Chris Weitz, creator of 'American Pie', recently talked with
Popcorn about his latest project, 'About a Boy':
The actor-director is set to work with his brother Paul and turn the Nick ('High Fidelity') Hornby novel into a movie starring Hugh Grant.
He reveals that they're hoping to bring Emma Thompson on board: "We've been talking to her, that would be great." He goes on to say they should know whether she will commit to the project "in about a month... I don't even know if that's what I'm meant to say but that's what we want to do."
Grant is confirmed to star as a guy in his late 30s who befriends a "weird, slightly depressive" 12-year-old boy. Weitz says they are still deciding whom to cast as the boy.
It's the third novel Nick Hornby has seen transferred to the big screen. Last year saw John Cusack star in the successfully Americanised version of 'High Fidelity'. Not so successful, though, was Colin Firth's turn in 'Fever Pitch', which was released in 1997.
Paul and Chris Weitz are hoping to keep 'Boy' as English as possible and are due to arrive in the UK next week to begin pre-production. Shooting is set to begin on April 9.