Carell Comedy Expands: Marisa Tomei and Josh Groban have joined the Steve Carell–Ryan Gosling marital-crisis comedy that follows a father (Carell) who gets tutored by Gosling’s character in the ways of romance after his marriage falls apart. Tomei will play the first woman Carell’s character dates post-breakup, and Groban will play the boyfriend of Carell’s daughter, played by Emma Stone. Justin Timberlake, what have you started?! [Variety]
Welcome Home: Judy Greer and Susan Sarandon will star in the Jason Segel–Ed Helms comedy Jeff Who Lives at Home, written and directed by the Duplass brothers (Cyrus, The Puffy Chair). The film centers on two brothers, one of whom is going through a midlife crisis (Helms) and believes his wife (Greer) is having an affair. The other is a “lovable loser†(Segel) who still lives with his mom (Sarandon). Helms as a neurotic! Segel as a slacker! Sarandon as a MILF! Talk about casting against type. [Variety]
What Would Bella Do?: Lily Collins will star in a new version of Romeo and Juliet “being aimed squarely at the Twilight audience.†The film is being written by Oscar-winning screenwriter Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park, The Tourist), who — in a comparison that no doubt caused Shakespeare to die all over again in his grave — explained, “Before Twilight there was Romeo and Juliet.†Collins is about to star alongside Taylor Lautner in Abduction, so no doubt she’ll be able to pick up a thing or two about how to pull off an angsty glare and a tortured line reading. [Deadline]
Country Times: Lizzy Caplan and Ron Livingston will star in the indie comedy Queens of Country, about a beauty queen and line-dancing champion (Caplan) who finds an iPod filled with her favorite country songs in a local truck-stop bathroom … and then “upends her world to track down the man of her dreams.†We assume this quest is somehow related to the iPod, but who ever knows with these quirky indie comedies, right? [Variety]
Schneider’s Modern Life: John Schneider (Dukes of Hazzard, Smallville) will play a “modern George Bailey†in the feature film Doonby, in which he’ll star as a “happy-go-lucky drifter†who is mysteriously immune to the troubles that strike the other residents of his small Texas town. The film, described as “Crazy Heart meets It’s a Wonderful Life,†will be written and directed by British filmmaker Peter Mackenzie. Now if Schneider earns an Oscar nom like Jeff Bridges and Jimmy Stewart did, we’ll know something is really special about this drifter guy. [HR]
Passion Play: Passion Pit will tour North America this summer, followed by a few stops in Europe, Japan, and Australia, before opening eight fall arena dates for Muse this fall. Playing in venues like the Staples Center, let’s hope the band remember their Manners. [Pitchfork]
Cure to Boring Title: The title of David Cronenberg’s latest film has been changed from The Talking Cure to A Dangerous Method. The movie is about psychiatrist Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender)’s passionate affair with a disturbed young patient (Keira Knightley). From one “Wasn’t that a John Grisham book or something?†title to another. [Deadline]