Jackman, Weisz and Rob Pattinson are Unbound Captives

It’s not every first time director who can score the likes of Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz and Robert Pattinson to star in their period drama – but then, not every newbie director is Madeline Stowe.

Okay, so Stowe admittedly isn’t a superstar, but she’s enough of a name to nab the three thesps to star in a script that she wrote herself, along with husband Brian Benben.

Captives finds a woman (Weisz), whose husband is slaughtered and her son (Pattinson) kidnapped by a Comanche war party in 1859, needing the assistance of a frontiersman (Jackman).

And the film has had a long, odd journey to the screen, since she co-wrote the movie back in 1993 intending it as a star vehicle for herself.

20th Century Fox wanted to make it, but offered $3 million and the $5 million if she’d agree to just be the writer, while Ridley Scott and Russell Crowe took the directing and starring jobs.

"There was never a moment's hesitation on my part, but it felt unreal, and I can remember my husband putting a finger across his neck to signal not to take the offer," Stowe tells Variety. "There are moments in life where you need to follow your heart. The script remained my singular focus, but directing it myself wasn't something I ever dreamed of."

Now she’s behind the camera and in charge, and will aim to start shooting at the end of the year.

[Source: Variety]

Will Stowe make the grade? Is this a new career for her? Tell us…