Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci have come aboard The Children Act, based on Ian McEwan's 2014 novel.
FilmNation and BBC Films are co-financing the project, which is being produced by Duncan Kenworthy (Notting Hill, Love Actually) and directed by Richard Eyre (Notes on a Scandal, Iris).
The story will see Thompson play Fiona Maye, an eminent High Court judge in London, whose marriage to Tucci's American professor Jack is at breaking point. In this moment of personal crisis, Fiona is asked to rule on the case of Adam - played by Fionn Whitehead (Dunkirk) - a brilliant boy who is refusing the blood transfusion that will save his life. With Adam three months from his 18th birthday and still legally a child, Fiona questions whether or not she should intervene and force him to live.
Executive producers are Glen Basner and Ben Browning from FilmNation, Joe Oppenheimer and Beth Pattinson from BBC Films, and Charles Moore.
FilmNation, which is handling worldwide rights, has also revealed that is has sold out of the project internationally.
International distributors for the film include eOne in the U.K. and Canada, Tele Munchen in Germany, BIM in Italy, Vertigo in Spain, Roadshow in Australia, Kino in Japan, Swen in LATAM, Cineart in Benelux, Scanbox in Scandinavia, Spentzos in Greece, Lev in Israel, Italia in the Middle East, Ster Kinekor in South Africa, and Bravos in Hong Kong.
Emma Thompson is represented by Christian Hodell at Hamilton Hodell in the U.K., and CAA in the U.S., Stanley Tucci is represented by Oriana Elia at Curtis Brown in the U.K., and CAA and Anonymous Content in the US, and Fionn Whitehead is represented by Sophie Holden at Curtis Brown. THR
