Julia Roberts Joins Chiwetel Ejiofor and Gwyneth Paltrow in 'The Secret in their Eyes' Remake

So how does one go about remaking a uniquely Argentinian Oscar-winning thriller into something that makes sense for American audiences? Well, the short answer is that you probably don't even try, but the approach taken by writer/director Billy Ray has been to stack his remake of The Secret in their Eyes with really big stars. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Gwyneth Paltrow came aboard some months back, and now Julia Roberts is joining them.

Roberts us taking on a role specifically written for a male, but has since been rewritten just for her. Not only that, but the Boston production has now been moved to Los Angeles to accommodate her, which must be nice.  The American version of the story hardly resembles what Juan Jose Campanella gave us for years ago. The mystery/thriller has Ejiofor as an MI-5 agent working for the FBI to solve a murder and unearthing some difficult truths in the process. Campanella told a complex, layered story that commented on Argentina and its long history of corruption. Billy Ray may be able to recreate some of that for Los Angeles but it won't feel the same at all.

Filming is set to begin next month. [THR]