It’s a busy day for Gemma Arterton casting stories – not only is she joining the ensemble for Neil LaBute’s take on Agatha Christie’s Crooked House, but she’s also signing up to co-star with Saoirse Ronan in Neil Jordan’s vampire tale Byzantium.
Yes, the man who brought Interview with the Vampire to screens is dabbling once more in the world of fanged fiends, for a plot based on Tamara Drewe writer Moira Buffini’s play A Vampire Story.
The stage play was picked up in 2009 by producer (and occasional Empire Videblogisode guest star) Stephen “Woolley on the Web” Woolley for his Number 9 film company, which has worked with Jordan before on Breakfast on Pluto, The Crying Game, The End of the Affair and, perhaps not so coincidentally, Interview with the Vampire.
It’s not known how closely the new film will hew to Buffini’s tale of two young women who show up in a sleepy British town and dazzle the locals with their allure and mystery. As the title suggests, one of the pair (Ronan’s character) announces in a school drama class that they’re both vampires, which naturally makes her fellow students think she’s nuts. But is she? (Cue dramatic organ music here.)
Jordan will shoot the film in the UK this October, which means we’ll hopefully see it next year.