Lewis 'born' for Days Of Mary role

Juliette Lewis is "born" for her role in drama Days Of Mary, director Brad Michael Gilbert has said.

The singer-actress is set to star as a "working girl who is optimistic to a fault and is waiting for love to rescue her from her life in downtrodden Reno", reported Variety.

"The story is more relevant than ever - the triumph of a hopeful spirit in the face of a broken world. Juliette was born to play this role," Brad said in a statement.

Days Of Mary, which has been adapted by Brad and Meg McGarry, is described as a re-imagining of Federico Fellini's Italian film Nights Of Cabiria, which won an Oscar for best foreign-language film in 1958.

It also earned leading actress Giulietta Masina a Cannes award and a special mention for the filmmaker in 1957.

The screenplay had previously been remade into the musical Sweet Charity by Bob Fosse and starring Shirley MacLaine.

Production on Days Of Mary is slated to begin this autumn in the "broken world" of Reno.

Thirty-eight-year-old Juliette, who has previously appeared in Cape Fear, Natural Born Killers and Drew Barrymore's directorial debut Whip It, will next be seen in Hick alongside Chloe Moretz and Blake Lively.