'American Beauty' Helmer Sam Mendes to Direct Comedy

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The Academy Award-winning director Sam Mendes shifts gear to direct an untitled contemporary comedy. According to Variety, the helmer of "American Beauty" has signed in with Focus Features to do the upcoming project "Untitled Sam Mendes Project" which was previously entitled "This Must Be the Place".

The low-budget project centers on a young couple who travel the U.S. in search of the prefect place to settle down and raise their unborn baby. The film, which is based on an original screenplay written by husband-and-wife team Dave Eggers and Vendela Vida, will be produced by Edward Saxon. Whereas no casting has been confirmed yet, the principle photography is set to begin in March.

This film will be Mendes' first film in the comedy genre. At the moment, the producer of "Things We Lost in the Fire" starring Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro and David Duchovny is finishing the movie that once again paired up Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, "Revolutionary Road" for DreamWorks. His next project initially will be the adaptation of George Eliot's 19th century masterpiece while his previous works include "Jarhead" and "Road to Perdition".