Disney has agreed to join The BFG, Steven Spielberg’s adaptation of the Roald Dahl novel, the studio said Monday.
The studio will co-finance and co-produce the movie. Amazingly, this makes The BFG the first time Spielberg will have worked with Disney as a director. (Although, the studio does distribute DreamWorks productions, including Spielberg’s Lincoln.)
According to TheWrap, the film also added new faces to the cast, including Rebecca Hall and Penelope Wilton. Newcomer Ruby Barnhill was cast as Sophie, the young girl who works with the Big Friendly Giant to stop man-eating giants. Broadway star Mark Rylance plats the BFG.
Other members of the cast include Bill Hader, Michael David Adamthwaite, Adam Godley, Daniel Bacon, Chris Gibbs, Jonathan Holmes, Olafur Olafsson and Paul Moniz de Sa.
“In more than 40 years of making movies, I have been on the producing end of a number of films for The Walt Disney Company, but never as a director,” Spielberg said in a statement posted by Deadline. “It is a special joy to be in the director’s chair as we start The BFG, alongside my long-time friends and film collaborators Kathy Kennedy, who introduced me to this project, Frank Marshall and Melissa Mathison. Together with them and Disney, there are many reasons why I am so excited about this joint venture.”
The script is being written by Melissa Mathison (E.T.) and Spielberg. Production is taking place in Vancouver and the movie will hit on July 1, 2016.
image courtesy of INFphoto.com