Bening, Watts adopt 'Mother and Child' (VAR)

By Nancy Tartaglione-Vialatte

Annette Bening and Naomi Watts will begin shooting “Mother and Child” in LA in the early part of 2009, Variety reports. The drama, directed by Rodrigo Garcia, follows a woman who gave up her daughter 35 years ago and an African-American woman who is looking to adopt.

Kerry Washington and Shareeka Epps also star.

The film was previously set up through Guillermo del Toro, Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu and Alfonso Cuaron’s Cha Cha Cha with Focus Films and Universal and a tentative cast that had included Robin Wright Penn and Brittany Robertson.

It is now produced by Julie Lynn through the Mockingbird Films shingle. Gonzalez Inarritu is exec producer on the $7 million project.

Garcia has helmed episodes of HBO series “In Treatment,” “Six Feet Under” and “The Sopranos.” He also picked up international awards with his 2005 feature “Nine Lives.”

The UK’s WestEnd Films is handling the project in international markets. Endeavor is repping it in the US

"This is an incredibly emotional tale about the choices we make, missed opportunities and unbreakable blood bonds between mother and daughter," WestEnd exec Eve Schoukroun told Variety.