Kevin Kline cast in French-speaking role

Kevin Kline cast in French-speaking role
28 Mar 2008-hollywoodreporter.com

NEW YORK -- In his first French-speaking role, Kevin Kline will star with Sandrine Bonnaire and Jennifer Beals in Caroline Bottaro's drama Joueuse (Queen to Play).

Bonnaire plays a hotel maid captivated by a romantic couple (Beals and Francis Renaud) playing chess while staying at the Mediterranean island hotel where she works. The doctor (Kline) whose house she cleans reluctantly becomes her mentor in the game, leading her to a chess tournament and initiating major transformations in her life.

Kline courted Meg Ryan as a Parisian in French Kiss, but this is his first role in a French production.

"He speaks good French, better than John Malkovich," said Michel Feller, who is producing the film with Dominique Besnehard for Mon Voisin Prods. and Blue Print Film's Amelie Latcha.

Joueuse is a France-Germany co-production with France 2 and Studio Canal, with the participation of Canal +, CNC, Eurimages, Cinecinema, Telemunchen-Concorde and the Collectivite Territoriale de Corse. Jean-Philippe Laroche is the executive producer.