gabor csupo Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Dakota Blue Richards Nabs Her Second Big Role
Filed under: Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Scripts », Family Films »
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.
AnnaSophia Robb Will Star in 'The White Giraffe'
Filed under: Casting », Deals », Scripts », Family Films »
Walden Media is trucking on with its numerous book adaptation projects. Heck, in the last 7 months, there's been word about Clive Barker's Edgar Allan Poe thriller for kids, The Screwtape Letters, The Dark is Rising, Edward Gorey's The Doubtful Guest and Bill Murray starring in City of Ember. That's not including projects they've bowed out on, like The Giver and the American Girl adaptations. Now Variety is reporting that the company will adapt Lauren St. John's children's book, The White Giraffe, for AnnaSophia Robb to star in. Robb was most recently in the Hilary Swank thriller The Reaping, but she's also the gal who played Leslie in Bridge to Terabithia and Violet Beauregarde in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. The movie will be directed by Gabor Csupo, who worked with Robb in Terabithia and it will be adapted by Ann Peacock, who not only adapted The Chronicles of Narnia and the Kit Kittredge film, but is from South Africa, where the book is based.Giraffe is about a young girl named Martine who is orphaned and sent to live with her grandmother on a game reserve in South Africa. She doesn't feel welcomed by her grandmother or school, but finds two friends, one of whom "instantly senses there is something special about Martine." After hearing about a fabled white giraffe, she ends up spotting one and begins a series of "mysterious and magical adventures." And somehow in there, she discovers that she has a gift for healing. Barely into her teens, it's pretty obvious that Robb is going places. Beyond the high-profile work that she's been in recently, she's also got a slew of films coming our way, including Have Dreams, Will Travel and Jumper. However, much of her work is family-oriented so the only question that remains is whether this is the start of a long, cinematic life, or be a child-star-turned-unknown.
Colin Firth Will Star In Family Fantasy 'The Moon Princess'
Filed under: Action », Animation », Sci-Fi & Fantasy », Casting », Family Films »
Considering all the women I know who love Colin Firth, I am shocked that he doesn't get more romantic leading roles. But then, maybe that is his choice? Seeing as he appears in such a diverse range of films these days, it could be that he is perfectly in control of what he wants. And apparently he wants to do the occasional movie for the kids. After making himself familiar to the tweens by showing up in What a Girl Wants and Nanny McPhee, he is now further increasing his chances of one day winning a Kid's Choice Award by signing on to The Moon Princess. Formerly titled The Little White Horse, which is the name of the book that is based upon, The Moon Princess is a live-action family-friendly fantasy about a 13-year-old girl who enters a magical world in order to put an end to an ancient curse. Firth will be playing the girl's eccentric uncle (though the IMDb lists his part as a dual role). The Moon Princess will be directed by Hungarian-born filmmaker Gabor Csupo, who earned his cred with the kids and the studios this year with the very successful adaptation The Bridge to Terabitha, his directorial debut. If he does just as well with this similar-sounding follow-up, I bet he'll be offered a chance at a whole fantasy franchise. If it isn't that good, Csupo will probably still be okay. As a producer/co-creator of the cartoons Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys, as well as one of the original animators for The Simpsons, he isn't really that new to Hollywood. No other casting choices have been announced yet, but hopefully Terabitha's AnnaSophia Robb will be chosen as the lead since I can't think of any other 13-year-old with as much appeal or talent right now (forget Dakota Fanning who should never be cast in a fantasy film). Regardless of who else is involved, though, I'm enough interested thanks to Firth. If I could watch part of What a Girl Want because of him, I can watch anything because of him.
Does Johnny Depp Know How The Dead Love?
Filed under: Animation », Drama », Casting », Deals »
Just when it seemed like Johnny Depp was making the change from interesting, thought-provoking roles to family movie dynamo, he has completely changed the tables on us. We've previously brought you news on his role in Sweeney Todd, that has him getting into character by slicing through the air like a madman. He's also working on the upcoming Shantaram, a crime drama, and The Rum Diary, his next foray into the world of Hunter S. Thompson. Perhaps inspired by his return to meaty, North American writers from the 60's, Depp is now reportedly taking on a little Charles Bukowski.According to TMZ (which got it right on The Hardy Men), Depp will both voice the main character and produce a project that brings four of Bukowski's short stories into one animated feature. The flick has been in the works for a while -- you can find mention of it from the Bangkok International Film Festival back in 2005, when it still had the name of the Bukowski's short story, The Way the Dead Love. Now it is called How the Dead Love, and I wonder if they changed the name to differentiate it from the first version of the script, penned by Bruce Wagner.
Regardless, Depp is teaming with Gabor Csupo to create the film. If you're an animation fan, you've seen his work in the first three Simpsons seasons, as well as in Rugrats and The Wild Thornberrys. However, before you think that this will be family-fied, Csupo has insisted that the adaptation will be a movie for adults, much more like R. Crumb's work than his own Thornberrys fare, which is an apt choice, considering the fact that Crumb collaborated with Bukowski on books such as The Captain is Out to Lunch and the Sailors Have Taken Over the Ship. Captain Jack Sparrow is great and all, but I'm happy to see Depp returning to the meaty literature.
Getting Excited About Bridge to Terabithia
Filed under: Classics », Disney », Family Films »
SPOILER ALERT: If you've never read Bridge to Terabithia, and you don't want to know anything about it before seeing the movie, stop reading. Now. Then drive to the nearest bookstore, buy a copy, and read it. Laugh. Cry. Lather, rinse, repeat.Bridge to Terabithia, Katherine Paterson's classic novel about two kids who form an unlikely friendship, is one of my favorite books ever, so when I heard a new movie was in the works earlier this year, I was filled with both excitement and trepidation. On the one hand, I just introduced my nine-year-old daughter to the book over the summer, and I knew she'd be excited about the film. On the other hand, though, what if "they" screwed it up? I know, I know, it's just a movie, right? I shouldn't get so worked up. But seriously, this book was one of the literary bedrocks of my childhood; I read my first copy to pieces, and have read it countless times since. I still cry every time.
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