Producers align for Dickens film 'Chimes'

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Hollywood film producer Alex Ross says Howard Rosenman will co-produce the Charles Dickens movie "The Chimes" with him.

The $20 million-budgeted film focuses on how the author of "A Christmas Carol" fell in love with "ethereal, mysterious Isabella... (and) is drawn into her dark, dangerous world and risks everything to be with her: his career, his family, his sanity and even his life," the producers said in a news release.

Penned by British screenwriter Callie Lane, the movie is to shoot in London and Genoa, Italy, starting next summer. Lane is also working on a London stage musical of the story.

Rosenman is currently producing "Betsy and the Emperor," starring Al Pacino and Dakota Fanning. His other film credits include "Father of the Bride" and "Buffy the Vampire Slayer."

"'The Chimes' is a mesmerizing script about a writer whose stories are loved all over the world and I am very excited Howard Rosenman is working alongside us to bring this almost devastating aspect of Dickens life to the big screen," Ross said in a statement Friday. "We're currently out to directors and hope to announce on this within the coming weeks."

Casting Agent Gillian Hawser will cast the film from London.