30. 06. 10. - 15:00

Winslet 'not to play Kampusch'

Claims that Kate Winslet is lined up to star as Natascha Kampusch in an upcoming movie have been denied by the Oscar-awarded star’s agent.

Winslet’s agent told British newspapers today (Weds) that reports by German showbiz media were baseless and untrue.

Movie magazines claimed recently that the "Titanic" star – who bagged an Academy Award for her role in 2008 drama "The Reader" – was in the running to take the leading role in Bernd Eichinger’s take on the life story of "cellar girl" Kampusch.

"War of the Worlds" star Dakota Fanning and Karoline Herfurth – who performed in "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" – are reportedly also considered as options by Eichinger who caused a stir with "Downfall" portraying the final days of Adolf Hitler.

Austrian Christoph Waltz – who had his international breakthrough in Quentin Tarantino’s 2009 World War Two satire "Inglourious Basterds" – is meanwhile rumoured to star as kidnapper Wolfgang Priklopil. The name of "The Counterfeiters" star Karl Markovics is traded in the rumour mill.

Eichinger said the plan was to start shooting next year and bring the film to cinemas in 2012, stressing that he had the trust and backing of Kampusch

The 21-year-old Viennese – who is currently writing her autobiography – was kept in a self-made dungeon cellar in Strasshof an der Nordbahn, Lower Austria, for more than eight years after being snatched off the road on her way to school aged ten. Priklopil committed suicide by jumping in front of a regional train on the day she managed to escape in summer 2006.

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