Roberts to star in 'Child'
Universal, Working Title get 'Wild'
Universal Pictures and Working Title have set Emma Roberts to star in "Wild Child," a Nick Moore-directed comedy that will begin production this summer.Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner will produce with Diana Phillips.
Scripted by Lucy Dahl, the comedy casts Roberts as a spoiled Malibu princess whose penchant for wildness drives her father to send her to a strict, all-girls English boarding school.
The story was informed by the experiences of the screenwriter, who's the daughter of author Roald Dahl and a boarding school alumna.
The film provides an opportunity for the 16-year old Roberts to show some edge. The niece of actress Julia Roberts, she toplines the Nickelodeon series "Unfabulous" and this summer plays the title role in the Warner Bros. film "Nancy Drew."
Pic becomes the third that Working Title will put into production this summer. Bevan and Fellner team with Brian Grazer on the Ron Howard-directed "Frost/Nixon," which shoots in L.A. with stage leads Frank Langella and Michael Sheen starring. Joel and Ethan Coen team with George Clooney and Brad Pitt on "Burn After Reading," which will shoot in New York. Working Title has a November start on "State of Play," the Americanized version of the British miniseries that Kevin Macdonald will direct with Pitt starring.
