Acclaimed actors Anthony Hopkins, Meryl Streep and Paul Giamatti will star in an adaptation of Jay Parini's novel "The Last Station" reports Production Weekly.

Set in the last tumultuous years of Leo Tolstoy's (Hopkins) life, the historical biopic centers on the battle for his soul waged by his wife, Sofya Andreyevna (Streep) and his leading disciple, Vladimir Cherkov (Giamatti). Torn between his professed codtrine of poverty and chastity and the reality of his enormous wealth, his thirteen children, and a life of hedonism, Tolstoy makes a dramatic flight from his home.

Too ill to continue beyond the tiny rail station at Astapovo, he believes that he is dying alone, while over one hundred newspapermen camp outside awaiting hourly reports on his condition.

The film is scheduled to begin shooting at locations in Russia in February under the helm of Michael Hoffman.