Dublin-born Colin Farrell and English rose Rachel Weisz will lead the cast in ‘The Lobster’, a Greek-Irish co-production directed by Giorgos Lanthimos. Also included in the cast are Ben Whishaw, Jason Clarke, Olivia Coleman, Léa Seydoux, Ariane Labed and Angeliki Papoulia while other roles are yet to be confirmed.
Director Lanthimos’ previous credits include arthouse films ‘Dogtooth’ and ‘Alps’. The script, written by Lanthimos and his long-time collaborator, Efthimos Filippou, portrays an unconventional love story set in a dystopian future where single people must find a mate or be transformed into animals.
The film is Lanthimos’ first English-language film, and the director-writer has said referring to the casting, “I'm very grateful to have the opportunity to work with such great actors. Their contribution to our film will enrich and expand the world we are trying to create and explore. Furthermore, our team of old and new collaborators makes me very confident and excited to start making this film.”
Colin Farrell, a Golden Globe winner for ‘In Bruges’ and IFTA winner for Neil Jordan’s ‘Ondine’, was recently seen in ‘Saving Mr Banks’ and is the star of ‘Winter’s Tale’, which will be released in Ireland this month. Rachel Weisz won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for ‘The Constant Gardener’, and is well-known for her role in blockbuster series ‘The Mummy.’
The casting announcement was made by Element Pictures, who will produce the movie along with Limp and Scarlet films. Element Pictures, run by Ed Guiney and Andrew Lowe, works across production, distribution and exhibition. Besides ‘The Lobster’, upcoming Element productions include ‘Glassland’, Gerard Barrett’s second feature after ‘Pilgrim Hill’, and ‘Room’, a film adaptation of Emma Donaghue’s best-selling novel to be directed by Lenny Abrahamson.
The producers of the film are Lanthimos, Lee Magiday, Ed Guiney and Ceci Dempsey, with Element’s Andrew Lowe taking the role of executive producer.
Partnering on the project are Christos V. Konstantakopoulos of Faliro House in Greece, Carole Scotta of Haut et Court (who will be both the French co-producer and distributor of the film), and Derk-Jan Warrink, Joost de Vries and Leontine Petit of Lemming Films in Holland. Protagonist Pictures is handling worldwide sales on the film at the upcoming European Film Market in Berlin.
‘The Lobster’ is supported by the IFB and backing for the project will also come from Eurimages, Greek Film Centre, CNC and the Dutch Film Fund. The film is set to be the first project to be backed by the BFI Film Fund through its minority co-production strand.
‘The Lobster’ will start shooting on March 24th in Ireland.
