New Line's just getting the ball rolling on their highly-anticipated "His Dark Materials" series -- and now they have an all-new potential trilogy to worry about. Chapter one of Cornelia Funke's series is called "Inkheart," and it looks like Brendan Fraser and Paul Bettany have been tapped as the lead guys.

From Variety: "New Line Cinema has tapped Paul Bettany ("The Da Vinci Code") to star opposite Brendan Fraser in its family fantasy "Inkheart," to be directed by Iain Softley.

"Inkheart," which spent 19 weeks on the New York Times Children's Chapter bestseller list, revolves around a girl whose father has the power to bring characters from books to life by reading aloud. When a villainous ruler and his band of rogues from a children's fable kidnap the man, his daughter and her friends, both real and imaginary, must rescue him."

Mr. Softley's previous films include "K-Pax," "Backbeat," "Hackers," and "The Skeleton Key."

And where the heck has Brendan Fraser been hiding lately? Aside from "Crash," he's been on extended vacation or something...