Rachael Taylor, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Noah Taylor and Luke Ford are also among the cast.

Josh Lucas (A Beautiful Mind) has signed on for Kriv Stender’s Red Dog, which is sure to add North American interest to the family drama currently being filmed in South Australia.

Rachael Taylor (Transformers), Keisha Castle-Hughes (Whale Rider), Noah Taylor (Shine) and Luke Ford (AnimalKingdom) are also among the cast.

The film is based on the book of the same name by Louis de Bernieres (Captain Corelli’s Mandolin) and tells the true story of a kelpie that unites a mining community in Western Australia. Daniel Taplitz (Chaos Theory) wrote the adaptation.

Nelson Woss (Ned Kelly) and Julie Ryan (Ten Canoes) are producing for sales agent Essential Entertainment and local distributor Roadshow Films.

About half of the nine-week shoot will also occur in the remote, striking Pilbara area of Western Australia.

The equity investors are the state government film agencies ScreenWest and the South Australia Film Corporation, and Screen Australia. Several large companies associated with the mining industry including Rio Tinto and Woodside, have offered invaluable support in the form of equipment, access to mining sites and personnel.