Emily Blunt a Gnome?

James McAvoy and Emily Blunt have signed on to voice the lead characters in the upcoming animated film GNOMEO AND JULIET. As you might expect the film is a retelling of Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet” set in the world of garden gnomes. Elton John is taking an active role in producing the film and at one point was going to write new songs with his LION KING collaborator Tim Rice. That doesn’t look to be happening any longer but John will be providing a number of his biggest hits to the film as well as a few original songs. The project was, at one point, set up at Disney with Kate Winslet attached to voice Juliet but when Pixar took over Disney’s animation operations, they opted against moving ahead with the film. John’s production company convinced Disney to shift the project to its sister studio Miramax where it currently resides. Storyboarding is currently underway and Miramax is planning a 2010 release date. Considering that all Pixar and DreamWorks films after 2009 will be released in 3-D, I wonder if Miramax will use that same technology for this film. Blunt is currently filming THE WOLFMAN while McAvoy can be seen in the drama THE LAST STATION early next year.