Not content with developing one big family film franchise with The Golden Compass, New Line has snagged the rights to another book beloved by the Harry Potter set.
And the studio has scooped up a pair of actors to help bring it to life. Brendan Fraser (last seen doing his dramatic dues in Crash) and Paul Bettany (trying desperately to forget Firewall and the script of The Da Vinci Code) will star in Inkheart.
It’s based on Cornelia Funke’s book about a girl whose father, Mortimer “Mo” Folchart (Fraser), can bring any fantasy character to life from a book just by reading it aloud. When he’s dadknapped, the girl has to team up with imaginary and real friends to free him. Bettany – who for a while was rumoured to be joining The Golden Compass – is in negotiations to play Dustmouth, a fire-eater.
Iain Softley will be stepping behind the camera to bark the orders based on David Lindsay-Abaire’s adaptation this autumn. If it performs, there's a sequel, Inkspell, already in book form.