Guillermo Ariaga, Oscar-nominated screenwriter of Babel, 21 Grams and Amores Perros, is making his feature debut with The Burning Plain, with Charlize Theron already cast in the leading role. But clearly he's a gentleman who prefers blondes, because he's followed that casting with a role for Kim Basinger.
Theron plays Sylvia, who's trying to find common ground with her parents after a turbulent childhood. Basinger will play her mother Gina, in flashbacks to her childhood. The two narratives, apparently, "will converge", making the requisite three plot strands needed for any Ariaga film.
Filming starts in November in New Mexico, after Basinger finishes shooting The Informers with Billy Bob Thornton this month.