Pathe does 'Max' for Meyjes

Pic to star Cusack, begin shooting Nov. 5 in Hungary

By ADAM DAWTREY

LONDON -- Pathe Pictures, one of the U.K.'s three lottery franchises, has boarded "Max," the directing debut of veteran screenwriter Menno Meyjes ("The Color Purple").

Pic, to star John Cusack, is co-financed by Alliance Atlantis and the U.K.'s Film Council. Pathe Intl. will handle world sales, and Pathe will release the film, formerly called "Hoffman," in the U.K., France, Benelux and Switzerland. Lions Gate Releasing will distribute in the U.S.

The $11 million film starts shooting Nov. 5 in Hungary. Set in Munich shortly after WWI, it's the story of an art gallery owner who takes a young painter named Adolf Hitler under his wing. The young Hitler will be played by Noah Taylor. Leelee Sobieski and Molly Parker also star.

The film is an Alliance Atlantis/Andras Hamori production in association with JAP Films and Natural Nylon Entertainment. "Max" was originally a co-production of Alliance Atlantis and Kinowelt's Bioskop Film, but Bioskop appears to have dropped out, probably because of Kinowelt's financial woes.