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EXCLUSIVE: In a power pairing, Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep are in talks to star for The Weinstein Company in the bigscreen adaptation of the Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer and Tony-winning play August: Osage County. I hear Roberts and Streep have agreed to the project and they are now working out deals and locking a production start. John Wells will direct the film from a script written by the playwright. Production will start by next summer. Streep will play Violet, the drug-addicted matriarch of the working class Weston clan. Roberts will play Barbara Fordham, the oldest daughter in the family. While mom’s problems and her penchant for revealing family secrets is a big issue, Barbara is melting because her husband is cheating with a college student. They are brought together when Violet’s husband goes missing and all three of their daughters come home to rally around mom. In the process, a lot of family secrets get revealed. The film has been developed for several years by Harvey Weinstein, who was involved in the original stage production with Jean Doumanian. They will produce the film together. They brought it to Wells, who started a relationship with Weinstein when TWC acquired his feature directing debut, The Company Men. The corporate downsizing drama stars Ben Affleck, Kevin Costner, Tommy Lee Jones, Chris Cooper and Maria Bello and TWC releases it October 22.
It is the latest in a surge of activity for TWC, which is suddenly very busy not only with acquisitions but homegrown fare. TWC came out of Toronto acquiring three films — Sarah’s Key, Submarine, and Dirty Girl — and also showed the Oscar-bait films The King’s Speech and Blue Valentine there. TWC is about to start production on I Don’t Know How She Does It, with Sarah Jessica Parker starring and Doug McGrath directing, and just wrapped the Hugh Jackman-starrer Butter.
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Any chance an actual real southern actress might join the cast like say Sissy Spacek as Mattie Fae? The interesting thing is the director, John Wells was developing a pilot for Sissy that doesn’t seem to have gone anywhere, so at the very least Sissy would be fairly high on his radar. Here’s hoping… because her addition would up this thing mightily!
Too bad it’s not set in the south.
It is set in Osage County in Oklahoma. That’s south enough for this Ohio boy.
Julia is a ‘actual real southern actress’…
A “real southern actress”? Uh, Julia Roberts is from Georgia. Duh.
And we all know Georgia is up North if you’re from Florida.
I believe Julia Roberts 1800′s ancestors are from the “Husbands” family Smith County, MS. You can’t be more southern than that. I have a 1918 photo of Ella Roberts believed to be an ancestor. By the way, the Indian blood is Choctaw.
Hope its better than the drivel EAT PRAY LOVE.
JR cried through the entire picture and the TV writer/director let her!
UGGGGGGG!!!
She did cry a lot, but I thought she was quite good in the movie. The direction and screenplay weren’t good, but if you read the script, it’s really nothing but crying. The scene where she prays on the bathroom floor was quite amazing I thought – too bad the director/writer didn’t have the gonads to follow through
julia roberts was totally miscast in EAT PRAY etc. they needed a New Yorker with some guts to play her role….and a real director…not a writer hired to direct…too bad
And even worse, she is about to take on the role of Kenyan wildlife documentary-maker & conservationist Joan Root, the worst miscasting I can think of in the last decade! If you don’t know who Joan is, do yourself a favour and read ‘Wildflower’, such an interesting and heartwrenching biography of an incredible woman.
Miscasting-wise: Physically Joan was tall, thin, incredibly beautiful and blonde (no big lips in sight); personality-wise she was incredibly shy, quiet and reserved with incredible inner strength. To play this role will require some serious acting chops as so much of her played beneath the surface. Julia won’t be able to break out the trademark smile, laugh or charisma as that will be all wrong, and without these things she’s pretty lacklustre as an actress. Not to mention the White Kenyan accent she’ll have to master. Charlize Theron, Cate Blanchett or Gretchen Mol would be a million times better.
That’s a lot of very wonderful but also VERY expensive talent for what is completely an indie drama. Hope they are making it for the right price, so it has a shot in hell of being successful.
This is inspired casting at its utmost best. One of my favourite plays and I couldn’t think of a better person to pull off the complicated role of Violet for the film. Julia will also do a bang up job as well.
This might be the third Oscar Streep has been shooting for!
Meryl, I can understand. But Julia Roberts? That role should go to Laura Linney. Or Amy Morton, whose performance onstage was definitive.
YES! Kevin, you are soooo right.
Meryl Streep and Johanna Day would be a dynamic team. I love Julia Roberts but don’t think she could carry this part. Imagine Johanna and Meryl…!!
Kevin…yes, Laura Linney or Amy Morton! Julia R would simply play Julia R, as she always does. She does not have the emotional weight to play Barbara. And even tho I love Meryl, why not let Estelle Parsons do it?? She was BRILLIANT on stage, and has the film cred, too!!!
I don’t know how I feel about this, this is very predictable casting. I wish they would have cast someone else for both roles, BUT Meryl is always fabulous and I think she will do the role justice (though I feel like she isn’t old enough for the character oddly) and the older Julia Roberts gets the better she becomes as an actress. She was great in Erin Brockovich, great in Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, fantastic in Closer, great in Duplicity and despite the fact that the script and direction were doo-doo she was really great in Eat Pray Love.
I’m still cautious, and it’s not just because of Roberts, Streep tends to be entirely too much of a cerebral actress, she overthinks and she’s overstudied a lot of the time – and that doesn’t fit the character of Violet at all. She’s not as spontaneous as the character should be. And Julia Roberts is very director-dependent, and I’m not sure she can pull off Barbara either.
Oh well, I guess we’ll see.
