Pierce Brosnan is finalizing a deal for `The Matador` to start filming December 2003

Reuters are reporting that Pierce Brosnan is finalizing a deal to star in "The Matador," an indie thriller eyeing a year-end start date.

"Matador" follows the unusual friendship between two very different men set against an international backdrop. Brosnan will play Julian Noble, a hit man who has a breakdown while on assignment in Mexico City. There, he crosses paths with an ordinary, married businessman from Denver with problems of his own.

New York-based filmmaker Richard Shepard ("Scotland, PA.") wrote and will direct the film, which is budgeted at $20 million-$25 million.

Brosnan`s Irish Dreamtime banner is aboard as a producer. Best known for his James Bond films, Brosnan has also starred in "The Tailor of Panama" and "Evelyn." He returns to theaters later this year with the romantic comedy "The Laws of Attraction."

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