command (and William's father) who has taken his people to the outer lands. Noah Huntley portrays the ill-fated King Magnus, whose early death throws the land into deep despair, while Liberty Ross plays Magnus' dearly departed first bride, the young princess' mother. Lily Cole plays the young handmaiden Greta, whose youth is drained by Ravenna. Finally, in her feature-film debut, Raffey Cassidy portrays Snow White as a young girl.

British Masters: The Dwarves Are Chosen
The cream of the British acting establishment was solicited to play the film's dwarves, and through a combination of visual effects and old-school trickery, you will believe their size. In casting the dwarves, Rupert Sanders pulled off a bit of a hat trick with his thespians. He went to each of the potential dwarves separately, with drawings of them as the characters as well as elaborate backstories for these warriors destined to help Snow White upon her journey. He knew that if he could get a meeting with them, his passion would be infectious. Indeed, every single actor said yes.

Rupert Sanders walks us through how he was able to attract such talent: "It was almost like casting a British gangster film. I had been working on something in that realm, and these guys were all on my list for that project. When it came to casting the dwarves, I wanted to do something different with them. I needed to find tough guys with big hearts. I wanted them to sing and cry together, and laugh and fight together. They're a real band of brothers. It's definitely true that once you cast one, the others start to fall into place.

"I created a hardback bible of imagery that describes the world in great detail-the geography, history, the present conundrum of the kingdom-so they would have a great idea of what the world was like," the director continues. "Then a lot of it was their trusting me and my sweet-talking them into doing it. The dwarves bring so much to the film. They're the comical interlude who bring laughs, but they also show another balance of emotion. They're heartfelt."

Beith, played by Ian McShane, is the leader of the dwarves. He is an old acquaintance of the Huntsman's and knows how tricky Eric can be. Nion, played by Nick Frost, is Beith's right-hand man and a fervent dwarf supremacist who does not trust Snow White, Eric or either of their motives. Gort, played by Ray Winstone, is an ill-tempered, drunken dwarf who abhors most music and will put moss in his ears to drown it (and everyone else) out. Coll, played by Toby Jones, is one of the toughest dwarves and serves his men as if he were a Special Forces soldier. He and Duir, played by Eddie Marsan, comprise a warrior duo. Alongside his other half, Duir takes out any enemy who dares to mess with dwarfkind. Gus, played by Brian Gleeson, is the youngest of the dwarves and falls in love with Snow White the minute he meets her. The young fiddle player will prove his loyalty when it comes to protecting the savior of his kingdom.

The last two dwarves are a father and son. Muir, played by Bob Hoskins, is blind. A wise seer and spiritual leader of his clan, he is certain that Snow White is pure of heart and has been chosen to heal the land ravaged by Ravenna. He believes that the young princess is destined to become the face of promise for the kingdom. Finally, his son, Quert, played by Johnny Harris, guides his father. Quert sings Celtic ballads with a heartbreaking voice and is an accomplished musician.

Indeed, many of the actors portraying the dwarves have worked with one another before, and Ian McShane returns to work with one of his Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' co-stars, Sam Claflin, for this film. Ian McShane sums the team's thoughts on this project: "The story itself is a great one: It's magical, brutal, sexy and very different to any other epic I've been involved with so far. It's an intelligent script, and the visual qualities that Rupert Sanders and his team bring to it will be extraordinary."

Eddie Marsan jokes that Rupert Sanders might have reassessed his excitement during postproduction: "Rupert Sanders bit off more than he could chew when the dwarves turned up on set. We were like a bunch of naughty schoolboys who just created havoc. It's the character. It just makes you quite mischievous, quite bawdy and quite rude."

Capes and Battle Gear: Costumes of Snow White and the Huntsman
Rupert Sanders and his producers carefully handpicked an outstanding team of creative department heads, all selected for their level of expert craftsmanship. An Academy Award® winner for Alice in Wonderland, Chicago and Memoirs of a Geisha, visionary costume designer Colleen Atwood was given the challenge of presenting the characters to modern audiences through astonishingly intricate and carefully assembled designs.

