Schreiber, Bell can't resist "Defiance"

By Tatiana Siegel and Borys Kit

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell are joining Daniel Craig in the World War Two resistance movie "Defiance."

The fact-based film revolves around Jewish brothers (Craig, Schreiber and Bell) living in Nazi-occupied Poland who escape into the Belarussian forest where they join Russian resistance fighters. Throughout the war, they build a village inside the forest and save the lives of more than 1,200 Jews.

Additionally Alexa Davalos will play Lilka, a Polish refugee and the love interest of Craig's character. Tomas Arana will play Ben Zion, a skilled leader in the resistance.

Ed Zwick ("Blood Diamond") is directing the Paramount Vantage project from his adaptation of Nechama Tec's book "Defiance: The Bielski Partisans."

Schreiber, whose recent credits include "The Painted Veil," returned to theaters last Friday with the indie satire "The Ten." Bell, best known for his starring role in "Billy Elliot," just wrapped production on sci-fi movie "Jumper."

Davalos next appears in Robert Benton's "Feast of Love," opposite Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear, which opens on September 28. Arana ("Gladiator") recently wrapped an Italian remake of Alfred Hitchcock's "Rebecca."

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter