Malkovich headed to the criminal underworld.
Variety reports that John Malkovich (‘Transformers: Dark of the Moon,’ ‘Secretariat’) has signed up for Italian director Gabriele Salvatores’ Russian crime drama ‘Siberian Education.’
Based on the autobiography of Nicolai Lilin, the story focuses a man growing up in the late 1980’s as a member of the Mafia-like Urka community in the small republic of Transnistria, which falls between Ukraine and Moldova.
Malkovich will play an elder of the community, the “grandfather” Kuzja, who teaches the morals of “honest criminals” to his grandson Kolyma, played by Lithuanian newcomer Arnas Fedaravičius.
Salvatores (‘I’m Not Scared’) will be directing from a screenplay penned by Stefano Rulli and Sandro Petraglia. Production will kick off at the end of August in Lithuania and Italy.