ALISON BOSHOFF: It's Snow White for the snowflake generation

The original Disney film came out 85 years ago and is a beloved part of almost every film fan’s childhood.

But with an update written by leading indie filmmaker Greta Gerwig, there will be little surprise at how much Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs has changed.

The most radical departures in the new Disney film, which is due out in 2024, are that there is no Prince (so no ‘Some Day My Prince Will Come’) .. . and no dwarfs.

A source closely connected with the film — shot earlier this year — tells me Snow White’s seven ‘dwarfs’ are going to be fully computer generated, and won’t be dwarfs at all.

Instead, Snow White is befriended by magical, forest-dwelling creatures.

A source connected with the production explains that they will be rather like the trolls in Frozen, or JRR Tolkein’s hobbits.They will have two legs, two arms and a face with eyes, nose and a mouth . . . but not be actually human.

That sounds like a riddle and I can add that you may expect a lot of hair, or fur, when the CG wizards have done their work, with the intention being to make them ‘iconic’ and ‘adorable’.The only nod back to the original little folk will be the names: Grumpy, Happy and so on.

A source said: ‘We finished filming in the summer but it takes months to sort out the CG for the dwarfs, who aren’t dwarfs. Also, it always takes ages for all the merchandise to be made, so the film’s not out for a long time still.’

Let’s hope that this allays the fears of those who were up in arms.

Actor Peter Dinklage said in an interview earlier this year: ‘I was a little taken aback when they [Disney] were very proud to cast a Latina actress as Snow White, universitas pertamina but you’re still telling the story of Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs.Take a step back and look at what you’re doing there.

‘It makes no sense to me. You’re progressive in one way and you’re still making that f***ing backwards story about seven dwarfs living in a cave together, what the f*** are you doing, man? Have I done nothing to advance the cause from my soapbox?I guess I’m not loud enough.’

Disney responded to say that they were taking steps to avoid causing offence with Snow White.

Actress Rachel Zegler, Maria in West Side Story last year, is playing the iconic Princess as a kick-ass modern heroine.She said: ‘She’s not going to be saved by a kiss and she’s not dreaming of a Prince, because there isn’t one. She is dreaming of becoming the leader her late father told her she could be, if she is fearless, honest and true.’

Her nemesis still remains her wicked stepmother (played by Gal Gadot), who still asks her magic mirror: ‘Who is the fairest of them all?’ And Gadot still does the business with the poisoned apple.

There was some backlash after Zegler (pictured), who is Colombian-American, was cast as Snow White.Zegler, 21, said: ‘Never in a million years did I imagine that this would be a possibility for me. You don’t normally see Snow Whites of Latin descent, even though Snow White is a big deal in Spanish-speaking countries.’

She added: ‘People are making these jokes about ours being the PC Snow White .. . yeah, it is — because it needed that. It’s an 85-year-old cartoon and our version is a refreshing story about a young woman who has a function beyond ‘Someday My Prince Will Come’.’

Christian Bale’s not a nightmare …but our film is

British actress Lucy Boynton has taken on an unsettling role in a big budget horror film, The Pale Blue Eye, playing a young epileptic woman who captivates writer Edgar Allan Poe.

Boynton, who appeared in The Ipcress File and Bohemian Rhapsody, comes into her own as Lea Marquis, who enchants Poe, played by former Harry Potter star Harry Melling (of Dudley Dursley infamy).She says that her character lives with a ‘looming fear’ of her own mortality in the very gothic (and very good) adaptation of a book by Louis Bayard.

London-based stylist Leith Clark put Boynton in a spectacular cream Chanel dress for the premiere this week, and Mark William Selley, at Jo Hansford in London, dyed her blonde hair copper.He wrote on Instagram: ‘Obsessed with this look . . . sometimes a little change is what’s needed.’

Christian Bale is among Boynton’s co-stars in the film and she says that contrary to his reputation for intensity, Bale was a pleasure to work with — so much so that she’s going to start a ‘Christian Bale Is Nice’ campaign. The film tells the story of a cadet who is found hanged at West Point military academy in 1830, and whose heart has been removed.

Detective Augustus Landor (Bale) investigates, and he is assisted by Poe: a new, rather oddball cadet, who loves poetry.

Melling practised his lines while walking around Highgate cemetery, which seems appropriately gothic.

The film is in cinemas from today and will be on Netflix from January 6.

Make Judi the Gruffalo!

Before she was the biggest thing in children’s publishing since Roald Dahl, Gruffalo author Julia Donaldson was an actress and she rather fancies taking a role in the beautiful BBC Christmas adaptations of her stories.

Donaldson’s book The Smeds And The Smoos will be broadcast on Christmas Day on BBC1.She said: ‘I’d love to play one of the characters but have never been asked. I understand they need ‘names’ to sell the product but I have recorded audio versions of my books and enjoy performing.’