The designer was a longtime collaborator of Rupert Sanders' on his advertisement work. Says the director: "Colleen Atwood is far more experienced than any of us put together, and I've worked with her for a number of years on commercials. It was amazing when she said she's do it, because the wardrobe is so important to this film. If it isn't fantastical enough-but also realistic enough-then it doesn't help the characters get into their world, and that would be a real downfall. Her wardrobes blend seamlessly into this world, and they speak volumes about the world and the characters."

Symbolism was crucial to Rupert Sanders' telling of this story, and Colleen Atwood translated his vision gorgeously. For example, Magnus' coat of arms is emblematic of his reign as a good and benevolent ruler during a time in which the kingdom prospered. It was fruitful and alive, and the crest symbolises peace. The apple on it is an iconic part of the Brothers Grimm's Snow White story, and the apple tree is an integral part of the film that is symbolically represented.

Colleen Atwood starts every film with research via the usual mediums, but she fancies museums in particular to inspire her. Based in London, the Wallace Collection, home to one of Europe's finest collections of arms and armor (besides the art, furniture and porcelain), was of enormous help to her. Her travels also took her abroad to Istanbul. She explains: "I spent a couple of days buying fabrics and bits and pieces. It helped me to pull the look of the movie together, and everything that I bought there I used in a relevant way. I still needed hundreds of units of manufactured materials, but it was such a great marketplace for handmade materials. It was very useful for inspiration, and a place to find materials like beautiful woven wool dyed with natural fibers."

She was excited to work with Rupert Sanders on his feature-film debut, and she knew she could honor the audience's shared memories of the lead character while still telling her own version of the tale. "Snow White was one of the first movies I saw when I was a child," recalls Colleen Atwood. "There were certain things that were magical about the Disney character, and I loved the way she was dressed, but our character could hardly be dressed in red, blue and yellow."

As Kristen Stewart's Snow White is a very physically active character, Colleen Atwood designed a modern-looking costume that is customised at various stages of the story. "The outfit Snow White wears for a majority of the movie is made from beautiful green suede that perfectly complemented Kristen Stewart's eye color. The dress has several layers including legging pants underneath to allow the character to be active and not have us worry about constantly readjusting costumes and stapling skirts to boots," says Colleen Atwood. "The dress starts long, but she eventually gets a makeover from the Huntsman during their travels. Then we reveal a shorter version of her dress with the leggings, which will hopefully appeal to the girls today, but still stay viable within the realm of the story."

Toward the end of her journey, Snow White goes to battle to fight for her people's future. As her character changes, so does her costume. To accommodate, Colleen Atwood designed a suit of armor suitable for Kristen Stewart to wear on horseback and in battle. "When Snow White goes into battle, she doesn't have time to assemble the proper armor," comments Colleen Atwood. "So we took different elements of armor to compile an outfit made to look like she was armored." She adds: "It's not supposed to look like a slick, pulled-together suit. She can ride and fight in it, but there are very subtle clues that tell the audience that it has been thrown together in haste. There are leg pieces missing and the whole costume is not symmetrical."

For the award winner, Snow White's costumes were enjoyable to create. She reflects: "I have a daughter about Kristen Stewart's age, and I wanted to design something that would connect with her age group. I do a lot of period and fantasy work, but I love young women's clothing."

The Huntsman basically stays in one outfit for the duration of the story, and all of his garments are made of rough organic materials that a hunter of his station would wear. For the character, Colleen Atwood drew her inspiration from what would have been his natural surroundings: the great outdoors. Referencing shapes and fabrics from medieval times, Colleen Atwood's crew sewed together smaller pieces of animal skins. "He has a lot of layers to his clothing," she says. "Everything had to be useful to him. For example, his big, heavy coat could also be used as a blanket to sleep on."

