Cate Blanchett to Star in Susanne Bier's 'The Dig'

Susanne Bier isn't letting the grass grow beneath her feet between projects. While we still wait on a release date for Serena, the Depression-era drama she long ago completed with Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, she's already wrapped up on A Second Chance with Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Now she's already moving on to her next project, and she's landed an Oscar winner in Cate Blanchett to star.

Blanchett will headline The Dig, an adaptation of John Preston's novel about archaeologist Edith Pretty. The true story, penned by Moira Buffini (Tamara Drewe), centers on Pretty and her team's excavation of Sutton Hoo, a burial site from the 6th and 7th century located on her land. The significant finds unearthed included a 7th century Saxon ship, and was determined to be the final resting place of King Raedwald of East Anglia. The emphasis will be on the big personalities involved in the dig, with the tone said to be in the tradition of Remains of the Day. Blanchett is just coming out of George Clooney's Monuments Men, another ensemble dealing with historical artifacts.

Filming is aimed for later this year.  [ScreenDaily]