Martin Scorsese is smiling broadly as he learns funding has finally come through for a film he has long wanted to make — based on Shusaku Endo’s novel “Silence.” The financial backing will allow Scorsese to begin production in Taiwan by Jan. 30.
Starring Liam Neeson, Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver and Tadanobu Asano, the movie is about 17th Century Portuguese Jesuits and the constant persecution they face as they attempt to convert people to Christianity in rural Japan.
In a statement, the Oscar-winning director said, “I’ve wanted to make ‘Silence’ for almost two decades, and it is finally a reality. It is heartening to have adventurous partners like Fabrica and SharpSword [his financiers] to work with on this picture.” Paramount will release the film in the U.S. in 2016.
