Up-and-coming starlet Amanda Seyfried (Mamma Mia, Dear John, Letters to Juliet) has been cast in the new sci-fi action-romance I’m.mortal, from writer-director Andrew Niccol (Gattaca, Lord of War, The Truman Show). In Niccol’s futuristic I’m.mortal universe, society has seen fit to redesign human biology so that the aging process stops at the age of 25, after which point additional ‘time’ must be purchased in order to stave off an automatic, genetically engineered death. If you have enough money, you can live forever. If you don’t… well, you’re not so lucky.
Seyfried (whose perpetually youthful energy makes her ideally cast) will star as the beautiful, rich girl taken hostage by a rebel from the ghetto who is falsely accused of murdering a wealthy man for his ‘time.’ As they live minute to minute, raging against the injustice of their society, they discover that their love is more powerful than all the time in the world. Cute!
Whether intentional or not, Niccol’s ‘eternal youth’ conceit is perfect for Hollywood – every actor and actress has to be in their 20s! – and New Regency jumped at the chance to pick up the sci-fi love story this spring, making its production a high priority. 20th Century Fox is set to distribute the film, with Eric Newman and Marc Abraham producing through their Strike Entertainment company, along with exec producer Kristel Laiblin.
The male lead, who will star opposite Seyfried, has not yet been cast, but hopefully we will hear more about I’m.mortal’s development soon, as Niccol is expected to begin principal photography some time this year.
“It’s a strange casting process,” Niccol told Daily Variety. “Even for a small role like a priest or a pawnbroker, where you would normally cast a 75-year-old character actor, I have to find a 75-year-old character actor in a 25-year-old body.” Niccol should give Paul Dano a call! He always seems to come off as an old man in his movies, even though he is a sprightly 26. And let’s hope Taylor Lautner is busy when I’m.mortal begins shooting.
