She's one of those children's authors whose books just won't go away, the woman responsible for a million cuddly toys and entire towns full of gift shops in the Lake District. But now Beatrix Potter herself is getting the biopic treatment, as Renee Zellweger signs on to play her in Miss Potter. What's more, her Down With Love co-star Ewan McGregor is in talks to join the film as Potter's publisher and love interest.
Potter, for those less than familiar with the inner workings of children's literature, was the author of 'The Tale Of Peter Rabbit', as well as the stories of Squirrel Nutkin, Jemima Puddleduck, Tom Kitten, Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, the Flopsy Bunnies and many, many more. The stories were based on the animals around the farms that the London-born Potter visited in the Lake District, and included colourful drawings by Potter herself.
Potter herself was born in 1866 and lived until 1943, using the success of her books during her life time to invest in hill farms around her beloved Lake District, all of which she left to the National Trust when she died. The story of this film casts Potter as an strong-willed woman, determined to make herself independent, while McGregor's (potential) role would cast him as Norman, her publisher and love interest (she in fact married a lawyer).
The film will be directed by Chris "Babe" Noonan, his first film since that pig-extravaganza, from a script by Richard Maltby Jr, a Broadway director and co-lyricist of the musical Miss Saigon. The film was originally set to star Cate Blanchett as Potter with Bruce "Driving Miss Daisy" Beresford directing, but this time, it looks likely to go ahead. We'll keep you up to date as we learn more.