Kenneth Branagh Found Cinderella As Intimidating As Shakespeare

by Helen Earnshaw | 20 March 2015

Bringing Cinderella to the big screen was as intimidating as tackling Shakespeare, according to Kenneth Branagh.

Kenneth Branagh

Branagh has returned to the director's chair for a live action version of the classic tale of Cinderella, which is due to hit the big screen next week.

The movie sees Branagh team up with Disney and he admits that it was just as intimidating a film project as bringing Shakespeare to life.

Speaking to Collider, the director said: "I'd say it's equally intimidating. The ferocity of passion that is engendered by people when they don't like what you've done is really tremendous. It's intense.

"But my feeling is always that the original work is there, at the end of it, or whatever people might deem as the traditional way of doing things.

"But, I always think that's a myth. Particularly with Shakespeare, they weren't there in the 1600s, so it's usually an idea, in our own heads, of what's right and proper, or just what you prefer."

Cinderella comes a year after the huge success of Maleficent, which was the telling of the Sleeping Beauty story from a new perspective. And Cinderella is already enjoying huge success by topping the U.S. box office.

The movie took over $70 million in America over the weekend to dominate the box office and storm to the number one spot.

Branagh is no stranger to the director's chair with the likes of Thor, As You Like It and Hamlet under his belt during his career. However, Cinderella is the first directorial outing for him since Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit at the beginning of last year.

Branagh has brought together a terrific cast for the film, as Cate Blanchett, Helena Bonham Carter and Richard Madden are all on board, while Lily James has landed the title role.