EMMY AWARD-WINNING actor Paul Giamatti will star in Babylon, an independent film that is scheduled to start production in Jamaica early next year.

Variety magazine reported last week that Giamatti and co-star Anthony Mackie will be in Jamaica February to begin shooting for the film, which was written by Ian Stone and is to be directed by Andres Baiz.

Mackie, who has appeared in films such as The Man and 8 Mile, plays a Rastafarian, while Giamatti is a British minister of religion. They try to protect a 12-year-old Jamaican boy from gangsters.

Giamatti is currently on a roll. This year, he won the Emmy for Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his self-titled portrayal of John Adams in a miniseries on the second president of the United States.