By: Zorianna Kit

Heather Matarazzo ("Welcome to the Dollhouse") will co-star in the Walt Disney Co.'s "The Princess Diaries" for director Garry Marshall. The project is slated to start production next month.

Based on Meg Cabot's upcoming novel of the same name, the project is about a teenager (Anne Hathaway) who discovers that her father is the prince of Genovia and that she is the heir to the throne. But accepting her title means leaving Manhattan, where she lives with her artist mom, to take lessons on being a perfect princess. She must decide on her 16th birthday whether she will become a princess or live a normal life. Matarazzo has been cast as her best friend.

Gina Wendkos ("Coyote Ugly") adapted the script, which is being produced by singer-actress Whitney Houston of Brownhouse Prods. and Marshall's producing partner Mario Iscovich.

Matarazzo, repped by Agency for the Performing Arts' Pamela Wagner and Carl Rumbaugh and manager Carolyn Anthony, is filming New Line Cinema's untitled Todd Solondz project. Her other film credits include "Scream 3," "54" and "The Devil's Advocate."