BEL CANTO

Actors Julianne Moore, Ken Watanabe, and Demián Bichir are all set to star in the forthcoming film from director Paul Weitz, Bel Canto. Based on the best-seller of the same name by Ann Patchett, the script was adapted by Weitz and Anthony Weintraub. Distribution company Bloom is going to start international sales at the Toronto International Film Festival, which begins tomorrow.

A guerilla group enters a South American politician’s villa during a party while a famous soprano is singing and takes everyone hostage.

Based on the Japanese embassy hostage crisis (also called the Lima Crisis) of 1996–1997 in Lima, Peru, the novel follows the relationships among a group of young terrorists and their hostages, who are mostly high-profile executives and politicians, over several months. Many of the characters form unbreakable bonds of friendship, while some fall in love.