Eckhart and Collette play Ball

Aaron Eckhart and Toni Collette are to star in Alan Ball's incendiary directorial debut.

Aug  8 2006

'American Beauty' scribe Alan Ball is to make his directorial debut with a potentially controversial film about the clash between east and west in modern America.

Loosely based on Alicia Erian's novel 'Towelhead', the film will tell the story of Jasira, a young girl who struggles with issues of identity and sexuality as the daughter of a Lebanese-American father and an American mother in Texas during the Gulf War.

Aaron Eckhart, Toni Collette and Maria Bello will star in the film, while newcomer Summer Bishil will play the youngster in question.

The as-yet-untitled pic is set to shoot in LA in September, and Ball had this to say on the subject: 'To me, it's a story of personal courage, claiming responsibility to be who you are at a very early age and without proper role models to guide you.'

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