Paul Bettany and Brendan Fraser Have an Inkheart

New Line Cinema is getting its cast together for the impending shoot of the adaptation of the hit children's book Inkheart and today they announced that Paul Bettany would star opposite Brendan Fraser in the anticipated fantasy film. Iain Softley (The Skeleton Key) will direct Inkheart, about a girl whose father can bring fictional characters to life just by reading the books aloud. Brendan Fraser will play the father, Mortimer Folchart, also known as Silvertongue..

In Inkheart, a few of the characters that Brendan Fraser's character bring to life end up kidnapping their creator and the daughter and her friends must come to daddy's rescue. Paul Bettany is set to play one of the fictional characters sprung to life, Dustfinger, a fire-eating performer. Open auditions are being held to find a newcomer to play Meggie, the daughter, in Inkheart and they start September 9th in England. David Lindsay-Abaire (Robots) has adapted the script for Inkheart from the book by Cornelia Funke, which is the first chapter in a trilogy that includes the already released Inkspell and next year's Inkdawn.

Before Inkheart hits theaters both Brendan Fraser and Paul Bettany will be seen in quite a few high profile films. Brendan Fraser will appear with Mos Def, Scott Glenn, and Catalina Sandino Moreno in Journey to the End of the Night in October. After that, Brendan Fraser will be seen in The Last Time and The Air I Breathe. Brendan Fraser just finished filming Journey 3-D and should move into Inkheart any day now, as the film is still shooting for an April 2007 release.

Ever since his shocking breakthrough in Gangster No. 1, Paul Bettany has been one of the hottest actors in Hollywood, appearing in A Knight's Tale, A Beautiful Mind, Dogville, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, Wimbledon, Firewall, and The Da Vinci Code. Paul Bettany is currently in production on There For Me with the gorgeous Saffron Burrows.

[Sources: Reuters, Coming Soon, IMDB]