'Beautiful' upgrade on British Entertainment

Blighty's Entertainment Film Marketers has pre-bought U.K. privileges for mystical teenage witch pic "Beautiful Animals." Pic, that is created by Alcon Entertainment and being looked in the European Film Market by Summit Intl., has offered to Germany's Concorde Film on Friday. Numerous British purchasers were stated to become competing for that project, including Entertainment One. Pic, in line with the best-selling tome by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl, toplines Emma Thompson, Viola Davis and beginners Jack O'Connell and Alice Englert. "Animals" is presently in pre-production and it is modified and helmed by Richard Lagravenese, whose previous pointing credits include "P.S. I Really Like You" and "Freedom Authors" and scribe credits include "Water for Tigers" and "The Bridges of Madison County." Warner Bros. will release the teenager medieval romance locally through its financing and distribution agreement with Alcon. Story concentrates on a little-town teenage boy Ethan, who hopes for getting away his regular existence before the day he meets Lena, a youthful witch. The 2 fall madly in love but as her 16th birthday approaches, she fears for Ethan's safety within her existence and selects to erase their love from his memory even though link between the 2 remains unavoidable. Erwin Stoff, Andrew A. Kosove, Broderick Manley and Molly Cruz produce. Garcia and Stohl's "Beautiful" series to date consists of four books and it is first installment was released in '09. Contact Diana Lodderhose at diana.lodderhose@variety.com