I so agree – fun casting, no doubt, but these dream teams aren’t always what the material calls for. And I’m sorry, but Julia’s playing someone being cheated on? They couldn’t think of anyone else? Yeeeaah.
(Yes, I know and saw STTA.)
The idea of Meryl and Julia working together is awesome and after seeing Julia Roberts’s extremely powerful scene in Eat Pray Love where Liz gets on her knees and prays for God’s help, I think this is going to be good. We know Meryl will be great, but Julia has proved she is more than capable of turning in really great work too. I’m excited!
Seeing Cherry Jones on stage in DOUBT and not seeing her in the movie was a disaster. Meryl didn’t hold a candle to Cherry Jones. Now are we going to see it happen with this, especially not having Amy Morton or any of the other incredible original cast…?
To be fair, Meryl was playing the nun a bit differently from Cherry. Probably trying to make the character her own. And she was very good. the real problem with DOUBT was Philip Seymour Hoffman. I usually love him but his interpretation of the priest in DOUBT was completely wrong.
Amen, brother. Cherry Jones is the most amazing actress alive. (And I’m a HUGE Meryl fan.) Julia Roberts. Ugh. Amy Morton would be MUCH better.
Uggh i hate John Wells !
Mike Nichols ! Please direct this
These roles shouldn’t go to anyone in Hollywood. That original cast was brilliant and they should be putting their performances on film.
Julia Roberts is from Georgia.
I was going to point that out, too. But having said that, I prefer someone other than JR. She was less than stellar in Steel Magnolias, and she’s never been that fab an actress. You know they only want her because they think her name will bring people in. they might be right. I’ll see it for Meryl no matter who plays opposite her.
WIN!
Amy Morton was astonishing in the play.
I like Julia Roberts a lot but it’s going to be impossible to enjoy her performance under Morton’s long shadow. Understand the financial desire for big-name casting, but agree with the above commenter who suggested Laura Linney. This part screams for an actress who can play ordinary, and Laura Linney for all her beauty actually can. Even if Roberts hits it out of the park she’s still going to be “Julia” in every frame.
I wanted this to go to Glenn Close and Laura Linney, but I think Meryl and Julia will be pretty good too. I like them both. I’m looking forward to this.
Both Osage County and Farragut North are very “play-y.”
Not sure they’ll translate.
I need people to know that this play DOES NOT take place in the south. It takes place in the MIDWEST. There is a difference between the SOUTH and the MIDWEST, for all you geographically-challenged folks on here.
I did NOT want Merl for this part. She gets all of the good roles, and I was hoping Close or Dench or someone would get this over her. She’s going to do to this what she did to Doubt, which is be pretty horrible. Roberts isn’t right to play Barbara either, but I’m actually less worried about her than I am about Streep as Violet.
Actually, the play takes place outside Pawhuska, Oklahoma. That is very arguably on the far Western border of the “Midwest.” It’s really a kind of no-man’s land between the Midwest and the West proper.
There is a long, eloquent speech in the play about this VERY topic, about how people not from the area have no idea where it actually is. They call it the plains…and Amy Morton’s character says it has the same meaning as “the blues,” as in, “I’ve got the plains.”
Julia Roberts would definitely not be my first choice for casting here, in any case…
Your geographic lesson is unfortunately wrong as well. In the play they call it “the plains,” in Oklahoma ppl call it the southwest…
Who cares what all you people want? Harvey needs to make some dough. You think he’s in this game to make you happy in front of your monitors?
Julia Roberts as Barbara?! are you KIDDING ME? They should have cast Cate Blanchette… Julia Roberts just does not have the chops for such a tough role.
Yes it makes sense to cast a non-American actress in the role of Barbara? Rolling my eyes.
actually, Linds, Cate Blanchett did a great job playing a southerner in “The Gift” and she would be great as Barbara.
I agree. Kate’s fantastic in every role and can manage the accent well, I’m sure. It shouldn’t make a damn bit of difference where someone’s from if they can do the role the way it needs to be done.
I so agree with u. Blanchett and Streep together would be magical.
And even worse, she is about to take on the role of Kenyan wildlife documentary-maker & conservationist Joan Root, the worst miscasting I can think of in the last decade! If you don’t know who Joan is, do yourself a favour and read ‘Wildflower’, such an interesting and heartwrenching biography of an incredible woman.
Miscasting-wise: Physically Joan was tall, thin, incredibly beautiful and blonde (no big lips in sight); personality-wise she was incredibly shy, quiet and reserved with incredible inner strength. To play this role will require some serious acting chops as so much of her played beneath the surface. Julia won’t be able to break out the trademark smile, laugh or charisma as that will be all wrong, and without these things she’s pretty lacklustre as an actress. Not to mention the White Kenyan accent she’ll have to master. Charlize Theron, Cate Blanchett or Gretchen Mol would be a million times better.
Lost me at Julia Roberts.
Meryl Streep will do a great job, especially if she has a director who can rein her in. John Patrick Shanley was an awful director in Doubt, but hopefully Wells will be able to capture her brilliant kind of acting. Julia Roberts is completely miscast, Laura Linney or Toni Collette would have been ideal.
Wonder who else is in talks.
im sure meryl will be fine but deanna dunagan was incredible in the original production and i see absolutely no reason to replace her. same with amy
she was good , but nobody would go to see the movie- shes an unknown to the public
Am I the only one who thought this play (and the playwright) are extremely over-rated?
I’m definitely with you there…personally, I hated the play, and I really don’t see it playing well as a film.
wow- great part for Meryl. I smell another Oscar nom
Estelle Parsons was soo good when I saw her perform in this in D.C. Maybe she’s getting too old for them, but she was great.