Patrick Stewart will star in The Remains of the Piano, a spoof of Merchant Ivory period films with a cast of luminaries better known for original costume dramas than parodies.

Screen Daily reported that the Stratus Film company will finance the venture, to be directed by Monty Python's Eric Idle.

Headlining the cast are Geoffrey Rush and Neve Campbell as British aristocrats suffering from sexual repression and the restrictions of aristocratic society.

The film will also feature The Lord of the Rings' Orlando Bloom, veterans Tim Curry and Michael York and Academy Award winner Anjelica Huston, as well as Alfred Molina, Billy Connolly and Julian Sands who is probably best known for the Merchant Ivory classic A Room With a View.

Stewart (Captain Jean-Luc Picard on The Next Generation) will play Obie Ben Kingsley, presumably a parody of Ghandi star Ben Kingsley and Sir Alec Guinness, the award-winning actor who is now remembered as Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy.

Stewart appeared in several productions with both Kingsley and Guinness, including Acting Shakespeare with the former and Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy with the latter. All three men are highly acclaimed theatrical actors. Guinness died in 2000.

Bloom will play a character named Daniel Day-Lewis, based on the actor who has starred in numerous costume dramas by James Merchant and others.

The Remains of the Piano is scheduled to begin principal photography in Canada and the UK on Aug 18.

The original news item can be found at Screen Daily, with more information at Zap2It and BBC News.

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