While the two male leads — Ryan Gosling and Bradley Cooper — have been set for Derek Cianfrance‘s “Blue Valentine” followup, the generational crime flick “The Place Beyond the Pines,” all that testosterone is about get balanced out by some strong female talent.
Deadline reports that Eva Mendes has come aboard, and indie darling Greta Gerwig is in talks to join the film. The film — which the director himself has compared to “The Deer Hunter” and “The Godfather” — centers on Luke (Gosling), a motorcycle stunt rider who turns to robbing banks to support his son, but winds up crossing paths with a police officer-turned-politician (Cooper), kicking off a simmering generational feud. Mendes will play the mother of Gosling’s child (HOTT), while Gerwig is eyeing the role Cooper’s wife (HOTTX2).
Gerwig will be shooting the rom-com “Lola Versus” this month in New York City, but we presume her work can be wrapped in time to head over to “The Place Beyond the Pines” — or the scheduling can be worked out as both films are shooting in the state. She’s slowly been edging her way into Hollywood roles even if the choices have been dubious (“No Strings Attached,” “Arthur“) but this should be a big boost that will find her feet planted in both the indie and mainstream worlds. As for Mendes, her year has been a bit quieter, starring in the indie drama “Last Night” and SPOILER ALERT popping up in “Fast Five.” Either way, Cianfrance proved he can wrangle great performances out of actors, we like the mix of talent being drawn up here and we can’t wait to see the result.
