Veteran Hollywood actors Robert Redford and Jane Fonda will reportedly work together in director Ritesh Batra’s film Our Souls at Night. The director, known for The Lunchbox, will be adapting Kent Haruf’s novel of the same name for his film.
The Netflix movie will be shot in Colorado, USA. Jane Fonda will be playing the role of Addie Moore while Robert Redford will be playing Louis Waters. Actors Bruce Dern, Judy Greer, Matthias Schoenaerts, and Iain Armitage are part of the supporting cast.
Adapted for the screen by Scott Neustadter and Michael H Weber of The Fault in Our Stars fame, the film, like in the book, will begin when Addie Moore (Jane Fonda) pays an unexpected visit to a neighbour, Louis Waters (Robert Redford). The two have been neighbours for decades, reconnecting only after their spouses have died. The film will focus on Addie and Louis seeking a connection, and make the most of the rest of the time they have.
Batra recently directed The Sense Of Ending, starring Charlotte Rampling and Jim Broadbent. “I was wrapping The Sense of an Ending in London when the producer reached out to me. I had a phone call with Robert. I love the book and the script and I really wanted to work with Robert and Jane. It just happened very quickly. I was very happy to jump onboard. It is an interesting time for me and to bring Kent Haruf’s beautiful novel on screen,” said Batra.
Robert Redford, too, expressed his excitement over working with the director, based on an ‘endearing’ novel. “I’m looking forward to teaming up with Jane and working with the talented Ritesh Batra. Our Souls at Night is an endearing story and I’m happy we get to share it with a broader audience,” he said in a statement.
Redford and Fonda last shared screen space in The Electric Horseman (1979). Before that, the two had worked in The Chase (1966) and Barefoot in the Park (1967).
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On being asked about what it felt like working in Hollywood, Batra insisted that it wasn’t a question of ‘going international‘. “It is just that one thing leads to another. I never thought about it like I am doing stuff in Hollywood or somewhere else. You do it because you love your job and get a chance to work with these great actors,” Batra told PTI in an interview.
Ever since The Lunchbox, Batra had been getting several offers from Hollywood. The Lunchbox, an epistolary romantic film starring Irrfan Khan and Nimrit Kaur, was released in 2013. The film was lauded at various film festivals including Cannes Film Festival and Toronto International Film Festival.
Feature Image Credits: Esquire Magazine, DesiMartini, WMagazine.