If we went on acting cred alone, there's probably no film that could compete with John Wells' adaptation of August: Osage County. Based on Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize-winning stageplay, the cast is pretty phenomenal, with Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Chris Cooper just the tip of the iceberg.
With a handful of big roles yet to be filled, two more impressive additions have been made with Ewan McGregor and Misty Upham the latest to come aboard. The story follows the women of the Weston family, who have all gone their separate ways but return home to Oklahoma and their dysfunctional mother when tragedy strikes. McGregor will play Bill Fordham, the estranged husband to Barbara, the oldest daughter played by Roberts. Upham will play Johnna Monevata, a Native American woman the father hired to be a live-in housekeeper.
McGregor's been on quite a roll lately, with Beginners, getting his butt kicked in Haywire, and this fall's natural disaster drama, The Impossible. Upham probably isn't known to most people but she more than held her own opposite Melissa Leo in Frozen River. She also has a small part in Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained.
Sam Shepard, Abigail Breslin, Juliette Lewis, Margo Martindale, and Dermot Mulroney make up the rest of the cast. Production begins shortly for what will no doubt be an Academy Award run next year. [Variety]
