Even though she nabbed the biggest exposure and acclaim of her career to date thanks to her Oscar nominated turn in "Up In The Air," Vera Farmiga has continued to march to the beat of her own drum. She's eschewed big glossy tentpoles, using her post-Oscar heat to make her directorial debut "Higher Ground," as well as take roles in a diverse array of projects from high concept sci-fi ("Source Code"), indie dramedy (the recently Sundance premiered "Goats") and even a B-movie potboiler in this weekend's "Safe House." And the actress continues to take on new challenges, with her next gig providing another intriguing role.
In case you forgot, Aaron Eckhart is leading "The Drummer," a biopic on Dennis Wilson, the Beach Boys beat-keeper, who released a posthumously celebrated solo album Pacific Ocean Blue and died tragically at the age of 39. Farmiga has now come aboard, taking the role of Fleetwood Mac singer/songwriter Christine McVie. As fans of the band know, the song "Hold Me" from the album Mirages, was inspired by her rocky relationship with Wilson.
Little did we know, but apparently Farmiga is a classically trained pianist (!) and will be dueting with Eckhart on a few songs in the film. Eckhart is currently shooting "I, Frankenstein" but once he's done with that and removes the bolts from his neck, he'll join Farmiga and starting shooting "The Drummer" on June 15th. "Bottle Shock" director Randy Miller is at the helm. [Variety]