The story of Sleeping Beauty seems to be undergoing something of a renaissance - there have been recent rumours that Tim Burton would bring his skewed viewpoint to the story for Disney. And now word reaches us that Emily Browning, previously of A Series of Unfortunate Events and star of the upcoming Sucker Punch, has stepped into the lead role for a decidedly different - and decidedly non-Disney - take on the old fairy tale.
Despite its fantasy moniker, this is not a kids’ film. Written by Julia Leigh, the script follows a student who ends up entering the world of prostitution and finds her calling as a woman who services men who want someone who sleeps through the sexual experience.
It sounds like the plot of a fetish porn film, but the screenplay landed among Hollywood’s favourites on the 2008 Black List. Alice In Wonderland’s Mia Wasikowska had been attached to the lead, but she’s now dropped out and Browning has stepped in, much as she did for Amanda Seyfried in Sucker Punch.
Leigh will make the film her directorial debut and plans to kick off shooting next month in Australia.