After "A History of Violence," a whole bunch of us want to know what David Cronenberg‘s next project will be, and it looks like it’ll be something called "Eastern Promises." We’re being told that it’s similar in tone to "Dirty Pretty Things," which is pretty good news, and also that it will star Naomi Watts and Viggo Mortensen, which is even better news.
From Variety: "Naomi Watts has been cast as the female lead in David Cronenberg’s London thriller "Eastern Promises" for Focus Features and BBC Films. Pic will start shooting in November, right after Watts finishes filming on Michael Haneke‘s remake of his own psycho-drama "Funny Games."
"Eastern Promises," scripted by Steve Knight, delves into the same seedy underside of London life that he explored in "Dirty Pretty Things." Watts, who was Oscar-nominated for "Mulholland Drive," will play Anna, a midwife at a London hospital who gets dragged into the criminal underworld when she tries to discover the identity of a dead patient. Viggo Mortensen is set to play the mysterious and ruthless Nikolai, a man with links to one of London’s most notorious organized crime families. His carefully maintained existence is thrown into turmoil when he crosses paths with Anna."