Bloom drops out of Scherfig's "Education"

By Stuart Kemp

LONDON (Hollywood Reporter) - Orlando Bloom has pulled out of Lone Scherfig's "An Education" because of scheduling clashes just as the movie began rolling, the producers said Monday.

Bloom has been replaced by Dominic Cooper ("The History Boys") in the movie penned by oft-adapted British novelist Nick Hornby.

Hornby's script is based on a memoir by British journalist Lynn Barber. The coming-of-age drama is set in early-1960s London and centers on a 17-year-old girl whose suburban life is turned upside down by the arrival of a thirtysomething playboy.

Producers had to move quickly to replace Bloom on the film, which began shooting Monday.

Cooper joins a cast that boasts Peter Sarsgaard, Carey Mulligan, Alfred Molina, Rosamund Pike, Olivia Williams, Sally Hawkins and Emma Thompson.

Also signing up for director Scherfig's latest is Cara Seymour, whose credits include "The Savages," "Hotel Rwanda" and "Adaptation."

Copenhagen-born Scherfig's credits include "Italian for Beginners" and "Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself," which was her first English-language film.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter