Kids’ books have often been mined as a rich source for movies – most recently across the pond with Diary of a Wimpy Kid – and the supply shows no sign of drying up anytime soon. Vertigo Films is hoping for success with a film of the **Horrid Henry **character, which will feature a cast that includes Anjelica Huston, Richard E Grant and Rebecca Front at its head.
But those three are just the tip of the iceberg, as Parminder Nagra, Noel Fielding, Jo Brand, Mathew Horne and Prunella Scales are all signing on, with a promised raft of newcomers set to nab the younger roles
Based on Francesca Simon’s long-running (up to 19 books now plus a load of spin-offs/cartoons etc) series, Horrid Henry: The Movie finds the titular troublemaker – who’ll be played on screen by relative newcomer Theo Stevenson – up to his usual tricks battling against the alliterative likes of Moody Margaret and Perfect Peter.
The film was announced back in June, but with the American Film Market kicking off yesterday, the producers and sales team have made the big casting announcement to drum up some overseas sales interest.
Wild Child director Nick Moore is calling the shots in London from a script by Lucinda Whiteley. Oh, and since it comes from the company that brought us Streetdance 3D, it will, of course, be in the (usually) box office-boosting third dimension.