No one could expect a film to easily match the magic and heart of Martin Scorsese’s 2011 family adventure Hugo, but its young actors – soon to be certified movie stars – are reuniting for another film that holds a more literal kind of magic at its core. Is literal magic a thing?
Variety reports Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass 2) and Asa Butterfield (star of the upcoming Ender's Game) are attached to star in Kinology’s dark fairy tale The White Circus, which will have Terry Gilliam on board as executive producer. Andrea Riseborough (Oblivion) and Christian Friedel (The White Ribbon) are also set to star. Though Friedel hasn’t yet made an American film, he’ll definitely add to this strong cast of talented youths. And the predictable success of the upcoming releases Carrie and Kick-Ass 2 for Moretz and Ender’s Game for Butterfield, almost guarantee The White Circus a huge audience when it’s released.
The film will be the first feature directed by the Canadian duo Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, who created the Oscar-nominated short Madame Tutli-Putli and the Maurice Sendak adaptation HIgglety Pigglety Pop! Or There Must Be More to Life. Kinology’s Gregoire Melin calls the pair “the worthy heirs of Gilliam, Jim Henson and Tim Burton, yet their work boasts an even bigger crossover appeal while being smart and innovative.” Those are some incredibly enticing words, and I am inclined to already be excited for this film by the time I finish typing.
The movie is a dark adventure romance with black comedy scattered throughout, following a young pilot whose first mission ends up with him crashing in a war-torn town, where he becomes enamored by a cabaret singer, hangs out with a big talking bear and tries to talk the town into liberating themselves from a despot. Just your average movie over here.
The White Circus will begin shooting in Germany and Serbia in February 2014. If you’ve never seen Higglety Pigglety Pop! before, check it out below when you have the time, especially if you’ve got kids the appropriate age.
