Charlize Theron Has a 'Burning' Sensation

Zap2It.com | July 13, 2007

Charlize Theron

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'Babel' and '21 Grams' screenwriter Arriaga will direct

Oscar winner Charlize Theron is set to star in "The Burning Plain," the feature directing debut of acclaimed writer Guillermo Arriaga.

Production on "The Burning Plain" will begin in November, according to Variety. The film will be financed by Todd Wagner and Mark Cuban's 2929 Productions and produced by Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald ("The Island").

Theron will also executive produce the pic.

Like Arriaga's earlier scripts for "Amores perros," "21 Grams" and "Babel," "The Burning Plain" will feature a number of thematically connected storylines. Theron will play a young woman trying to find common ground with her parents after a troubled childhood.

Arriaga has previously gone behind the camera for documentaries and TV.

The trade paper says that the budget for "The Burning Plain" will be under $20 million. There isn't a specific plan or timetable for distribution.

Although she's been missing from the big screen since 2005's "Aeon Flux" and "North Country," Theron has "In the Valley of Elah" and possibly "Battle in Seattle" on tap for later this year. She's currently shooting the Will Smith superhero film that's either called "Tonight, He Comes" or "John Hancock."