[i]Join Gerard Butler in Ralph Fiennes’ directorial debut[/i]
LONDON — Brian Cox and Vanessa Redgrave are to appear together on the big screen in Ralph Fiennes’ directorial debut “Coriolanus,” fresh from the duo teaming up for the small screen update of “The Day of The Triffids.”
The pair joins Gerard Butler to star on screen alongside the director in his movie update of the Shakespearean historical tragedy.
John Kani, Paul Jesson, James Nesbitt, Ashraf Barhom, Lubna Azabal and Jessica Chastain also feature in the cast.
It stars shooting next week in Belgrade, Serbia from a script penned by John Logan, whose credits include “The Aviator.”
The multi-hyphenate Fiennes also produces, along with Logan, Gabrielle Tana, Julia Taylor-Stanley and Colin Vaines.
Cinematographer Barry Ackroyd and sound mixer Ray Beckett, fresh from their BAFTA and Oscar success with “The Hurt Locker,” are on the crew list.
Fiennes plays revered Roman general Coriolanus who is at odds with the city of Rome and his fellow citizens.
Pushed by his controlling mother (Redgrave) to enter the Senate, he is loath to ingratiate himself with the masses whose votes he needs to secure a Senate seat. When the public refuses to support him, Coriolanus’s anger prompts a riot, which culminates in his expulsion from Rome. The banished hero then allies with his sworn enemy (Butler) to take his revenge on the city.
Billed as mixing the classical and the contemporary, the movie aims to retain Shakespeare’s language, but combining it with modern technology and a contemporary environment.
The long list of backers include Hermetof Pictures, Magna Films and Icon Entertainment International in association with Lip Sync Productions, BBC Films, Kalkronkie, Atlantic Swiss Productions, Artemis Films, MagnoliaMae Films and Synchronistic Pictures on the Lonely Dragon Production.
Icon is handling international sales while Lionsgate is on board as the U.K. distributor.