Veteran filmmaker Fred Schepisi is set to direct romantic drama Words and Pictures, starring Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche.
It will mark the 72 year-old director's first feature film since 2011 Australian drama The Eye of the Storm, which was nominated for three AACTA Awards. In October, he also signed on to direct Australian film The Drowner although it appears that Words and Pictures, which is due to shoot from March 2013, will take precedence.
Words and Pictures is set in a New England prep school where a charismatic English teacher (Owen) and an intensely private art teacher (Binoche) form an improbable relationship. The film is being produced by Curtis Burch and his company, Latitude Productions, with Gary Cogill (Lascaux Films), and screenwriter Gerald DiPego.
“When I first read this uniquely romantic screenplay by Gerald DiPego, based on his original concept, I knew I had to acquire it as Latitude’s first project, as it is an enchanting love story colored with a sophisticated humor and would be ideal for Fred Schepisi to direct," Burch said in a Latitude announcement quoted by US media.
"It was with Fred’s commitment that we were able to attract Clive and Juliette, who are a perfect fit to create the chemistry between the two leads at the heart of the story. I am also very excited to be working alongside Lascaux Films to bring this movie to the screen.”
Schepisi's credits include Roxanne, Six Degrees of Separation and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith.
Contact this reporter at bswift@www.if.com.au or on Twitter at @bcswift.