Movieweb's Massimo Pacilio has teamed up with the UK's Studio Eight and Canada's GFT Entertainment to produce a line-up of big-budget English language pictures.

Among the first projects to be made through the new partnership is Shadow Dancer, a $10m movie starring Harvey Keitel, Giancarlo Giannini and Gerard Depardieu.

Produced by Pacilio, Gary Howsam and Jamie Brown, the film will be directed by Brad Milman and is due to start shooting in February for six weeks in Tuscany and one week in the US.

It tells the story of a writer (Keitel) who leaves the US, where he is a successful writer, to live in Tuscany with an Italian woman. Eventually, the woman dies and he stops writing altogether until a young American publisher comes to visit him and his three daughters.

The Shadow Dancer's cast also includes Claire Forlani (Meet Joe Black) and Joshua Jackson (Dawson's Creek).

UK sales company Peace Arch Films is handling international sales on Shadow Dancer as well as the other Movieweb-Studio Eight and GFT co-productions.

These include Marlowe The Great Hoax, a Euros 23m period drama written by Ron Base and Francois Tabarelli. The film, which Pacilio is pitching as "reminiscent of Shakespeare In Love" will focus on the man some scholars credit as being the actual writer of Shakespeare's works.

Marlowe will be shot in Italy in 2004 with a UK and Italian cast. A British director is expected to be attached.

Also on Movieweb, GFT and Studio Eight's slate is Hollywood Flies, a $6m movie which Pacilio is also producing with Italy's Leo Pescarolo and Pieter Kroonenburg. Directed by Fabio Segatori, the film follows the adventure of two Italians who end up on the road between Las Vegas and LA. It is currently in post-production.

Movieweb is owned by Ubaldo Livolsi, one of Italy's most prominent financiers. Livolsi was recently appointed CEO of Cinecitta Holding.