Antonioni set for 'Together'

By REX WEINER

Michelangelo Antonioni is set to direct "Just to Be Together," with Robin Wright Penn and Sam Shepard expected to star. The film, produced by Stephane Tchalgadjieff, is backed by Gallic pay TV giant Canal Plus but as yet has no domestic distrib deal.

Set for a January start in Los Angeles, the film will be the Italian helmer's first feature to be shot entirely in the U.S. since "Zabriskie Point" in 1970.

Based on Antonioni's 1974 short story "Two Telegrams," the drama focuses on a love triangle involving a woman, her husband and her lover. Script is by Antonioni and Rudy Wurlitzer.

Atom Egoyan ("The Sweet Hereafter") has signed on as a backup director, a necessity given Antonioni's recent ill health.

Tchalgadjieff produced Antonioni's most recent film, "Beyond the Clouds," co-directed by Wim Wenders, which marked Antonioni's first helming assignment since "Identification of a Woman" in 1982 after a debilitating stroke.

David Rooney in Rome contributed to this report.