Source:Variety

August 8, 2008

Brad Pitt has closed his deal to star in Inglorious Bastards, the WWII drama that Quentin Tarantino will direct for the Weinstein Company and Universal, reports Variety.

Additionally, Nastassja Kinski is in early talks to play one of the sole female roles in the film. Kinski would play a German movie queen.

The trade says much of the dialogue is in French or German, and subtitles will be used, though Pitt will speak English in his role as a Tennessee hillbilly who assembles a team of eight Jewish-American soldiers to take on the Nazis.

Simon Pegg, David Krumholtz and B.J. Novak are also in talks to join the project. Pegg would play a British lieutenant, while Krumholtz and Novak would play Pitt's underlings.

The film begins production on October 13 in Germany. Tarantino, who wrote the script, is aiming to complete the film and have it ready for next year's Cannes Film Festival. Lawrence Bender is producing, with Erica Steinberg and Harvey and Bob Weinstein as executive producers.

Eli Roth will play Sgt. Donnie Donowitz, and Tarantino is locking in the other actors to play the soldiers who make up the Bastards team. Tarantino regular Tim Roth had been in contention to join the cast but couldn't work out the scheduling because of his upcoming TV series "Lie to Me."