'Poppins' Scribe Fellowes to Pen Film 'The Young Victoria'

Well-known writer Julian Fellowes, who rocketed to international fame with his Oscar-winning screenplay for Gosford Park and who is currently represented both on the London stage and on Broadway with the hit musical production of Mary Poppins, for which he wrote the book, will collaborate with recent Oscar winners Graham King and Martin Scorsese (The Departed) on The Young Victoria. The film will star Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada), recent Golden Globe-winner for her supporting role in the BBC's TV movie "Gideon's Daughter," and may go into production before the end of this year.

"Respected for his articulate character-driven scripts, Fellowes is currently working on the screenplay for The Young Victoria, which will chronicle Queen Victoria's turbulent early years and her romance with Prince Albert through the age that became synonymous with her name. No stranger to historical pieces, Fellowes' masterful screenplay for Gosford Park took place in an elegant English country house in the 1930s and featured an all-star cast including Maggie Smith, Emily Watson, Clive Owen, and Helen Mirren who recently won an Oscar this year (and received an Oscar nomination for her work in Gosford Park)," state press materials.

Fellowes' other recent film credits include Vanity Fair starring Reese Witherspoon, and Separate Lies, a drama which also represents his directorial debut, starring Emily Watson and Tom Wilkinson. He also published a novel, Snobs, in 2004, which became an international best seller.

The Young Victoria will be directed by Jean Marc Vallee who most recently shot the hit feature film C.R.A.Z.Y. The Young Victoria is an Initial Entertainment Group production, produced by King and Scorsese with Tim Headington and Sarah Ferguson also attached. King and Scorsese have previously worked together on several films, including The Departed, Gangs of New York, and The Aviator.

Mary Poppins, a co-production by Disney and Cameron Mackintosh, opened at the New Amsterdam Theatre on November 16, 2006. The London production continues its record-setting run as it enters its third year at the Prince Edward Theatre in the West End.

Based on P.L. Travers's cherished stories and the classic 1964 Walt Disney film, the musical features the Academy Award-winning music and lyrics of Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman. The stage production has been created, in collaboration with Cameron Mackintosh, by Academy Award-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes, who has written the book, and the Olivier Award-winning team of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, who have composed new songs and additional music and lyrics.

Olivier Award-winning director Richard Eyre leads the award-winning creative team assembled for Mary Poppins with co-direction and choreography by Tony and Olivier Award winner Matthew Bourne. Mary Poppins features set and costume design by Tony Award winner Bob Crowley, co-choreography by Olivier Award winner Stephen Mear, lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Steve Canyon Kennedy, orchestrations by William David Brohn, music supervision by David Caddick, and music direction by Brad Haak.