Artisan Pictures has announced its first script project since Artisan Entertainment merged with Bob Cooper's Landscape Entertainment in Sept and Cooper took over as CEO of Artisan Pictures.

The company has hired screenwriter Bill Wheeler to draft the feature film script The Garbo Deception based on actual source material recounting the activities of Juan Pujol, a creative mastermind, who, during World War II, fabricated a network of non-existent "spies" which succeeded in deceiving the Germans about the Allied Forces' activities leading up to D-Day. He was code-named "Garbo" by British intelligence.

Charles Weinstock, whose credits include Joe Gould's Secret and Where The Money Is, will produce.

"This film is designed as more of a character study, than a traditional cloak and dagger piece, where we will examine the man who spun this elaborate web of deception," said Cooper. "This project and Bill Wheeler represent Artisan Pictures' philosophy that a unique feature film begins with a strong idea bolstered by a great writer."

Wheeler's screenplay credits include The Man Who Robbed The Pierre, for Image Movers and Dreamworks and Hoax, to be produced by Mark Gordon.

The Garbo Deception was brought into Artisan Pictures by Orin Woinsky, the company's Vice President of Production and Development. Wheeler's writing deal was negotiated for Artisan by Nick La Terza and by Wheeler's representatives at UTA.