MUMBAI: Actress Julia Roberts is in talks to come on board for the English-language remake of Oscar-winning Argentine thriller Secret in Their Eyes.

To be directed by Billy Ray; Chiwetel Ejiofor and Gwyneth Paltrow have also been cast in the remake. IM Global is fully financing the project and selling the rights to the project at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The original Spanish-language Juan Jose Campanella movie which was based on the Eduardo Sacheri novel, won the Best Foreign Film at the Academy Awards in 2009. The movie centered on a retired attorney who seeks closure for an two decade old unsolved case and for his unrequited love for his former superior by writing a book.

Roberts will portray a character whose daughter is murdered. Her friend digs up the case years later when he thinks he’s found the guy who got away with it. Roberts’ role initially was earmarked for a male actor, but Ray rewrote it specifically for the actress.

Mark Johnson will produce along with John Ufland. The remake, described as a sophisticated crime thriller, is scheduled to start production this fall with plans to shift the shoot from Boston to Los Angeles.

The movie will be a reunion for Roberts and Paltrow, both of whom appeared in Steven Spielberg’s 1991 movie Hook.

Robert’s role in 2013’s August: Osage County got her the best supporting actress Oscar nomination. She most recently appeared in HBO’s The Normal Heart, for which she received a best supporting actress nomination at Emmy.