Rooney Mara Joins Weinstein Co.’s ‘Lion’ Alongside Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel

Rooney Mara has joined Nicole Kidman and Dev Patel in the cast of upcoming Indian survival drama Lion, which is being distributed by The Weinstein Co.

The film’s production company See-Saw Films announced Tuesday that the Oscar-nominated actress would star in the film — adapted from the true story A Long Way Home by Saroo Brierley — alongside David Wenham (Top of the Lake) and Divian Ladwa (Detectorists). Filming has recently wrapped in India and is due to start in Australia later in the month.

Adapted by screenwriter Luke Davies, Lion is being directed by Garth Davis (Top of the Lake), and tells the story of Brierley, who at 5 years old boarded the wrong train in his native India, ending up thousands of kilometers away from home and living on the streets in Kolkata. Eventually adopted by an Australian couple, he took to Google Earth to track down his hometown and reunite with his family 25 years later.

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The project is being produced by See-Saw Films in association with Sunstar Entertainment and Aquarius Films. Emile Sherman, Iain Canning and Angie Fielder are producing with Andrew Fraser, Shahen Mekertichian and Daniel Levin executive producing.

“We are thrilled with the incredible work of our cast and crew in India and look forward to welcoming Nicole Kidman, Rooney Mara, Dev Patel, David Wenham and Divian Ladwa to the Australian leg of the shoot,” said See-Saw co-founders Sherman and Canning.

The Weinstein Co. acquired Lion at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival for worldwide distribution with the exception of Australia and New Zealand, where it is being handled by Transmission Films.

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