Cinematical

Her first film, The Golden Compass, hasn't come out yet, but young star Dakota Blue Richards has grabbed her next fantastical starring role. Variety reports that the young, 13-year-old actress will head The Secret of Moonacre, Gabor Csupo's (of Rugrats fame) next film. Our Christopher Campbell hoped it would be AnnaSophia Robb, but Richards is getting the part. See, this is the adaptation of Elizabeth Goudge's The Little White Horse... which was then renamed The Moon Princess when Colin Firth was cast... and now it's The Secret of Moonacre. I'm not quite sure why they keep changing the name.

I wonder if Firth is still in this film, since he's not mentioned on Variety's cast list. They say that the young actress will be joined by Ioan Gruffudd, Tim Curry, Natascha McElhone, and Juliet Stevenson. From an adaptation penned by Lucy Shuttleworth and Graham Alborough, Moonacre is about a young orphan named Maria (Richards) who is sent to Moonacre Manor to live with her uncle. "There she enters a world of magical creatures, and discovers that she is the only person who can undo an ancient curse and save Moonacre Valley." Basically, the regular family fare. The production starts today in Budapest, and meanwhile, you can catch Richards in The Golden Compass on December 7.