Actor James Franco is set to star in Bille August’s post-Second World War drama ‘Me You‘. Franco will play “one of the lead roles” in the feature, which also stars Tom Hollander and Daisy Jacob, reports ‘Variety’. A coming-of-age drama, ‘Me You’ takes place on the Italian island of Ischia in the 1950s. That’s where Marco, a 16-year-old on break from his dreary Scottish boarding school, befriends US GI turned fisherman Nicola.

The duo while away the hours sailing in the Bay of Naples while Nicola regales his young friend with tales of war and oceans. But when Marco meets the mysterious 20-year-old Caia (played by Jacob) he is entranced and upon finding out she is a concentration camp survivor, he vows to take revenge. Soon he is plotting to set fire to a villa occupied by a group of boorish German tourists in the hopes of winning Caia’s affections.

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“Deeply tender and bittersweet, ‘Me You’ explores the raw beauty and tragedy of love, the age of innocence and the bitter realities of war,” reads the official logline. Hollander plays Marco’s father Edward. Principal photography is set to start in September 2022 on location in Ischia.

Greg Latter has written the screenplay and the film is produced by Sean O’Kelly and Marc Bikindou and Cristaldi Pics’ Mark Hammond. Jad Ben Ammar and Leo Maidenberg will co-produce. Brilliant Pictures are repping global sales. “I am excited to board this phenomenal project and to be working with the legendary Bille August,” James Franco said in a statement.

“I’m a huge fan of his work and ‘Me You‘ is a truly brilliant script.” Previously, Billie August’s Pelle The Conqueror and The Best Intentions, both won the Palme d’Or and later on The Best Intentions went on to win the Oscar for the best foreign-language film.

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