Porchlight Films and Bunya Productions have revealed the cast for feature film Jasper Jones, which is set to start filming in Western Australia on October 26.
The cast will include Levi Miller (Terra Nova, upcoming Pan, Blue Dog), Angourie Rice (These Final Hours, upcoming The Nice Guys) and Aaron McGrath (Glitch).
The film is an adaption of the award winning coming of age mystery novel by Craig Silvey.
Principal photography is set to commence in October in the south west of Western Australia.
Jasper Jones will be directed by Rachel Perkins (Bran Nue Dae, Radiance, One Night the Moon).
Miller will play bookish 14-year-old, Charlie Bucktin, who over one eventful summer in 1965 navigates small-town racism, hypocrisy and the trials of teenage love.
McGrath has been cast as the titular character, Jasper Jones, while will play the intelligent and mysterious Eliza Wishart, who is also the object of Charlie’s affections.
Perkins said she was thrilled to have Miller, Rice and McGrath in the film.
"The kids are the heart of the film and they are all brilliantly talented.” said director Perkins.
Miller made his international debut in the Steven Spielberg produced TV series Terra Nova.
He has recently finished filming as the lead in Blue Dog, the follow up to the widely successful Red Dog.
Miller will next be seen playing the title role of ‘Peter Pan’ in the Warner Bros Feature film PAN.
He will be opposite Hugh Jackman in the Joe Wright directed film.
Rice was the lead in These Final Hours and also in BBC/20th Century Fox feature film Walking With Dinosaurs 3D.
She has recently completed filming The Nice Guys, with Ryan Gosling and Russell Crowe.
McGrath has just wrapped the ABC series, Ready for This and stars in ABC series Glitch.
His credits also include the AACTA award winning The Code, Around The Block and Redfern Now.
The bestselling novel, Jasper Jones, written by Craig Silvey, was published in 2009.
It has won multiple awards, including the Book of the Year at the Australian Book Industry Awards in 2010 and continues to captivate readers of all ages.
Jasper Jones is produced by Bunya Productions David Jowsey (Mystery Road, Mad Bastards) and Porchlight Films Vincent Sheehan (The Hunter, Animal Kingdom).
The production designer is Herbert Pinter (Mao’s Last Dancer), while Margot Wilson (Bran Nue Dae) is the Costume Designer and Mark Wareham (Felony) will be director of photography.
The novel was adapted for the screen by Shaun Grant and Craig Silvey.
The announcement was made today from CinéfestOZ Film Festival in the south west of Western Australia, where Jowsey and Sheehan are attending various screen industry events and panels.
The film has been supported by a grant of $200,000 from the South West Development Commission and the production will be based in the town of Pemberton and filmed on location in the beautiful and haunting South West region.
South West Development Commission acting chief executive officer Patrick Warrand said the State Government agency welcomed the opportunity to support the filming of Jasper Jones in the region.
“This is a major opportunity to showcase the South West on the big screen and further position the region as a centre for the creative industries,” he said.
Mongrel Media is handling international sales. Madman Entertainment is releasing Jasper Jones in Australia.