TORONTO - Minnie Driver, Rosamund Pike and "Twilight"'s Rachelle Lefevre will play the colourful wives of Barney Panofsky in the film adaptation of Mordecai Richler's book, "Barney's Version."
"Barney's Version" stars Paul Giamatti as a disagreeable, hard-drinking man who may have killed his best friend, Boogie.
Producer Robert Lantos says Lefevre, originally from Montreal, has been cast as Barney's first wife, Clara, a wild and troubled artist.
He adds that Driver, whose lengthy credits include the film "Good Will Hunting" and TV's "The Riches," plays Barney's second wife, "the annoyingly loquacious Mrs. P."
"Pride and Prejudice"'s Rosamund Pike plays Miriam, Barney's third wife and true love.
They join Oscar-winner Dustin Hoffman, who will play Barney's father, Izzy, a foul-mouthed retired cop.
An international bestseller, "Barney's Version" was awarded the Giller Prize in 1997 for its portrait of the cantankerous, and possibly murderous, Barney Panofsky.
It was Richler's 10th and final novel. He died in 2001.
Principal photography will begin Aug. 17 in Rome. Filming is also set to take place in Montreal, the Laurentians and New York.
Richard Lewis will direct from a screenplay adaptation by Michael Konyves. The project is a co-production between Lantos's Serendipity Point Films, the Montreal-based Lyla Films and Fandango of Rome.
