Paramount is nearing a deal to distribute Martin Scorsese‘s long-gestating passion project “Silence,” an individual familiar with the project has told TheWrap.
Liam Neeson and Andrew Garfield will star alongside Ken Watanabe and Adam Driver.
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Based on the novel by Shusako Endo, “Silence” follows two 17th century priests who face violence and persecution when they travel to Japan to locate their mentor (Neeson) and spread Christianity.
Jay Cocks (“Gangs of New York”) wrote the script, and Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films is financing the movie with Corsan Entertainment. Randall Emmett and George Furla are producing with Emma Tillinger Koskoff and Irwin Winkler.
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Paramount is a logical landing place for “Silence,” as the studio released Scorsese’s “Wolf of Wall Street,” “Hugo” and “Shutter Island.”
Production will start in November, with the film tentatively slated for release approximately one year later. That means “Silence” would hit theaters just in time for the 2015 awards season, though Scorsese famously doesn’t rush his films, and Paramount nearly delayed “Wolf of Wall Street” when fears arose that Scorsese wouldn’t finish editing the picture in time for its Christmas Day 2013 release.
The distribution deal was first reported by Deadline.