Scorsese Demands 'Silence' from Day-Lewis, Benicio

By my count, Martin Scorsese has been linked to no fewer than six movies since winning his Oscar for The Departed nearly two years ago. Who does he think he is, Guillermo Del Toro? The reality is not nearly as exciting; Scorsese has been working on Shutter Island, which is due in the fall, and now Variety reports a couple of big names have signed on the dotted line to appear in Silence, which will apparently be the next Scorsese project.Daniel Day-Lewis and Benicio Del Toro are in final negotiations to star as two Jesuit priests who are subjected to violence and persectution when they try to spread Christianity in Japan in the 17th century. Gael Garcia Bernal is also in talks to co- star. The film is based on a novel by Shsaku Endo, which Jay Cocks (Gangs of New York) has adapted. But the project is reportedly not new to Scorsese; he's been trying to make it into a film for over a decade, and Graham King, who has worked alongside the hall of fame director before, is financing the project. Silence is scheduled to begin production later this year in New Zealand.