Christian Bale and Oscar Isaac will star in “The Promise,” an epic love story that Oscar-winning filmmaker Terry George (“Hotel Rwanda”) will direct from a script he co-wrote with Robin Swicord (“Memoirs of a Geisha”), TheWrap has learned.
Mike Medavoy (“Black Swan”) is producing “The Promise” with Eric Esrailian, Ralph Winter (“X-Men”) and William Horberg (Milk”). Production is slated to start this fall in Southern Europe, including Portugal and the Canary Islands.
Set during the last days of the Ottoman Empire, “The Promise” follows a love triangle between Michael, a brilliant medical student, the beautiful and sophisticated Ana, and Chris — a renowned American journalist based in Paris.
Bale will play Chris, an AP reporter in love with both a woman and the danger of being in a combat zone amidst a world that is falling apart.
Isaac will play Michael, a medical student in love with the same woman but conflicted by old-world traditions and his heart.
The Ottoman Empire was dissolved in 1922 following the Armenian Genocide of 1915, which resulted in an estimated death toll of between 800,000 and 1.5 million people. The subject has been near and dear to George, who in March 2013, was a guest of the Armenian State Pedagogical University, where the Irish filmmaker compared the Armenian genocide to the Rwanda genocide that he chronicled in “Hotel Rwanda.”
Bale has shown an affinity for films about other cultures, having recently starred in the Chinese-language production “The Flowers of War.” The Oscar-winning star of “The Fighter,” “American Hustle” and the “Dark Knight” trilogy also made his feature debut in Steven Spielberg‘s historical drama “Empire of the Sun.”
Isaac is in the midst of a major moment thanks to his upcoming turns in “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” and “X-Men: Apocalypse.” He also has David Simon‘s HBO miniseries “Show Me a Hero” on the horizon, and has been touted as a possible Oscar contender for his supporting performance in the acclaimed sci-fi movie “Ex Machina.”
Bale is represented by WME and attorney Carlos Goodman, while Isaac is repped by UTA, Inspire Entertainment and SMGSB.
George, who won an Oscar for his live-action short film “The Shore,” is represented by WME, while UTA reps Swicord, who previously adapted “Little Women” and “Matilda.”