When Julia Stiles starred as Kat Stafford in the strangely popular teen comedy, 10 Things I Hate About You, she stood out like a sore thumb. She was so clearly a cut above the rest of the cast(which included Heath Ledger and Joseph Gordon-Levitt), and beyond that weak material, that you knew immediately she was going to be a star. Well, some would say things didn't exactly turn out that way, but that assumes Stiles didn't have any control over the path her career took. While she dabbled in some pretty mainstream stuff(The Prince and Me, Save the Last Dance), she also made a conscious decision to take smaller roles in movies she really believed in, even if it meant a decreased profile. That's something to be respected.
While I'm still catching up on the last season of Dexter she co-starred in, Stiles is jumping back into theaters by joining the cast of The Silver Linings Playbook from director David O. Russell(I Heart Huckabees). Based on the novel by Matthew Quick, the story centers on a former high school teacher(Bradley Cooper) recently released from a mental ward and trying to put his life back together again. Moving back in with his mother(Jacki Weaver), he finds potential love with a troubled neighbor(Jennifer Lawrence). Robert De Niro co-stars as Cooper's father, while Stiles will be the older sister of Lawrence's character. Chris Tucker, rumored for the film a few weeks ago as one of Cooper's friends at the ward, looks to be confirmed as well.
So this one is shaping up to be better than expected. I was a little worried when Mark Wahlberg dropped out because it seems like a more natural lead role for him, but the cast they've surrounded Cooper with is outstanding. [Deadline]
