Director Marc Forster will film White Bird: A Wonder Story on locations in Prague and the Czech Republic from February 1, according to local reports. Julia Roberts and Owen Wilson serve among the film’s producers.
The WWII-era film is said to boast a “star-studded” cast, though actors have yet to be officially announced.
White Bird: A Wonder Story is an adaptation of R.J. Palacio’s bestselling graphic novel about a young Jewish girl hiding in a Nazi-occupied French village during World War II.
The book was “inspired” by Palacio’s 2012 novel Wonder, about a young boy growing up with a facial deformity growing up in contemporary New York. Wonder became a 2017 feature starring Roberts, Wilson, and Jacob Tremblay in the lead role.
While the events of White Bird relate to the story of the grandmother of one of the characters in Wonder, Roberts, Wilson, and Tremblay are all likely to return to the project to shoot a framing device for the story.
White Bird will begin it’s Czech shoot in Liberec from February 1, where it will film scenes involving a school in WWII-era France.
Afterwards, filming will continue in Prague and other locations in the Czech Republic through April.
Scenes set in contemporary New York, likely involving the leads from Wonder, will be filmed on Czech locations at the end of the shoot.
Extras casting for White Bird: A Wonder Story is now taking place in Prague, and teenagers for the school scenes are currently being sought. Contact Extrafilms if you’d like to become an extra in the movie.
German-born director Marc Forster is best remembered for his Oscar-nominated features Monster’s Ball and Finding Neverland. His most recent works include the Brad Pitt blockbuster World War Z, the 2016 thriller All I See is You, and 2018’s Winnie the Pooh tale Christopher Robin.
“Wonder connected with audiences who responded to its message of kindness and empathy, of looking past the surface to the person underneath,” Lionsgate’s Nathan Kahane said when announcing the project.
“Now more than ever, we need stories that champion compassion for others, and R.J. Palacio’s graphic novel White Bird builds on those themes. To direct the adaptation, Marc Forster brings not only mastery of his craft but a tender heart and gentle vision for a story of people finding connections between each other even in the most trying situations.”
