I'm not exactly sure what led anyone to believe that there would be an audience for a movie about Beatrix Potter - the creator of Peter Rabbit - and her "struggle for independence in Victorian England," but there's one on the way, so hopes must be high. The movie, which will combine live action with animation (Perhaps she was secretly insane, and Peter Rabbit was actually a good friend?), is to be called Miss Potter, and will be directed by Chris Noonan, an Aussie who wrote and directed Babe so, if nothing else, he'll be able to handle the live/animated mix without difficulty.

Starring in the film are Renée Zellweger, who will play the author, and Ewan McGregor as publisher Norman Warne, whose death from leukemia a month after his secret engagement to Potter was a turning point in her life. Additionally, Emily Watson has recently joined the cast in an undermined role.

Slated for a 2007 release, the movie begins filming in early March.