Two of our favorite breakouts of international cinema of the last few years have been Tahar Rahim and Lea Seydoux. The former made a scorching debut in Jacques Audiard's "A Prophet," followed up swiftly with "The Eagle" and "Black Gold," while the latter won a César nomination for "La Belle Persone" and more acclaim for "Lourdes," before making a big American splash last year as Owen Wilson's love interest in "Midnight in Paris" and as the buxom assassin in "Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol." So it makes perfect sense that the two are being teamed up together.
Variety reports that the Gallic stars will lead "Grand Central," a contemporary romance from writer-director Rebecca Zlotowski, whose 2010 debut "Belle Épine" (also known as "Dear Prudence"), won her acclaim back in France and on the festival circuit, and saw her pick up the Best First Film at the Louis Delluc Prize.
Rahim will play a man addicted to danger who starts working in a nuclear plant and becomes exposed to dangerous levels of radiation, while Seydoux (who starred in "Belle Épine") will play a colleague that he begins a passionate affair with. The director tells the trade that she wanted to make the film, "an intense love story, set in the daunting world of nuclear nomads, because of its visual and dramatic appeal. While the film will be politically engaged, it will mainly revolve around the romance." Shooting will get underway in the summer in France and Vienna, Austria, so we'll likely see this on the festival circuit in 2013.