We haven't heard much about the planned new live-action version of Romeo & Juliet for a while. Earlier reports suggested the movie would film last summer, but that obviously didn't happen. However things are still moving forward as Variety reports that Paul Giamatti has joined the cast of Carlo Carlei's take on Shakespeare's play.
The actor will play Friar Lawrence, who serves as an adviser to the title characters (Hailee Steinfeld and Douglas Booth). Holly Hunter is set to portray Nurse, while Ed Westwick and Kodi Smit-McPhee play cousins Tybalt and Mercutio.
Carlo Carlei is directing Romeo and Juliet from a screenplay by Julian Fellowes. The project is described as Romeo and Juliet for the Twilight generation. Production is scheduled to start later this month on location in Mantua Italy and Rome's Cinecitta Studios.