Gemma Arterton to star in `Crooked House`

London: Former Bond girl Gemma Arterton has signed up to join Julie Andrews, Matthew Goode and Gabriel Byrne in a big-screen adaptation of Agatha Christie`s `Crooked House`.

The British actress will star in Neil LaBute`s adaptation of the murder mystery, rewritten for screen by `Downton Abbey` creator Julian Fellowes and Tim Rose Price, reported Contactmusic. The film will feature a crime scene set against the backdrop of three generations of a family who live together in a large, seemingly crooked house. All members of the family, who each have their own eccentricities, become suspects when their multimillionaire relative is killed and a detective must determine whether Arterton`s character is a murderess or the next victim. Although the book isn`t one of Christie`s well-known works it was one of her personal favourites. LaBute, who directed the 2006 remake on `The Wicker Man`, said, "The story has a couple of fresh sides to it that I didn`t remember from Christie`s work. "There`s a love story, which didn`t feature strongly in many of her books, so that seemed very different to me and fresh. Plus it`s quite morally ambiguous, which also appealed to me." Budgeted at around 20 million pounds, `Crooked House` is set to begin filming in the UK this summer. PTI