Entertainment - Scorsese seeking Day-Lewis and Del Toro for 'Silence'

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Oscar-winning director Martin Scorsese is in talks with fellow Oscar winners Daniel Day-Lewis and Benicio Del Toro as potential stars of his upcoming film "Silence" set in 17th century Japan, Variety magazine said Monday.
The legendary "Taxi Driver" director, whose "The Departed" garnished an Oscar in 2007, has been considering adapting Japanese author Shusaku Endo's novel for more than ten years, the magazine said.
In the production, Day-Lewis and Del Toro would play two Jesuit priests facing violence and persecution as they search for their mentor and spread the Christian gospel in Japan.
Scorsese is expected to begin shooting "Silence" in New Zealand later this year, and Graham King would produce with Gianni Nunnari and Barbara DeFina, Variety said.
British-born Day-Lewis won best actor Oscars in 1989 for "My Left Foot" and last year for "There Will Be Blood." He has collaborated with Scorsese on two other films: "Gangs of New York" (2002) and "The Age of Innocence" (1993). Del Toro won the best actor Oscar in 2001 for "Traffic."