It finally looks like Brie Larson‘s time has arrived. The actress has wasted little time in capitalizing on the acclaim of her stint in “The United States Of Tara,” lining up small roles in films by Noah Baumbach (“Greenberg“), Edgar Wright (“Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World“) and Oren Moverman (“Rampart“). And this year, she leapt to leading lady status with a terrific turn in the tender “Short Term 12” which put her on even more radars. And while we were glad to see her in “Don Jon,” it’s almost criminal to cast someone of her talent in a movie and then keep her mute for most of the picture. But she won’t have to worry about that with her next venture, in what is her biggest role to date.
Deadline reports that the actress is in talks to star opposite Mark Wahlberg in “The Gambler.” A remake of Karel Reisz‘s 1974 film that originally starred James Caan, that movie followed a successful English professor who succumbs to a gambling addition, which forces him to extort money from his mother and convince one of his students to shave points in a basketball game. As he gets in deeper and deeper and completely loses his moral compass, the man becomes more and more spiritually depraved.
It’s not clear yet what elements of the story might change but it does have a strong creative team already with a script by William Monahan (“The Departed“) and Rupert Wyatt (“Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes“) slated to direct. And that’s not all. “American Horror Story” star Jessica Lange (who is a legend, plain and simple) is also being eyed, so we presume she’ll be the mother.
No word yet on when it might lens—particularly with Wahlberg currently in production on “Transformers: Age Of Extinction“—but clearly, this one is starting to come together. (Though we kinda wish it was about Gamblor instead).
