As director Chuck Russell gears up to shoot his '1001 Arabian Nights' adaptation, simply titled Arabian Nights, in Kazakhstan, that central Asian state's own Kazakh Film has stepped in to provide backing on the project, putting up close to $10 million.

Chuck Russell decided to shoot the $70 million film in Kazakhstan after location scouting for more than a year. Arabian Nights, which stars Liam Hemsworth and Anthony Hopkins, will begin production this June.

One of the reasons Chuck Russell decided on this location was so he could utilize a full-scale medieval period city 120 miles from Almaty, where Kazakh Film is based.

FilmDistrict will distribute Arabian Nights in the states.