Ambrose "Wild" for Jonze pic

Lauren Ambrose gestures during at the Television Critics Association Summer Press Tour in Beverly Hills, California July 23, 2007.

NEW YORK/LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Lauren Ambrose is going into the wild, voicing one of the title roles in Spike Jonze's fantasy film "Where the Wild Things Are" for Warner Bros.

In the feature adaptation of Maurice Sendak's classic children's tale, which won a Caldecott Medal in 1964, Ambrose will play KW, one of the giant creatures in the land of the Wild Things. When a young boy named Max visits their strange world, KW and company turn him into their king.

Ambrose is replacing the previously cast Michelle Williams. According to a production source, the filmmakers enjoyed working with Williams, but her voice didn't match their original vision of how the Wild Thing should sound.

Jonze and Dave Eggers wrote the screenplay adaptation of the book. The film, set for release in fall 2008, will use real actors, computer animation and live-action puppeteering.

Ambrose, an ensemble member on HBO's "Six Feet Under," stars in the Fox series "The Return of Jezebel James" and appears opposite Frank Langella in Roadside Attractions' big-screen drama "Starting Out in the Evening." During the summer, she played Juliet in the Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park production of "Romeo and Juliet" in New York.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter