Catherine Zeta-Jones is in negotiations to star in the Harry Houdini indie biopic "Death Defying Acts" opposite Guy Pearce says The Hollywood Reporter.

Described as a lavish period film, "Acts" centers on Houdini during the height of his career in 1926, when he toured the world, amassing large crowds with his elaborate and daring escape performances. Zeta-Jones is set to play an exotic psychic with whom Houdini embarks on a passionate affair.

Helmed by Gillian Armstrong ("Little Women," "Oscar and Lucinda"), the picture is scheduled to start filming in the U.K. later this summer. Tony Grisoni and Brian Ward penned the screenplay.