Everybody’s Set for ‘Everybody’s Fine’

Kirk Jones will be targeting a very different audience with his latest feature. The director of the 2005 children’s comedy Nanny McPhee has taken on Everybody’s Fine, a remake of Guiseppe Tornatore’s Cannes selected Stanno tutti bene.  Jones also wrote and directed the offbeat comedy  Waking Ned in 98′.

Variety reports that Robert DeNiro is set to play the lead, orginally filled by Italian superstar Marcello Mastroianii.  The acting giant will be playing a widower who comes to the realization that through the death of his wife he has lost his only connection to his children. The aging loner subsequently embarks on a journey to reconnect with each of them.

Drew Barrymore had also confirmed her presence on the project, marking this as one more sample towards a more interesting turn in her acting career – she will appear in an adaptation of Grey Gardens for HBO. Also announced are Kate Beckinsale and Sam Rockwell, who will be reunited after their recent work together in David Gordon Green’s Snow Angels.

Gianni Nunnari, Ted Field, Vittorio Cecchi Gori and Glynis Murray will produce with Craig Flores, Callum Greene and Mike Weber as executive producers. It was confirmed that Miramax Films has secured the worldwide rights to the film. The pic begins shooting in Connecticut later this month.