"Hansel and Gretel" live-action in works

4 Sep – Variety has reported that Juliet Blake, who co-produced the comedy-drama film "The Hundred-Foot Journey" together with Oprah Winfrey and Steven Spielberg is developing an all new live-action film based on one of the Brothers Grimm famous fairytale collections, "Hansel and Gretel".

Blake has acquired the feature rights to the upcoming graphic novel "Hansel and Gretel" authored by Neil Gaiman and illustrated by Lorenzo Mattotti which will be released in October this year.

Gaiman told Variety, "For me, retelling Hansel and Gretel was a way of telling an old tale in a way that made it immediate and true, and about us, now. It reminds us of how paper thin civilization really is. It's about hunger and about families."

He further added, "I'm thrilled and delighted to be working with Juliet Blake to bring Hansel and Gretel to the world again, and to show people how much this story has to say to us."

Two of Gaiman's novels, "Coraline" and "Stardust" has been previously adapted into feature films.

Also, a "Hansel and Gretel" live-action film entitled "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters" distributed by Paramount Pictures and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer was released last year starring Jeremy Renner and Gemma Arterton. The film grossed over USD226 million.

Blake's "The Hundred-Foot Journey" which was released on 28 August 2014, has thus far earned USD41.7 million in North America.