James McAvoy (Wanted) and Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada and upcoming The Wolf Man) will be lending their voices to a pair of garden gnomes who fall in love, however the only problem is…they are in rival gardens!
From The Hollywood Reporter:
The pair are in negotiations to play the title roles of “Gnomeo and Juliet,” a CGI-animated Shakespeare adaptation from Miramax and Elton John’s Rocket Pictures.
The film will feature several John classics but not Kate Winslet; she was first attached to voice Juliet two years ago and fell out because of scheduling conflicts. Tim Rice also was approached to write original songs with his “Lion King” partner John at the time, but the soundtrack now will be filled with the performer’s well-known hits and possibly a few new tracks.
In the loose and edgy adaptation of Shakespeare’s play, McAvoy (”Atonement”) and Blunt (”The Devil Wears Prada”) would play lovers from rival gardens. John, who is producing alongside his offscreen partner David Furnish, Baker Bloodworth and Steve Hamilton Shaw, is said to be pursuing big-name talent to voice supporting roles.
They are currently story boarding and they aim to release the film in 2010. As it will be a film for the young ones, there probably won’t be any of this!
