By Ryan Parsons | Image property of respective holders, Variety.
Russell Crowe
It looks like Universal Pictures did more than just eat turkey over the Thanksgiving holiday. The studio spent the holiday trying to convince Russell Crowe to step in for Brad Pitt for State of Play.
Russell Crowe for State of Play
The studio has been feverishly looking for a replacement after Pitt exited the production over disagreements about the script.
With the WGA Strike well underway, Pitt's decision to bail out on a script he didn't agree with has to make other studios flinch. With tentpoles entering production on scripts that are lacking an editor, one has to wonder how many other actors will take this hard line approach against their material.
As of right now, rewrites are out of the question.
Though a lawsuit has been threatened against Pitt, his side claims that he was 'forced' out of a production he has been eager to topline for the past two years. Pitt was hoping to wait for a strike resolution in order to get the script back up to his standard. Universal, however, wasn't willing to gamble on when that would be.
Tentpoles are beginning to feel the effects of the writers strike -- Angels & Demons, Shantaram and Pinkville have already been delayed. Hoping to avoid the same fate for State of Play, Universal is hoping for a new lead by the end of the week.
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