Woody Harrelson In Talks For ‘The Glass Castle’ Opposite Brie Larson
EXCLUSIVE: Woody Harrelson is in talks along with Brie Larson to star in Lionsgate’s The Glass Castle, a dramedy based on the memoir by Jeanette Walls about a successful young woman raised by severely dysfunctional parents — an alcoholic father and oddball mother — who struggles to understand her childhood when her parents, unexpectedly, move to New York to be near her.
Harrelson, of course, is one of the mainstays in Lionsgate’s Hunger Games franchise and is on the publicity tour right now for that film. Larson has gotten critical raves for the A24 film Room and she is surely in contention for an Best Actress nom this year from the Academy. The Glass Castle is being helmed by Destin Daniel Cretton who made critics sit up and take notice of Larson when he directed her in Short Term 12. She is currently the female lead in Legendary Pictures’ Kong: Skull Island.
Matthew McConaughey had kicked the tires of The Glass Castle so it is interesting that his True Detective co-star is now in talks to star in the project. Gil Netter, who is known for a number of uplifting pics — Life of Pi, The Blind Side, Marley and Me and most recently the faith-based The Shack based on the best-selling Christian book of the same name — is producing.
The Larson role was originally scoped out by another Hunger Games star — Jennifer Lawrence, but she dropped off after the studio was searching around for the male lead. Neither Harrelson’s nor Larson’s deals are closed.
It should be noted that this is yet another example of Lionsgate making a film based on strong underlying IP (The Hunger Games, The Kingkiller Chronicle, Power Rangers, to name a few).
Harrelson most recently filmed Rob Reiner’s LBJ starring as Lyndon Baines Johnson, the 36th President of the U.S. The film centers on the political upheaval that Vice President Johnson faced when he was thrust into the presidency and then struggled to heal a nation, deal with the Vietnam War and secure his presidency by passing Kennedy’s historic Civil Rights Act. He has a tight schedule with War for the Planet of the Apes also on his plate. Harrelson is repped by CAA. Larson by WME.
Lionsgate had no comment.
Related stories
Amazon's IMDb Celebrates Milestone 25th Anniversary - Digital Paradise For Movie Geeks
'Room' Review: Brie Larson In Emotional Knockout You Won't Soon Forget
Get more from Deadline.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Newsletter
