Erotic tale The Grandmothers, boasting an all-star cast, will start filming next month.
The somewhat-risqué drama, based on a short story of the same name by British author Doris Lessing, will star Naomi Watts (King Kong) and Robin Wright (Beowulf) who are two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other’s teenage sons.
The two sons will be played by The Twilight Saga's Xavier Samuel and Animal Kingdom’s James Frecheville.
The film, which received Screen Australia funding, is being described as an erotic tale of misguided love and a celebration of the enduring nature of female friendship.
Penned for the screen by Oscar-winning British writer Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons), the flick is expected to be filmed in NSW however an announcement has not yet been made.
It will be directed by France-based and former actress Anne Fontaine, who is best known for writing and directing Coco Before Chanel which was nominated for a string of awards (including Oscars and BAFTAs) after it was released in 2009.
The Grandmothers will be produced by Andrew Mason (on behalf of Hopscotch Features), as well as Philippe Carcassonne, Michel Feller, Dominique Besnehard and Francis Boespflug. Gaumont will handle international sales while Hopscotch/Entertainment One will distribute the film locally.
Hopscotch Films’ managing director Troy Lum told IF the film would be shot late-next month, while another on their slate – gothic thriller I, Frankenstein had been pushed back a month to March.
I, Frankenstein, based on a DarkStorm Studios graphic novel by Kevin Grevioux, will be directed by Tomorrow, When The War Began’s Stuart Beattie.
Sydney's Make-Up Effects Group is currently working on the special make-up effects for the film, including the Frankenstein “look” for lead actor Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight).
Robert Luketic’s Brilliant, which Lum announced during last year’s Australian International Movie Convention, has been pushed back and is still in development after it was expected to shoot at around the same time as I, Frankenstein.
“No word on that yet…but it’s still in the works,” Lum said of the director's first ever major Australian feature. Sydney-born Luketic is best known for Legally Blonde, 21 and Killers, and Brilliant is being touted as a cross between James Bond and My Fair Lady.