Imelda Staunton (
Vera Drake) is to star opposite Hilary Swank in the drama
Freedom Writers, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Based on a true story,
Freedom Writers centers on a teacher (Swank) at a gang-infested Long Beach, Calif., school who is faced with the daunting task of teaching freshman English to a racially diverse class of teenagers. Staunton will play a colleague of Swank's character.