Martin Scorsese's new movie, "Silence," which he's been working on for over ten years, will finally be seen and heard. Paramount Pictures announced that it is in negotiations to secure the the U.S. distribution rights to Martin Scorsese's upcoming historical drama "Silence."

Martin Scorsese's new religious drama will star Andrew Garfield, Liam Neeson, Ken Watanabe and Adam Driver. The screenplay will be written by Jay Cocks, who wrote the script to Scorsese's "Gangs Of New York."

Paramount distributed Scorsese's "The Wolf Of Wall Street," which pulled in five Oscars nominations including Best Picture, as well as Shutter Island and Hugo.

Silence is based on the novel by Shushako Endo. According to a Variety interview last year, Scorsese first read the book when Archbishop Paul Moore sent it to him after a screening of "The Last Temptation of Christ."  Silence tells the story of 17th Century Jesuit priests who try to bring the word of Jesus to China only to be persecuted and tortured.

Andrew Garfield stars as 17th-century Portuguese Jesuit Father Rodrigues, who goes to Japan to find that Christians have been driven into hiding because of religious persecution. Neeson will play a priest who has gone missing.

Amazon says the novel is about "A Japanese Catholic, Endo tells the story of two seventeenth-century missionaries attempting to shore up the oppressed Japanese Christian movement. Father Rodrigues has come to Japan to find the truth behind unthinkable rumours that his famous teacher Ferreira has renounced his faith. But after his arrival he discovers that the only way to help the brutally persecuted Christians may be to apostatize himself."

Production is scheduled to begin in Taiwan later this year. A release date has not been set.