The weekly revelations continue. Variety is reporting that Sam Shepard is in talks to star alongside Meryl in the upcoming film August: Osage County. Shepard would play Beverly Weston, the alcoholic family patriarch whose disappearance and ultimate death are the impetus for a tumultuous family gathering around which the story unfolds. When I saw this news, the first thing I thought was "he's too young." Turns out the man is 68. I was thinking late 50's but then I remembered him starring in The Pelican Brief which I knew was in 1994 and figured he had to be at least mid 40's then. It's interesting that in Pelican Brief he played Julia Roberts's boyfriend, and in August, he'll be her father. Managing Beverly shouldn't be too much of a stretch for him, as in Pelican Brief his character was an alcoholic professor.
This will be his third film with Julia. How can we forget him as Dolly Parton's deadbeat husband Spud in Steel Magnolias? With his nomination for 1984's The Right Stuff, Shepard would also make it six Academy Award nominees in the cast so far. I'm going to continue to include Tom Wilkinson as "speculated" along with Shepard, but with the proximity of this news to the start of filming, I figure it's similar to Juliette Lewis over Andrea Riseborough.
I have to say that although Sam Shepard's character would technically be Benedict Cumberbatch's character's father, Chris Cooper (who plays his apparent father) looks more like Cumberbatch. What do we think?
I don't know. I suppose that isn't the the filmmakers' biggest priority. Below you can see the current list as of tonight. Ivy is still by far the heaviest role yet to be announced. I'm not particularly suprised that they're either waiting on revealing it, or having trouble narrowing it down. She's the most complex of the three sisters.
Violet Weston: Meryl Streep (confirmed)
Barbara Fordham: Julia Roberts (confirmed)
Charlie Aiken: Chris Cooper (confirmed)
Karen Weston: Juliette Lewis (confirmed)
Jean Fordham: Abigail Breslin (confirmed)
Beverly Weston: Tom Wilkinson (speculated, but I doubt it)
Sam Shepard (speculated, but likely to be confirmed)
Ivy Weston: Amy Adams (speculated, but again, I doubt it)
Mattie Fae Aiken: Margo Martindale (confirmed)
Steve Heidebrecht: Dermot Mulroney (confirmed)
Little Charles Aiken: Benedict Cumberbatch (speculated, but likely to be confirmed)
Roles yet to be (technically) confirmed:
Beverly
Little Charles (I've put this back in for the time being but I'm confident Cumberbatch is our man)
Ivy
Bill
Johnna
Sheriff Deon
This will be his third film with Julia. How can we forget him as Dolly Parton's deadbeat husband Spud in Steel Magnolias? With his nomination for 1984's The Right Stuff, Shepard would also make it six Academy Award nominees in the cast so far. I'm going to continue to include Tom Wilkinson as "speculated" along with Shepard, but with the proximity of this news to the start of filming, I figure it's similar to Juliette Lewis over Andrea Riseborough.
I have to say that although Sam Shepard's character would technically be Benedict Cumberbatch's character's father, Chris Cooper (who plays his apparent father) looks more like Cumberbatch. What do we think?
Shepard |
Cumberbatch |
Cooper |
Violet Weston: Meryl Streep (confirmed)
Barbara Fordham: Julia Roberts (confirmed)
Charlie Aiken: Chris Cooper (confirmed)
Karen Weston: Juliette Lewis (confirmed)
Jean Fordham: Abigail Breslin (confirmed)
Beverly Weston: Tom Wilkinson (speculated, but I doubt it)
Sam Shepard (speculated, but likely to be confirmed)
Ivy Weston: Amy Adams (speculated, but again, I doubt it)
Mattie Fae Aiken: Margo Martindale (confirmed)
Steve Heidebrecht: Dermot Mulroney (confirmed)
Little Charles Aiken: Benedict Cumberbatch (speculated, but likely to be confirmed)
Roles yet to be (technically) confirmed:
Beverly
Little Charles (I've put this back in for the time being but I'm confident Cumberbatch is our man)
Ivy
Bill
Johnna
Sheriff Deon