Hollywood to make film of Chekhov’s ‘The Seagull’

Hollywood star Christian Camargo is set to film a modern retelling of the famous play, The Seagull, written by Russian writer Anton Chekhov, Variety reported on Wednesday. Camargo, known for his parts in the Oscar-winning ‘Hurt Locker’ and in ‘The Twilight Saga’ wrote a script for the film, “which will be set in rural New England where reckless desire wreaks havoc over Memorial Day weekend as a family confronts the volatile and fragile nature of love.” The script writer and director Camargo has attracted an ensemble of stars for his mooted film, including Katie Holmes, William Hurt, Allison Janney, Russell Means, Jean Reno and others. The stars are in different stages of talks to join the movie, according to Variety. Allison Janney, from the Oscar-winning ‘American Beauty,’ will play a movie star Elizabeth, whose role is based on Irina Arkadina in The Seagull. William Hurt will be her ailing brother (Pyotr Sorin) and Katie Holmes will play his daughter (Nina Zarechnaya). This is not the first time Hollywood stars have tackled Chekhov’s The Seagull. In 2001 the play was staged at the Delacorte Theater in New York City's Central Park and starred among others Meryl Streep, Kevin Kline, Christopher Walken, Natalie Portman, Philip Seymour Hoffman, and John Goodman.