The Huntsman couldn't live up to his name without his signature use of weapons. He carries a double-axe rig and a belt that holds his array of knives. Colleen Atwood needed to design the axe rig on his back to enable him to grab his weapons quickly. Her team eventually settled on a rig that used magnets to secure the axes to the harness, allowing Chris Hemsworth to access them with ease and speed. After a good deal of training with stunt coordinator Ben Cooke, the actor was ready to go.

The most ornate wardrobe does, of course, belong to Ravenna. While Magnus was a good king who ruled over a prosperous land, his murderess does the opposite. Naturally, that cruelty would be reflected in her heraldry. Ravenna's crest symbolises the dark hold over a land that was once fruitful. The tree in her emblem is dead and blackened and bears no fruit.

Colleen Atwood and her team had their skilled hands full. "Designing for a character like Ravenna is the film equivalent of couture costume," she reflects. "Making costumes for someone who is six-feet tall is just awesome, but you can't have a character like Ravenna without having an actress like Charlize Theron to work the costume. There's a lot of costume, and it could be overwhelming to some actresses."

Through Ravenna, Colleen Atwood tried to personify evil in a different way: one that also showed a bit of vulnerability. Ravenna wears 12 major costumes within the story, each one handmade and requiring hundreds of hours of labor. To prepare, Colleen Atwood discussed the character with Charlize Theron at length. The designer says: "She also wanted to have a bit of fun with and not be too strapped in to the cliché of what the evil Queen was. We wanted her to be a person too. She had royal duties and has some feelings and background about where she came from, but as the story progresses, so does her madness. Her world is crumbling, and as her madness inhabits her, I started to change the materials and the feeling of her clothes. In the beginning, her costumes have a real shape to them, but as we go on, they get more spectral and buglike. It's my metamorphosis for her."

A consumer of young maidens' youth, Ravenna steals her beauty from anything and everything around her. Once that feast is over, her world begins to deteriorate. "When the gold dress and cape transform, we see the transition of Ravenna's beauty," shares Colleen Atwood. "Ravenna takes her beauty, but Snow White's beauty is internal and owned, so you see it grow throughout the story. That's the allegorical contrast between the two kinds of beauty in the story and in the world."

The Queen's costumes were nothing short of astonishing. Ravenna's transformation cape-her raven cloak-took a skilled dressmaker four weeks to make from a concept and pattern designed by Atwood. Each rooster feather was hand-trimmed before it was applied. Ravenna's raven cloak was a project of love for the craftsperson who made it. And haute couture does not come cheap. The cost: about £20,000.

Theron commends her designer, noting that Colleen Atwood made sure that "the devil was in the details." The actress explains how costuming followed function: "Colleen Atwood truly understood the themes of this story, and that it is not just about beauty. Everything had to look a certain way to Ravenna because that's her philosophy in life. She lives in a man's world. She's been told by her mother to believe that men will only allow you to be as good as you possibly can be, if you are beautiful.

"I knew the costumes were going to be spectacular, but Colleen Atwood took it to another level," Charlize Theron continues. "I felt like every costume had a feeling of not quite what it seems. In a way, these dresses were like torture devices for Ravenna. I love that because I feel like Ravenna was, in a way, more torturous toward herself than to the people that she was killing."

Dressing the actress to play the monarch was no walk in the park. As well, Charlize Theron, no stranger to immersing herself in the special effects makeup needed for difficult parts, understood that Ravenna's aging makeup would require two to six hours to apply. In fact, she often had call times at the wee hours of the morning, this all before donning the intricate costumes.

For Snow White and the Huntsman, Colleen Atwood's design team procured materials from all over the world, including beetle shells from Thailand, fabrics from Turkey, sequins from China and chain mail designed in the U.K. but made in India, as well as select jewels from renowned designer Cathy Waterman. Always up for more challenges, the team prepped for their largest day to come on the shoot: one that involved more than 400 extras dressed in medieval clothing.
Snow White & the Huntsman Background
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