David Hare, best known as the Oscar-nominated screenwriter of The Hours and The Reader, has completed his most recent screenplay, Page 8. First Showing not only reports that Hare will direct the film — to date, his experience behind the camera isn’t as polished as his work on the page — but also that Rachel Weisz and Ralph Fiennes will co-star in the film. You will recall that these two co-starred in The Constant Gardener, and Fiennes also gave a crucial performance in The Reader. Needless to say, there should be some built-in chemistry with this cast and crew.
The supporting cast will include Michael Gambon, Bill Nighy, and Judy Davis. While our knowledge of the storyline is cloudy at best right now, the report does include a brief synopsis that tries to narrow things down:
In the BBC backed thriller Nighy will play an MI-5 operative who believes Weisz’s character poses a threat to him while Michael Gambon plays the director general of the Security Service. It’s unclear what roles Fiennes and Davis will be taking, and while the thriller will certainly be grounded in reality, Hare was quick to point out that the story is completely fictional and no characters in the film represent anybody in real life.
The espionage aspect to the film certainly feels like a departure for Hare, which I would welcome completely. Any potential release date is unknown at this point.
Are you excited about Page 8?