Cineplex Magazine March 2012

Armie Hammer as Prince Alcott
LEFT: Snow White (Lily Collins)
with her dwarf pals
prince leads his horse through a foggy, snow-covered
forest lined with silver birch trees.
Except it isn’t really a prince, it’s actor Armie Hammer,
the fog is actually a mixture of compressed mineral
oil and C02, the snow isn’t snow but three different
types of road salt mixed together, and the birch
trees are, in fact, dead birch logs standing on their
ends to resemble live trees.
The horse, however, is real.
We are on the stunning Montreal set of Mirror Mirror, also known as “one
of those Snow White movies.” Filmed under the watchful eye of director
Tarsem Singh (Immortals), Mirror Mirror arrives in theatres a little more
than two months before the year’s other Snow White pic, Snow White and
the Huntsman.
What’s the difference between the two films? Snow White and the
Huntsman is the edgier, darker tale that stars Kristen Stewart as the avenging
Snow White, while Mirror Mirror is the comedic, family-friendly version
starring up-and-comer Lily Collins as the naive princess who goes toe-to-toe
with her evil queen stepmother (Julia Roberts) and falls for the handsome
prince (Hammer).
The daughter of Genesis drummer and successful solo artist Phil Collins,
the 22-year-old Collins has a fresh-faced beauty perfectly suited to a fairy
tale princess. Oh, and a pair of dark, thick eyebrows that director Singh says
caught his attention immediately and clinched her casting.
“It’s a compliment,” says Collins. “He’s a very visual director so he knew
exactly what he wanted Snow to look like, and apparently he responded well
to my eyebrows. [Laughs.]”
Collins is seated in front of another of the film’s amazing sets — the dwarfs’
home, which is located inside a huge tree. Poke around and ConTInUEd
MARch 2012 | Cineplex Magazine | 27