Toni Collette has signed on to star opposite New Zealand teenage actor Keisha Castle-Hughes in the black comedy Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger. The new movie is a coming-of-age story about a 13-year-old girl trying to fit into both a posh private school as well as an ordinary public school.

US trade magazine Daily Variety has reported the film will be shot in Sydney and Adelaide in October with a script written by Cathy Randall. Randall will also direct the film, which will be distributed by Buena Vista International in Australia and New Zealand.

American-based Lightning Entertainment will distribute the film in the rest of the world. Collette, 33, launched her international career on the back of 1994 hit Australian film Muriel's Wedding.

She went on to star in films such as Connie and Carla, Japanese Story, The Hours, About A Boy, and garnered an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress in The Sixth Sense. Her upcoming film projects include The Last Shot with Matthew Broderick and Alec Baldwin, The Night Listener with Robin Williams, Little Miss Sunshine and Like Minds.

Castle-Hughes, 16, has also been nominated for an Oscar. That was for hit New Zealand film Whale Rider in 2002. She has since appeared in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith and is slated to star in Lords of Dogtown director Catherine Hardwicke's next film, Nativity.