Stephen Baldwin and Peter Gallagher are to star in Protection, a mob thriller being produced by Alliance Atlantis' genre division Le Monde Entertainment.

The film, which is scheduled to start principal photography in Montreal on Oct 2 this year, will be directed by John Flynn whose credits include Rolling Thunder and Lock Up. Lee Faulkner will produce with Ralph and Werner Bibo and Marc Forby acting as executive producers.

Baldwin plays a Mafia hitman in the witness protection programme who gradually takes to his old criminal ways once he moves to the southwest USA. Alliance Atlantis Pictures International is handling worldwide sales on the film.