Matthew Modine Directs and Stars Opposite Liam Neeson and John Cleese in Fantasy Rom-Com 'The Splendid Thing,' Filming in Italy in 2026

A whimsical literary fantasy with a genuinely starry cast is heading to Italy for principal photography in late August 2026, and the production is early enough in its pre-production phase that crew across multiple departments should be paying close attention right now. 'The Splendid Thing,' a romantic comedy-drama-fantasy feature, brings together Matthew Modine, Liam Neeson, and John Cleese in a story about a blocked novelist whose fictional characters begin invading his real life during a European book tour. With packaging underway at the Cannes Film Festival market and production companies actively assembling the film's infrastructure, this is exactly the kind of project where department heads who get in front of the right people early can land a position well ahead of the competition.

Matthew Modine is pulling triple duty here as director, co-writer, and lead actor, playing Declan King, a novelist whose marriage has collapsed and whose literary muse has gone with it. Modine is a long-established presence in the industry, best known to audiences for his breakout role in Stanley Kubrick's 'Full Metal Jacket' and more recently for his recurring role as Dr. Martin Brenner in Netflix's 'Stranger Things,' a platform connection that has kept him visible to a new generation of fans and industry insiders alike. He co-wrote the screenplay with Stephen Wallis, suggesting a close creative partnership at the center of this film. Neeson, one of the most reliably bankable international stars working today and best known for the 'Taken' franchise as well as prestige work in 'Schindler's List' and 'Michael Collins,' plays a Great Gatsby-esque figure from Declan's fiction who literally brawls his way into the story. Cleese, the comedy legend behind 'Monty Python' and 'A Fish Called Wanda,' takes on the role of a priest who moonlights as the Grim Reaper, a piece of casting that will immediately signal to any crew member the film's tonal ambitions: sharp wit, surreal flights of fancy, and genuine heart underneath.

The production is being packaged by Hyde Park International at Cannes, with Hyde Park Entertainment serving as a production company alongside Natalie Marciano's Poster Child Pictures. Hyde Park Entertainment, led by Ashok Amritraj, who is attached here as executive producer alongside Priya Amritraj and James Steele, has a long track record of international co-productions and has financed and distributed a wide range of feature films over the decades, with particular experience navigating multi-territory shoots and foreign sales markets. Their involvement signals a production that understands how to move money and logistics across borders, which is directly relevant for a film planning an Italian location shoot. Natalie Marciano's Poster Child Pictures is the creative home base for the project, with producer Orian Williams also attached. The Cannes packaging strategy suggests the team is actively closing financing and distribution deals, meaning the production's financial architecture may still be taking shape but the creative package is clearly far enough along to take to market with confidence.

Principal photography is scheduled to begin in Italy in late August 2026, which places this production well over a year out from cameras rolling. That timeline is actually good news for crew seeking to get aboard early. Italy has become an increasingly popular destination for international feature productions, drawn by the country's film tax credit program, which offers a 40 percent tax credit for foreign productions filming on Italian soil, as well as the country's extraordinary range of locations, from the cobblestone streets of Rome to the sun-drenched Amalfi Coast and the romantic canal-lined corridors of Venice. For a story about a novelist on a European book tour whose inner world starts bleeding into the real one, Italy provides exactly the kind of visually rich, architecturally layered backdrop that would make that surrealist premise sing on screen. Rome's Cinecitta studios remain one of Europe's most storied production facilities and offer stage and infrastructure support for international productions basing in the region, though the specific Italian cities involved have not yet been announced. Local Italian crew are well-versed in supporting international shoots, and productions of this scale typically bring in department heads from the US or UK while building out the broader crew locally.

The film's blend of genres, romantic comedy, character drama, and literary fantasy, points toward some specific crew needs worth flagging. A story in which fictional characters materialize in the real world will require a production designer and art department capable of threading a visual needle between grounded contemporary Italy and something subtly, seductively surreal. Costume will need to differentiate between the real-world characters and the novel's apparitions in ways that feel organic rather than theatrical. The tone Modine appears to be chasing, something in the register of a modern European art film with genuine comedic and emotional warmth, will reward a cinematographer comfortable shooting on practical European locations with an eye for texture and light. Given the international scope and the complexity of shooting on location across what may be multiple Italian cities, a strong locations department and a seasoned unit production manager with European experience will be essential. Union status has not been confirmed, though the involvement of US-based talent of this caliber and the participation of Hyde Park Entertainment suggest a production that will operate at a professional scale consistent with SAG-AFTRA guidelines.

For crew ready to pursue this one, the full production listing for 'The Splendid Thing' is available now on ProductionList.com, where you can find the latest contact information, company addresses, and any crew additions as they are announced. With principal photography more than a year away, the window to connect with the production office and get your name in front of the right department heads is open and wide right now. Bookmark the listing and check back regularly as the project moves through packaging and into formal pre-production, because the hiring pipeline on a European location feature with this cast tends to fill up faster than the timeline suggests.

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