Leads Confirmed for Phantom of the Opera Film

Though it is has been rumored for months, Really Useful Films finally confirmed the principal cast of its feature film version of The Phantom of the Opera. As previously mentioned, Emmy Rossum will indeed be joining Gerard Butler and Patrick Wilson in the motion picture. The filming of Phantom, which will be directed by Joel Schumacher, will begin on September 15 at Pinewood Studios in the UK.

“From the beginning Joel and I always wanted a young and relatively unknown cast,” Andrew Lloyd Webber said in a statement. “Given his track record for discovering stars such as Julia Roberts, Kiefer Sutherland and Colin Farrell, who am I to argue with him?”

Rossum, who will play Christine, is the youngest of the trio at only 16 years of age. Rossum has been with the Metropolitan Opera in New York since the age of 7 and is already an acclaimed opera singer, having performed with such stars as Placido Domingo and Luciano Pavarotti. Her feature film credits include It Had to Be You, Passionada, Songcatcher, An American Rhapsody, Nola and Mystic River. Among her notable television credits is The Audrey Hepburn Story in which she played Young Audrey Hepburn.

Warner Bros. will distribute The Phantom of the Opera in North America. The film is expected to be released on Christmas Day 2004.