‘Hugo Cabret’ Headed for Silver Screen in 3-D

Slipped into the coverage for Kick-Ass was the fact that Chloë Grace Moretz will also be seen in Martin Scorcese’s adaptation of The Invention of Hugo Cabret.

The 2007 novel from Brian Selznick is a quasi-graphic novel mixing prose with long silent stretches of graphic narrative, totaling 284 of the 533 pages found in the Scholastic release.

Scorsese, known for his graphic violence not his graphic fiction, will be making the film in 3-D. The movie will be the director’s first kid-targeted effort, with London production scheduled to begin in June. Sony has already announced a December 9, 2011 release date.

Moretz will play the daughter of Cabret who befriends an orphan (a part yet to be cast) who has been living with his uncle in the great train station. The story is largely based o the life of pioneer film-maker Georges Méliès, known for his silent film A Trip to the Moon. He was also an invention of mechanical, wind-up figures called automata which plays a major role in the story.

The novel has won the prestigious Caldecott Medal and was a 2007 National Book Award Finalist, Young People’s Literature. Scorsese bought the film rights when the hardcover was released and hired John Logan (Gladiator, Star Trek: Nemesis to write the adaptation).