Tarsem Singh reveals why he cast Julia Roberts as Evil Queen in SNOW WHITE

Relativity Media's untitled Snow White film is currently in production and is set for release in March 2012. The film is directed by Tarsem Singh and stars Lilly Collins, Armie Hammer, and Julia Roberts. It will be the first Snow White film to be released, beating out Universal's Snow White and the Huntsman, which arrives in June.

Singh sat down with EW while doing press for his upcoming film The Immortals and revealed why he chose Roberts for the role of the Evil Queen and shared his thoughts on the rivarlry between his film and Huntsman.

Here is what he had to say about why Roberts was the perfect villain:

 She’s the obvious choice of being goody-two-shoes, and I didn’t want an Evil Queen in the sense that already existed. In earlier versions, always it was mothers — mothers of the child. And then the Brothers Grimm came along, and said we’ve got to make it more family friendly and turn the mother into a stepmother, which I find really bizarre because most stepmothers are pretty great. I said, “It can’t be an evil, quintessential queen. I’m looking for a likable evil queen.” I couldn’t think of anybody who is more of a likable evil queen than her.

He goes on to talk about the rivalry between the films:

Fortunately or unfortunately, there really, truly is only room for the first one of these. Two Snow White movies do not exist in this market. So for me, if you’re not first with this one, you’re not in the game. I made that very clear from the beginning to Relativity.

Here's the previously released description:

While many of the classic Snow White elements show through in the film's design -- particularly in the look of the forest -- the artwork seems to draw from a wide range of inspiration, including a very Indian-looking palace and several masquerade designs reminiscent of Mardi Gras and old storybook illustrations.

Multiple costume parties are said to play a role in the film and promise to be extremely bright and colorful. Against them, the Prince (Armie Hammer) is seen in a coat and tales costume with (for the party) rabbit ears emerging from his top hat.

Snow White herself (Lilly Collins) is the biggest departure from the original story and will be portrayed as a bit of a fighter, allowing for multiple action sequences. Exiled from her kingdom, she's actively trying to win back her rightful throne and combines a blue dress with black, leather armor.

Each of the film's seven dwarfs features a distinctive look and seems to be nicknamed by their costume. "Cowboy" wears a cowboy hat, "Wolf" is draped in animal skin and another wears a crooked top hat.

The Evil Queen (Julia Roberts) takes the cake for costume changes. Her character had pages and pages of different elaborate dresses in various colors and shapes, including an impressive ice-inspired design.

The film also stars Nathan Lane, Robert Emms, Mare Winningham, Michael Lerner, Mark Povinelli, Jordan Prentice, Danny Woodburn, Sebastian Saraceno, Ronald Lee Clark, Martin Klebba and Joey Gnoffo. Snow White is set for release on March 16, 2012.