Gemma Arterton and Saoirse Ronan have been cast as the lead mother and daughter vampires in the upcoming film ‘Byzantium,’ The Hollywood Reporter is claiming. The movie will be helmed by Academy Award-winning director Neil Jordan and will be produced by one of his frequent collaborators, Stephen Woolley. Their previous work together includes another vampire-based movie, the blockbuster 1994 film adaptation of ‘Interview with the Vampire.’

‘Byzantium’ was crafted by screenwriter Moira Buffini, who penned Arterton’s last movie, ‘Tamara Drewe.’ ‘Byzantium,’ which has an estimated budget of $11 million and is set to begin shooting in October, was initially based on a youth play, but Buffini has made the material and tone more mature. The movie will tell the story of a mother vampire who turns her daughter into a vampire. The two begin killing together, sometimes posing as sisters. The cast also includes Helena Bonham Carter, Ralph Fiennes and Jeremy Irvine.

Woolley said he and Jordan decided to work on ‘Byzantium’ because they love the horror genre. He told The Hollywood Reporter that they’ve “been working on this for three or four years. I sent it to (Neil) and he liked the script…it was just chance that when I called (Jordan), we were thinking along the same lines.”

Written by: Karen Benardello

Gemma Arterton