There’s an endless debate raging about whether names alone can be enough to draw someone to a film. It’s something you and your movie friends talk about from time to time whenever a particular project sparks that sort of interest. It’s something that will never end because it’s different for each person. It’s something that gets denied for the most part until the right project emerges.

In the interest of science, here’s an experiment to test the question:

An Education director Lone Scherfig. Anne Hathaway. Jim Sturgess. One Day.

Interested?

According to a handy press release, production has begun on One Day, the film based on the best-selling novel of the same name. Author David Nicholls has adapted the work himself, but the real excitement comes from seeing Lone Scherfig’s name involved. An Education was one of the best films released last year, a fantastic coming-of-age story that hit the topic with a freshness and sly grin that has been missing for a while.

Anne Hathaway should also get some blood flowing. Considering the direction she’s taken a lot of her acting choices (except for the broad comedy and crappy romantic-ensemble-comedies), it’s most likely that this team has their sights set on Awards Season. Jim Sturgess is also a young talent that shows an amazing bit of promise. It looks like a solid trio.

Having not read the novel, we’re at the mercy of the press release description:

“The story charts an extraordinary relationship. Emma (played by Ms. Hathaway) and Dexter (Mr. Sturgess) meet on the night of their college graduation – July 15^th, 1988. She is a working-class girl of principle and ambition who dreams of making the world a better place. He is a wealthy charmer who dreams that the world will be his playground. For the next two decades, every July 15^th reveals to us how “Em” and “Dex” are faring, as their friendship ebbs and flows with the passing of the years. Through laughter and romance, heartbreak and exhilaration, they experience the grandeur of life. Somewhere along their journey, these two people realize that what they are searching and hoping for has been there for them all along.”

Pretty standard. It’s going to be the talent involved that makes this one special, and that’s exactly what has me interested.

Production has begun, so we’ll soon see if the excitement is warranted or just wishful thinking.

What do you think?