Chris Wedge, the director of ICE AGE, has signed on to direct a film of Brian Selznick’s award-winning children’s novel THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET for Graham King’s GK Films, Johnny Depp’s Infinitum Nihil and Warner Bros. Wedge will work from a screenplay by John Logan (SWEENEY TODD, THE AVIATOR). Mr. King and Infinitum Nihil’s president Christi Dembrowski will produce the live-action film, which centers on the mysterious adventures of an orphaned boy who secretly lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station and looks after the clocks.

Here’s the description of Selznick’s book from Amazon: “Orphan, clock keeper, and thief, Hugo lives in the walls of a busy Paris train station, where his survival depends on secrets and anonymity. But when his world suddenly interlocks with an eccentric, bookish girl and a bitter old man who runs a toy booth in the station, Hugo’s undercover life, and his most precious secret, are put in jeopardy. A cryptic drawing, a treasured notebook, a stolen key, a mechanical man, and a hidden message from Hugo’s dead father form the backbone of this intricate, tender, and spellbinding mystery.” According to Variety, “The studio is eyeing a fall start date” for THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET, which sounds great to us–the sooner, the better!

Publishers Weekly calls the book “a true masterpiece [. . . ] a story as tantalizing as it is touching.” THE INVENTION OF HUGO CABRET won the prestigious Caldecott Medal for its illustrations, as well as numerous other awards for children’s literature. You can order it from Amazon here.

The Zone thanks vermontfudge for breaking the news; you can read the Variety story in its entirety on the News & Views forum. –Part-Time Poet