MUMBAI: According to director Dan Fogelman, it was beyond his wildest dreams to get Al Pacino and Julianne Moore to star in his John Lennon-inspired film debut Imagine.

The film centers on an aging 1970s rocker played by Pacino who decides to turn his life around.

"Every writer has 'that one project'... the one they feel so strongly about that they can't bear to turn it over to anyone else. For me, that project is 'Imagine'. It was a career highlight simply to get a script of mine into Al Pacino's hands.

To have him read it, and then want to star in it... it's five steps past career highlight," Fogelman has been quoted to have said.

"And now, to have Julianne Moore and Jeremy join the fray? It's beyond my wildest dreams. I've been hiding in my house for the past few weeks, out of fear that someone would pinch me. We are going to make a very special film here," he added.

The story of the film kicks off when Pacino's character discovers an undelivered letter written to him when he was 19 by John Lennon, the Beatles legend. The discovery causes him to rethink his life, shunning his lavish lifestyle and trophy girlfriend, and make up for lost time by reconnecting with the son (Jeremy Renner) he's never known.

Moore will play the owner of a small New Jersey hotel where the rocker buys a residence.