PeterWebber's Behind The Mask: Young Hannibal is to start shooting on October10th in Prague.

Dinoand Martha De Laurentiis, Tarak Ben Ammar of Quinta Communications and Britishco-producers Chris Curling and Phil Robertson of Zephyr Films will produce thefilm with Petr Moravec of Czech production company, Etic Films.

Bestselling novelist Thomas Harris has written the screenplay, based on hisupcoming novel, Behind The Mask.

Theprequel follows the young Hannibal Lecter from his childhood in Lithuania tohis teenage years in France and up to his time in America.

20-yearold French actor, Gaspard Ulliel (A VeryLong Engagement, Brotherhood of the Wolf) will play young Hannibal. Gong Liwill play Lady Murasaki, the woman who takes in the young Hannibal after hisescape from an orphanage and unwittingly becomes the pawn in a revenge plot byHannibal.

Completingthe principal cast line-up is Rhys Ifans, Richard Brake and Kevin McKidd.

Internationalsales are being handled by the producers.