Salt Lake City, UT – Aidan Quinn (Legends of the Fall, Nine Lives) has joined the cast of the independent feature Dark Matter as production is underway in Salt Lake City. Quinn, who portrays a science professor in the film, is working with a renowned international cast that includes Academy Award winner Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada, A Prairie Home Companion, Silkwood), Tony Award winner Blair Brown (The Sentinel, The Treatment) and Chinese star Liu Ye (Zhang Yimou’s upcoming movie, Curse of the Golden Flower, The Promise, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress) who makes his American film debut.

Dark Matter is financed by American Sterling Productions (ASP) and is produced by ASP in association with Saltmill LLC. Myriad Pictures is handling the film’s worldwide distribution.

“We’re very honored to have actors in this cast who amaze us daily with their talent and generosity. It is a blessing to have an actor I’ve long admired, Aidan Quinn, join our production in such an important role,” said director Chen Shi-Zheng, who co-wrote the story with Billy Shebar, the film’s screenwriter. Dark Matter marks Chen’s transition to film from theater, where he is a renowned director.

Inspired by a true story, Dark Matter depicts the humor, frustration and heartbreak that results when different cultures collide and communication falters. The film follows the story of Liu Xing, a brilliant Chinese science student, who strives to impress his mentor Jacob Reiser (Quinn) with his theories on the origins of the universe. Helping Liu Xing adapt but unable to protect him from academic politics are Joanna (Streep), a patron of the university with a passion for all things Chinese, and Hildy (Brown), Reiser’s secretary.

“Dark Matter is a cross-cultural story, a sort of Spaghetti Eastern,” explains Chen Shi-Zheng. “It is about what happens when people from different cultures interact in a highly competitive environment, and the roller coaster ride of excitement, anxiety, and missed opportunity those interactions bring about."

Janet Yang, newly appointed President and COO of American Sterling Productions whose previous film work includes The People Versus Larry Flynt, The Joy Luck Club and High Crimes, is producing Dark Matter in association with Mary Salter and Andrea Miller of Saltmill. Myriad Pictures’ Kirk D’Amico and Linda Chiu are the film’s executive producers.