According to Hollywoodreporter, American actor Val Kilmer, notable for roles in 'Top Gun', 'Batman Forever', 'Heat', and 'Tombstone', has signed on to star in '1st Born', a comedy from Iranian director Ali Atshani.
The project centers on a newly married couple newlywed couple, Iranian-born Ben and his American Kate, who are living in California. When the couple's first pregnancy faces complications, both sides of their family must come together — a rather complicated notion as Ben's father Hamid is anti-American Iranian politician, while Kate's father Biden (played by Kilmer) is an American politician who takes a hardline stance against Iran.
'1st Born' is notable for being the first joint feature film co-production between Iran and Hollywood, using a cast and crew from both the US and the Middle East.
Atshani is notable for directing films such as 'The President’s Cellphone', 'Wishbone' (to be distributed by Netflix), 'Banana Peel', 'Mr. Alef' and 'Negar’s Role'. His 2016 film 'Paradise' was a co-production between Iran and Germany.
Filming will begin in Los Angeles in late August, with other castmembers set to join shortly.
MS