Minnie Driver is set to join Heather Graham, Colin Firth and Mary Steenburgen in New Cardiff, a romantic comedy being produced by the UK's Fragile Films for Buena Vista International.

Driver is to play Vera, a scheming woman who dumps her fiance, an artist played by Firth, by sending him an invitation to her wedding to someone else. Firth's character heads to a hotel run by Steenburgen in New England to enjoy the simple life and repair his broken heart. Sparks fly when he meets a local girl played by Graham, but Driver's character suddenly returns to explain it was only a joke.

Mark Herman, whose credits include Purely Belter and Little Voice, is directing, with shooting scheduled to start October 15 in Vancouver. The project is an adaptation of The Graduate novelist Charles Webb's first book in 25 years.

Fragile co-chief Barnaby Thompson dismissed US reports which said that Helena Bonham Carter was in line for Driver's role.

The project is the second from Fragile Films' long-term pact for comedies with Buena Vista's UK arm following High Heels, Low Lifes, although it is unclear if the deal will be renewed. Fragile recently became co-owner of the UK's Ealing Studios and aims to make a string of comedies under the studio's banner, the first being The Importance Of Being Earnest.

Thompson is aiming for the company's second Ealing picture to be A Nice Easy One, a romantic comedy set in the world of pub quizzes. The script is written by Richard Spence and Marcus Berkmann.

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