Her fantasy signing for the next festive adaptation is Dame Judi Dench.’She’s a wonderful actress and played Hermia in the Old Vic production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream when I was 12 and understudying the fairies. It would be wonderful to have her narrate one of my stories.’

All aboard for a Popish plot 

Director Edward Berger — receiving Oscar buzz for All Quiet On The Western Front — tells me casting is complete on drama Conclave.

Based on the Robert Harris novel, it will star Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow and Stanley Tucci as cardinals voting for the election of the next Pope.The cast is rounded out by Isabella Rossellini as a nun — and an unknown Canadian actor playing Vincent Benitez, who arrives at the Vatican saying the Pope made him a cardinal secretly before he died.

‘It’s important for him to be someone nobody has heard of,’ says Berger.Those who have read the book will understand why. Filming starts in January.

No, Mr Bond, I expect you to be debonair

Avatar actor Sam Worthington has revealed that he came close to landing the role of James Bond when producer Barbara Broccoli was overseeing the last changing of the guard, back in 2005.

Worthington (left) flew to London from New York, where he was living, and did a screen test in a dinner jacket — and even had his hair cut by Broccoli in his hotel room, as the style he turned up with did not match her vision of the spy.

But in the end not even her Bond trim was enough.’I could play Bond as a killer, but I couldn’t get the debonair down for the life of me. The suit did not fit,’ he said ruefully.

Broccoli opted instead for Daniel Craig. His replacement is to be announced in March, with Kick-Ass star Aaron Taylor-Johnson the front-runner.

It’s 20 years since Richard Curtis last wrote a Christmas romantic comedy — Love Actually — which is celebrated by many as a modern classic, though it continues to divide film fans.He’s not exactly rushed back to the theme, but is now writing a Christmas rom-com about a genie who helps a workaholic New York businessman to win his family back over the festive season. The genie will be played by Melissa McCarthy.

Curtis’s last film was the 2019 comedy Yesterday, starring Himesh Patel and Lily James.

Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence is known for taking a serious line on politics, privacy and most things in between. However, she has a soft spot for downmarket reality TV, in particular the British-made Don’t Tell The Bride, which she calls ‘the best reality show ever’.  

In the programme, couples get funding for their wedding .. . on the condition that everything is organised by the groom. Lawrence recalled: ‘One woman was like: ‘Not Vegas. Not Vegas. Not Vegas!’ And guess what? It was Vegas. AND he didn’t invite her sister.’

Adele hits the haute notes 

Someone likes shoes .. . and also says a big Hello! to showstopper jewellery and couture dresses.

Yes, it’s Adele, and it looks likely that the value of her wardrobe for her Vegas residency will nudge seven figures. The Grammy Award-winning star has planned a new, haute couture look (plus diamonds) for every single one of her 19 weekends at Caesars Palace Colosseum.

So far, she has worn Schiaparelli, Maison Valentino, Givenchy and last weekend, Nina Ricci — the first custom dress the fashion house has made in five years.

The Valentino dress was created for Adele personally by designer Pierpaolo Piccioli.Her stylist Jamie Mizrahi says that there are outfits to come from Loewe, Versace and Proenza Schouler.

All are black and all haute couture — the only exception being her New Year’s Eve look, which will be another colour.

The singer has been teaming her spectacular outfits with out-of-this-world jewellery, from gold and pearl drops to black diamond rings.

Adele is worth £200 million and is being paid a reported $500,000 a show for the gigs, a total of $19 million. No wonder she says she never wants to stop playing Vegas!

Pam’s still proud to be a good-time girl 

Former Baywatch star Pamela Anderson continues to fascinate, and following the drama Pam & Tommy, starring Lily James, she is taking the chance to tell her story, herself.

A documentary titled Pamela, A Love Story, comes out on Netflix at the end of January — coinciding with the release of her memoir: Love, Pamela.

But the actress, 55, says she’s not going to watch the documentary, even though she’s interviewed for it at length and has handed over hundreds of photos (right) and home movies.

‘The documentary I haven’t seen — and have no intention of seeing,’ she says.’I gave full access to my archives and diaries, and hope that it makes sense to somebody. I hope that my story inspires people to have a great f***ing time and not worry so much.’

Anderson was deeply hurt by the depiction of how a sex tape made by her and then husband Tommy Lee became a global internet sensation in Pam & Tommy.

Her reactions to that show, plus the breakdown of her marriage to Canadian builder Dan Hayhurst, feature heavily in the documentary.

She and Hayhurst got to know each other when he was hired to work on her house on Vancouver Island during the pandemic.They were married on Christmas Eve 2020 but split up a year later.

The union followed her whirlwind wedding to producer Jon Peters. They parted ways 12 days after going through a marriage ceremony in Malibu.

The documentary has been directed by Ryan White, who said: ‘Pamela wears her heart on her sleeve — not just in relationships but in all things in her life.

‘All of her husbands are a part of her story, so they’re in our film, including the most recent one.

‘And no matter how many times it hasn’t worked out for her, she still is a hopeless romantic and looking for true love in every way.’