Shooting starts today (April 13) on the Dino De Laurentiisproduced $38m period comedy, Decameron.

Writtenand directed by David Leland (Band of Brothers), theItalian-British-French movie stars Hayden Christensen, Mischa Barton (TheO.C) and Tim Roth.

Decameron is inspired by Italian author Boccaccio's 14thcentury collection of stories about a group of unmarried nobles who sit out the1348 plague in the countryside near Florence.

The movie, which weaves the stories into a single narrativefocusing on two lovers fleeing the plague, is shooting in Tuscany and Rome.

Italy's Rai Cinema and Tarak Ben Ammar are backing the film.

Costume designer Roberto Cavalli will take a producer'scredit alongside Dino and Martha De Laurentiis and Ben Ammar.

International sales are being handled by consultantPamela Pickering out of Dino De Laurentiis Productions in Los Angeles

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