Chloe Moretz And Asa Butterfield Making The White Circus A Hugo Reunion

No one could expect a film to easily match the magic and heart of Martin Scorsese’s 2011 family adventure Hugo, but its young actors – soon to be certified movie stars – are reuniting for another film that holds a more literal kind of magic at its core. Is literal magic a thing?

Variety reports Chloe Moretz (Kick-Ass 2) and Asa Butterfield (star of the upcoming Ender's Game) are attached to star in Kinology’s dark fairy tale The White Circus, which will have Terry Gilliam on board as executive producer. Andrea Riseborough (Oblivion) and Christian Friedel (The White Ribbon) are also set to star. Though Friedel hasn’t yet made an American film, he’ll definitely add to this strong cast of talented youths. And the predictable success of the upcoming releases Carrie and Kick-Ass 2 for Moretz and Ender’s Game for Butterfield, almost guarantee The White Circus a huge audience when it’s released.

The film will be the first feature directed by the Canadian duo Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski, who created the Oscar-nominated short Madame Tutli-Putli and the Maurice Sendak adaptation HIgglety Pigglety Pop! Or There Must Be More to Life. Kinology’s Gregoire Melin calls the pair “the worthy heirs of Gilliam, Jim Henson and Tim Burton, yet their work boasts an even bigger crossover appeal while being smart and innovative.” Those are some incredibly enticing words, and I am inclined to already be excited for this film by the time I finish typing.

The movie is a dark adventure romance with black comedy scattered throughout, following a young pilot whose first mission ends up with him crashing in a war-torn town, where he becomes enamored by a cabaret singer, hangs out with a big talking bear and tries to talk the town into liberating themselves from a despot. Just your average movie over here.

The White Circus will begin shooting in Germany and Serbia in February 2014. If you’ve never seen Higglety Pigglety Pop! before, check it out below when you have the time, especially if you’ve got kids the appropriate age.

Nick Venable
Assistant Managing Editor

Nick is a Cajun Country native and an Assistant Managing Editor with a focus on TV and features. His humble origin story with CinemaBlend began all the way back in the pre-streaming era, circa 2009, as a freelancing DVD reviewer and TV recapper.  Nick leapfrogged over to the small screen to cover more and more television news and interviews, eventually taking over the section for the current era and covering topics like Yellowstone, The Walking Dead and horror. Born in Louisiana and currently living in Texas — Who Dat Nation over America’s Team all day, all night — Nick spent several years in the hospitality industry, and also worked as a 911 operator. If you ever happened to hear his music or read his comics/short stories, you have his sympathy.