the industry

Industry Roundup: Aniston, Rudd, Pitt

Funny Girl: Jennifer Aniston, who has the comedy The Switch out this summer, has joined two high-profile upcoming studio films. Aniston has signed on to star in Wanderlust opposite Paul Rudd in a comedy written by David Wain (Role Models) and produced by Judd Apatow, in which Aniston and Rudd will play a couple who head to a commune after losing all of their money. And she has also been added to the cast of Seth Gordon’s workplace comedy Horrible Bosses, in which she will play an “aggressive dentist,” one of the three titular awful bosses (Colin Farrell will play one of the other two top dogs). Aniston’s Switch co-star Jason Bateman and Charlie Day (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia) are in negotiations to play disgruntled employees in the long-gestating project. Get ready for the inevitable “Is Aniston basing evil boss character on Jolie?” Us Weekly headline. [Variety, Deadline]

Couching Tiger: Brad Pitt will star in The Tiger, a Darren Aronofsky–directed drama written by Guillermo Arriaga (Babel). The script is based on an upcoming book by John Vaillant that follows an animal activist who must protect a small Siberian town when it is attacked by a tiger. Couldn’t let Jen have just one day of headlines all to herself, could ya, Brad? [HR]

Unmade in Manhattan: Colin Farrell and Marion Cotillard will star in David Cronenberg’s Cosmopolis, an adaptation of Don DeLillo’s novel. The thriller tracks a multimillionaire on a 24-hour “odyssey” across Manhattan. Farrell will play an asset manager who loses all of his money in a single day, while Cotillard will play his wife. Presumably Farrell’s dramatic loss occurs for reasons more cinematic than a typo. [Variety]

Bomer Out: Dave Annable (Brothers and Sisters) is in negotiations to replace Matt Bomer (White Collar) in the Anna Faris romantic comedy What’s Your Number? Bomer, who was to play Faris’s dream guy in the film, had to pull out for scheduling reasons. Chris Evans, Zachary Quinto, and Joel McHale will play Faris’s exes. To be considered more desirable than Captain America, Spock, and Jeff Winger is really quite a feat. [HR]

B. Plus: Audrey Tautou will star in Therese B., an adaptation of François Mauriac’s novel, which will be directed by Claude Miller. The film, set in the twenties, centers on Therese Desqueyroux, a “free-spirited but unhappily married woman” who tries to free herself “from social pressures and the boredom of suburban life.” Apparently her first idea was changing her annoying last name to a way more fun initial. [Variety]

House Horror: Grindstone, a division of Lionsgate, has picked up the rights to distribute Open House, starring Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer, and Rachel Blanchard. The film is directed by Paquin’s brother, Andrew Paquin, and centers on a woman (Blanchard) who is kidnapped and held captive in her own home by “two sociopaths during an open-house event.” Don’t fret: Sookie and Bill aren’t playing the two crazy sociopaths. [Variety]

By the Law: John Grisham’s The Firm may become a TV series close to twenty years after the novel was released, as a spec pilot script by Lukas Reiter is circulating among networks including FX, TNT, and A&E, as well as NBC and Fox. Deadline says there is “already interest from at least one cable net.” If FX takes this and ditches Damages, that would be tragic. [Deadline]

Industry Roundup: Aniston, Rudd, Pitt