Juliette Lewis and Gina Gershon are set to star in Bruce McDonald's Claire's Hat, the Canadian director's fifth feature, set to begin production October 16 in Toronto.

Billed as a noir caper, the picture is produced by Robert Lantos and Alliance Atlantis, through its first look deal with Lantos' Serendipity Point Films. Alliance Atlantis is fully financing the production and has worldwide distribution rights except for the US, which Serendipity will handle. The screenplay is by well-regarded Canadian screenwriter Semi Chellas.

Pointing to the project's combination of Canadian and US talent and its Canadian setting, Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Production president Seaton McLean concluded: "[It's] exactly the kind of project Alliance Atlantis wants to produce."