First Look: Colin Farrell, Russell Crowe, And Jessica Brown Findlay In Akiva Goldsman's Directorial Debut 'Winter's Tale'

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As a writer and producer, Akiva Goldsman has enjoyed an enviable career working on projects like A Beautiful Mind, I, Robot, and I Am Legend. But this winter, he's finding himself in some new territory as he shoots his feature directorial debut Winter's Tale.

Based on the novel by Mark Helperin, the romantic fantasy follows a thief named Peter Lake (Colin Farrell) who breaks into a seemingly empty mansion in Victorian-era New York City. Once inside, he's surprised to meet and fall for Beverly Penn (Downton Abbey's Jessica Brown Findlay), the dying young woman cloistered within. Russell Crowe also stars, as a criminal boss named Pearly Soames who has it in for Peter. A handful of photos from the set have hit the web, and you can check them out after the jump.

Farrell's black hair looks pretty gross, but Crowe's making that facial scar work somehow. Not pictured, but also in the cast, are Jennifer Connelly, William Hurt, and Kevin Corrigan. Will Smith is also rumored for a small role.

New York City is subsumed in arctic winds, dark nights, and white lights, its life unfolds, for it is an extraordinary hive of the imagination, the greatest house ever built, and nothing exists that can check its vitality. One night in winter, Peter Lake—orphan and master-mechanic, attempts to rob a fortress-like mansion on the Upper West Side. Though he thinks the house is empty, the daughter of the house is home. Thus begins the love between Peter Lake, a middle-aged Irish burglar, and Beverly Penn, a young girl who is dying. Peter Lake, a simple, uneducated man who, because of a love which at first he does not fully understand, is driven to stop time and bring back the dead.

[Additional source: Just Jared]