Blanchett, Ronan, Bana to Star in Joe Wright's HANNA

The adventure thriller Hanna, directed by BAFTA Award winner Joe Wright, begins filming in Europe next week. Focus Features holds worldwide rights to the movie. Focus CEO James Schamus made the announcement today.

Academy Award nominee Saoirse Ronan (of Focus' Atonement, also directed by Mr. Wright), Academy Award winner Cate Blanchett (soon to be seen in Robin Hood), and Eric Bana (Star Trek) star in Hanna. Joining the cast is Niels Arestrup, who last month won the César Award (France's Academy Award equivalent) for Best Supporting Actor for A Prophet [Un Prophète].

Hanna (to be played by Ms. Ronan) is a teenage girl. Uniquely, she has the strength, the stamina, and the smarts of a solider; these come from being raised by her father (Mr. Bana), an ex-CIA man, in the wilds of Sweden. Living a life unlike any other teenager, her upbringing and training have been one and the same, all geared to making her the perfect assassin. The turning point in her adolescence is a sharp one; sent into the world by her father on a mission, Hanna journeys stealthily across Europe while eluding agents dispatched after her by a ruthless intelligence operative with secrets of her own (Ms. Blanchett). As she nears her ultimate target, Hanna faces startling revelations about her existence and unexpected questions about her humanity.

Seth Lochhead wrote the initial screenplay and has written subsequent drafts, as have David Farr, Joe Penhall, and Mr. Wright. Academy Award nominee Leslie Holleran (Chocolat) is producing Hanna with the team of Marty Adelstein and Scott Nemes (who are in post-production on The Experiment). Barbara A. Hall, who executive-produced Focus' Academy Award-winning Milk, encores in that capacity on Hanna. Focus senior vice president, European production Teresa Moneo is supervising Hanna for president of production John Lyons. European locations for Hanna's filming will include Finland, Bavaria, Morocco, and Berlin (the latter in part at Studio Babelsberg).

Alwin Küchler, who shot the upcoming Morning Glory, is the director of photography, and Lucie Bates (Go for Zucker!) is the costume designer. Mr. Wright is reunited on Hanna with several longtime collaborators, including film editor Paul Tothill (Focus' Pride & Prejudice) and the thrice-Academy Award-nominated team of production designer Sarah Greenwood and set decorator Katie Spencer.

Mr. Schamus said, "We're so pleased to reunite with Saoirse and Joe for Hanna - Focus' biggest production yet. With Saoirse taking on such a demanding role opposite Cate and Eric, this movie will be not only breathlessly exciting but also emotionally affecting."

Focus Features (www.focusfeatures.com) is a singular global company, dedicated to producing, acquiring, financing, selling, and distributing original and daring films from emerging and established filmmakers - films that challenge mainstream moviegoers to embrace and enjoy voices and visions from around the world. The company's flexible and nuanced approach to distribution allows it to support a wide range of films. The company operates as Focus Features domestically, and as Focus Features International overseas.

In addition to Hanna, upcoming Focus Features releases include Greenberg, from writer/director Noah Baumbach and starring Ben Stiller; the unique nonfiction feature Babies, directed by Thomas Balmès; Anton Corbijn's suspense thriller The American, starring George Clooney; Academy Award winner Kevin Macdonald's Roman epic adventure The Eagle of the Ninth, starring Channing Tatum, Jamie Bell, Donald Sutherland, and Mark Strong; writer/directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck's It's Kind of a Funny Story; Academy Award-winning writer/director Sofia Coppola's Somewhere; and Lisa Cholodenko's The Kids Are All Right, starring Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, and Mark Ruffalo.

Focus Features and Focus Features International are part of NBC Universal, one of the world's leading media and entertainment companies in the development, production, and marketing of entertainment, news, and information to a global audience. Formed in May 2004 through the combining of NBC and Vivendi Universal Entertainment, NBC Universal owns and operates a valuable portfolio of news and entertainment networks, a premier motion picture company, significant television production operations, a leading television stations group, and world-renowned theme parks. NBC Universal is 80% owned by General Electric and 20% owned by Vivendi.

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