I’m always reluctant to talk much about CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY, because I never know what’s been approved by the studio for public release, and what’s supposed to be kept secret. But since this item showed up in [Variety](http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=cannes2004&content=story&articleid=VR1117905345&categoryid=1706&cs=1&query=highmore&display=highmore) this week, I’m probably in clear mentioning that [Freddie Highmore](http://imdb.com/name/nm0383603/) has been cast as Charlie.
Who the hell is Freddie Highmore? Never met him. I saw his screen test, and he was great. Tim likes him; Johnny Depp is already in a movie with him ([J.M. Barrie’s Neverland](http://imdb.com/title/tt0308644/)); the kid looks properly hungry and Dickensian. So cheers all around.
The movie starts shooting this summer at Pinewood Studios outside London.
[Random side note: Fans of [The Office](http://www.bbcamerica.com/genre/comedy_games/the_office/the_office.jsp) will recall that the show is set in Slough, which I always assumed was made-up — it sounds too gratingly pedestrian to be a real city. But it is real. You pass through it on the way to Pinewood.]