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(Press Release) LOS ANGELES -- Fox 2000 Pictures begins production August 1st in Budapest, Hungary, on the epic fantasy adventure ERAGON, based on the best-selling novel by Christopher Paolini.

Twentieth Century Fox releases ERAGON June 16th, 2006.

Following a worldwide casting search, which rivaled the hunt for a cinematic "Harry Potter," and included hundreds of auditions and dozens of screen tests, newcomer Ed Speleers has landed the title role – a young man whose destiny is revealed when he learns he is part of an elite troop of Dragon Riders. Eragon is swept into a world of magic and power, discovering that he can save – or destroy – an Empire.

Deals are being finalized for Academy Award® winner Jeremy Irons, and Oscar® nominees John Malkovich and Djimon Hounsou to take on key roles. Casting on the female lead, 'Arya', will soon be announced.

ERAGON is directed by Stefen Fangmeier, one of the industry's true visual effects genius'. During his tenure at the renowned effects house Industrial Light & Magic, Fangmeier supervised films such as "Saving Private Ryan," "Twister," "The Perfect Storm" and "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World." He is a three-time BAFTA Award winner, and has been Oscar-nominated four times.

George Lucas, for whom Fangmeier worked for 15 years at ILM, commented: "Stefen invested a good part of his life into creating state-of-the-art visual effects at ILM. His effects work always supported story and characters, and that will serve him very well on ERAGON." The novel Eragon is a publishing sensation, selling over one million copies in only six months in 2003. Eragon spent 87 consecutive weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List, and 21 consecutive months on Publisher’s Weekly Young Adult Fiction Bestseller List, including nine months at #1. The novel came out in paperback in May and again shot to the top of both The New York Times and Publisher's Weekly charts and has been published in 37 countries. In total over two million copies are in print.

Eragon is the first novel of a trilogy. The second book, Eldest, will be published in the U.S. and Canada on August 23rd with a first printing alone of one million copies.

Paolini's own story is a fantasy in itself. The first edition of Eragon was self-published by his family. The following year, Alfred A. Knopf published the novel worldwide, to huge acclaim. Christopher Paolini says of his book becoming a feature film, "I originally conceived Eragon as a movie. I saw the characters and action clearly in my mind. But since I didn't have the money to produce a film, I ended up writing the story as a book. I am thrilled to know that Fox is bringing my vision to life, capturing the spirit of the land of Alagaësia and its characters." Christopher Paolini, now 21, grew up in Paradise Valley, Montana – his own real-life "middle earth," and a location which inspired much of the story's fantastic environments.

ERAGON is produced by John Davis ("I, Robot") and Wyck Godfrey. One of the world's largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, Fox Filmed Entertainment produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of FFE: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000, Fox Searchlight Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox Animation.

(thanks to Shurtugal)

Published July 15, 2005

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