With production set to begin very soon on Martin Scorese’s first foray into 3D and also children’s fare, the full cast for his upcoming film, “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” has been unveiled, and it’s a whopper. Jude Law, Ray Winstone, Christopher Lee, English actress Frances de la Tour (“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire”) and Richard Griffiths (“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban”) have joined the previously announced Ben Kingsley, Sacha Baron Cohen, Chloe Moretz and Asa Butterfield.
Based on the award-winning and critically acclaimed graphic novel by Brian Selznick and as per the press release summary, it “tells the tale of an orphan boy living a secret life in the walls of a Paris train station. When Hugo encounters a broken machine, an eccentric girl, and the cold, reserved man who runs the toy shop, he is caught up in a magical, mysterious adventure that could put all of his secrets in jeopardy.”
Sacha Baron Cohen will play the station inspector; Ben Kingsley will play the silent filmmaker George Méliès (who plays a pivotal role in the film) while Asa Butterfield and Chloe Moretz play the male and female lead roles. There’s no word yet on who the new cast members will play, but we’re sure those details will emerge shortly.
While we’re wary of 3D and a bit disappointed that Scorsese is jumping on the latest Hollywood fad, it appears that the director is ready to push the format and audience expectations. His longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker recently revealed, “[Scorsese] looked at ‘Avatar’ and ‘Alice [in Wonderland]’ and Scorsese didn’t feel that the 3D he saw was as interesting as in the old ones like ‘Dial M for Murder’ and ‘House of Wax.’ He’s decided he wants to be stronger with 3D to make it jump out at you. He’s going to go a little bit further with it.”
Schoonmaker also revealed a little bit of what we might expect from the film saying, “It’s very visual, very little dialogue” and marks “a whole new kind of film for us.”
So yeah, we’re definitely excited to see what Scorsese has up his sleeve for this one. The cast looks great, and the material is certainly interesting. “Hugo Cabret” will shoot on location in London and Paris, and is slated to hit theaters in December 2011.
