The Cirque Du Freak movie is due to begin filming in February 2008!!! This is the official announcement from Universal, the company making the film:
Cirque du Freak by Darren Shan Movie Announcement
The Cirque du Freak series of bestselling childrens novels by Irish author Darren Shan has been acquired by Universal Pictures and will be adapted for a motion picture of the same name. The film is due to begin shooting in February 2008 in New Orleans under the direction of Paul Weitz (About A Boy, In Good Company), and will star John C. Reilly (Gangs of New York, Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story) as Larten Crepsley; Josh Hutcherson (Bridge to Terabithia) as Steve Leonard; and newcomer Chris Kelly as Darren Shan. Weitz is adapting some of the storylines from the novels for the screen. He and Lauren Shuler Donner (X-Men) will produce for their production companies, Depth of Field and The Donner's Company.
There's not much more for me to add, except -- whoopee!!!! There's no telling how the film will turn out, but I think it's in very safe, capable hands, and I'm really excited about the cast so far. I've seen Josh Hutcherson in a number of films (most recently R.V. with Robin Williams), and I've been a BIG John C Reilly fan since I saw him in Boogie Nights -- he never seems to put in anything but an excellent performance.
No release date has yet been set for the movie, so ignore any online rumours you might come across. As soon as I know anything more about that, and about other cast members, I'll include the info in the Shanville Monthly -- I plan to keep fans regularly updated over the next few months. You can also look up Cirque Du Freak on www.imdb.com -- that's where you'll be able to find details about the crew.
I know a lot of you have been dreaming of a Cirque Du Freak movie for a number of years -- I've received emails and letters about it virtually every day since the first book was published back in January 2000! Now, at last, the dream is poised to become a reality -- hurrah!!!!! I hope you're all as psyched about the news as I am!









