Is this "checkmate" in the Snow White release-date chessgame? Might be. One week ago, Universal moved its "Snow White and the Huntsman" project to June 1, leapfrogging it ahead Relativity Media's version. Then on Tuesday, Relativity countered, bumping its untitled Snow White pic from June 29 to March 16. There's virtually no chance Universal will be able to squeeze ahead of that schedule -- "Huntsman" doesn't get shooting until August, and a seven- to nine-month turnaround is virtually impossible these days, given the demands on the visual effects houses needed for post-production work. And with Chris Hemsworth -- who's committed to "Marvel's The Avengers" all summer -- just signed to "Huntsman," there's no way to move up the production schedule. Even Relativity is setting itself up for a squeeze: With shooting starting next month, they'll have less than 10 months to go from lens to screen. Will Relativity be able to pull that off? If not, and they back down, things could get interesting again. But if they stick with this plan, Universal will have to be content with its second-place prize.
