Naomi Watts Cast to Play Princess Diana in Big Screen Biopic

Naomi Wattshas signed to play British icon Princess Dianain Oliver Hirschbiegel's big screen portrait "Caught In Flight."The movie is being touted to buyers in Berlin by producers Ecosse Films, the U.K. production and finance banner behind a host of movies including "Charlotte Gray," "Becoming Jane"and "Brideshead Revisited."Tim Haslam, the former Hanway Films chief executive, is handling worldwide sales under his upstart company Embankment Films.Hirschbiegel directs Watts based on the screenplay byStephen Jeffreys, with production set to begin in the U.K. later this year.Billed as a compelling portrait of Diana, Princess of Wales during the last two years of her life, the script charts her search for personal happiness as she turned into a major international campaigner and humanitarian.Watts, who will next be seen starring in "The Impossible"opposite Ewan McGregor, described her casting as "an honour to be able to play this iconic role - Princess Diana was loved across the world, and I look forward to rising to the challenge of playing her on screen."Hirschbiegel said Watts has enough in her acting armoury to embody "the warmth, humanity and empathy of such a global icon as Princess Diana." The Hollywood Reporter