Moore, Coogan and Skarsgard to Learn “What Maisie Knew”

We Julianne Moore, Steve Coogan and Alexander Skarsgard have signed on to star in modern retelling of Henry James' "What Maisie Knew," according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Here's the synopsis of James' novel, by way of Amazon:

After her parents' bitter divorce, young Maisie Farange finds herself shuttled between her selfish mother and vain father, who value her only as a means for provoking each other. And when both take lovers and remarry, Maisie - solitary, observant and wise beyond her years - is drawn into an increasingly entangled adult world of intrigue and sexual betrayal, until she is finally compelled to choose her own future.

In this new version, which is said to be a dramatic comedy, Moore will play Maisie's mom, who's a famous rocker, and Coogan will play her father, an art dealer. Skarsgard will play Moore's new husband.

Moore's had a great career, of course, but her co-stars have had trouble parlaying their earlier successes.

Coogan seemed poised for global domination a decade ago, but has struggled to find the breakthrough to make him a star, a problem he makes sport of in his latest film, "The Trip," in which he plays a fictionalized version of himself on a road trip with his good friend Rob Brydon.

Skarsgard knocked us out as Sgt. Brad 'Iceman' Colbert in 2008's incredible 2008 series "Generation Kill," but has poured so much of his time and energy into "True Blood"--which, frankly, we don't care for--that his film career has stalled.

The film will be co-directed by Scott McGehee and David Siegel, who most recently collaborated on the overlooked/uneven Joesph Gordon-Levitt thriller "Uncertainty." They'll be working with a script from Nancy Doyne and Carroll Cartwright.

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