Martin Scorsese has been attached to Silence for years. However he kept putting it back, to the point where it briefly ended up in court as some of the backers felt he was essentially preventing it from actually getting made by never getting round to making it, but keeping himself attached to helm.

That was sorted out and Scorsese has now filmed the movie, based on Shusaku Endo’s novel. Set in the 17th Century, the story follows Father Rodrigues (Andrew Garfield), a Portuguese Jesuit priest who travels to Japan to confront his mentor, after rumours surface that he has abandoned the church. Ken Watanabe will portray Father Rodrigues’ Japanese interpreter, while Liam Neeson, Issei Ogata and Adam Driver also star.

The movie is getting an Oscar-qualifying run in the US in December, before expanding in January. It’ll be out in the UK early next year. [Read more…]