Anjelica Huston, David Thewlis join 'Winter Queen' cast

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LOS ANGELES, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Anjelica Huston and David Thewlis have signed on for roles in "The Winter Queen," Hollywood's Seven Arts Entertainment Inc., announced Monday.

Milla Jovovich has long been attached to star as femme fatale Lady Amalia in the big-screen adaptation of the internationally best-selling novel by Boris Akunin. Huston will play Lady Astair and Thewlis will play Count Zurov.

Additional casting announcements will be made shortly with principal photography expected to commence this April with Russian director Fedor Bonderchuk at the helm.

"The Winter Queen" tells the story of young police detective Erast Fandorin embroiled in a mystery that begins with the suicides of several wealthy young men throughout 1886 Russia and ends in a grab for global domination.

"Fandorin's naive wit and the suave yet volatile Count Zurov are his only protection from the ever more elaborate attempts on his life as he follows the conspiracy from Russia to England and back again; navigating unknown worlds with charm if not with ease," a synopsis said. "The enigmatic femme fatale Amalia seems to be somehow at the center of it all, but can the saintly British aristocrat Lady Astair, founder of a string of orphanages which have greatly benefited from the wills of the affluent dead men, really be trusted?"