Open casting calls at American Girl Place retail stores in Los Angeles (May 7), Chicago (May 8) and New York (May 14) will seek young aspiring actresses, ages 8-12, to take on roles in Kit Kittredge: An American Girl Mystery, the first theatrical adaptation of an American Girl story, it was announced today by Bob Berney, president of Picturehouse, and Colin Callender, president, HBO Films.
Further information on the casting calls, along with applications and release forms, can be found at American Girl’s website, AmericanGirl.com. The film, which begins shooting this summer, will be released by Picturehouse on July 2, 2008.
“This is such a wonderful opportunity for us — to go across the country looking for girls that love these characters as much as we do, and give them the chance to join us in bringing this inspirational story to the screen,” said producer Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas.
Academy Award® nominee Abigail Breslin (Little Miss Sunshine) will star as Kit Kittredge in the film. Produced by HBO Films, Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas and Marisa Yeres, from Goldsmith-Thomas Productions, in association with Julia Roberts and Lisa Gillan from Red Om Films, and Ellen L. Brothers of American Girl, Inc., the film is written by Ann Peacock (A Lesson Before Dying, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe) and tells the story of the clever and resourceful Kit Kittredge, a nine-year-old girl growing up in 1934 during America’s Great Depression.
Introduced in 2000 as the seventh American Girl historical character, Kit Kittredge will be the first one to have her story adapted for a theatrical film. Working in partnership with American Girl for the last five years, Goldsmith-Thomas Productions and Red Om Films have received nominations and awards for their telefilms “Samantha: An American Girl Holiday,” “Felicity: An American Girl Adventure,” and “Molly: An American Girl on the Home Front.”
HBO and American Girl, one of the nation’s top direct marketers, children’s publishers and experiential retailers, have an overall relationship to develop a variety of multi-platform ventures including theatrical films, series, specials and documentaries. This film will be the first picture greenlit through this deal.
