'Harlem' to start lensing this month in Ireland, Gotham

HOLLYWOOD -- Irish thesp Paddy Considine ("A Room for Romeo Brass") has been tapped to topline Jim Sheridan's semiautobiographical project "East of Harlem" for Fox Searchlight.

Sheridan ("The Boxer") penned the script and will direct and produce. The $10 million pic is tentatively skedded to start lensing late this monthin Ireland and Gotham.

The romantic drama centers on a couple who emigrate from Ireland to make a life in New York. Samantha Morton ("Minority Report") has been in negotiations for several weeks to headline as well.

For the two romantic leads, Sheridan had initially pursued Ewan McGregor and Kate Winslet. Winslet will instead appear in an adaptation of Francois Girard's "The Magician's Wife," which shoots this summer.

Considine most recently worked on "24 Hour Party People," about the late 1970s Manchester music scene, for Brit helmer Michael Winterbottom.