Marisa Tomei Falls For Hugh Grant's Next Rom Com; Laura Linney Looks Up WikiLeaks With Benedict Cumberbatch

Hugh Grant may have branched out for the first time in who-knows-how-long for “Cloud Atlas,” but don’t think for one minute that he's done with his main revenue stream – rom-coms. Grant is attached to star in an as yet to be titled rom-com about a witty, sexy Englishman (you know Hugh) who is riding high in the late eighties after having won an Academy Award For Best Screenplay. Fifteen years later everything’s gone wrong for him though (maybe he bedded a hooker and lost all credibility, who knows?) and now he’s divorced, broke, and creatively bereft. Thankfully, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel though, and that light looks set to be Marisa Tomei.

The Oscar winner is in negotiations to join the project as a single mom who has gone back to school, and that school just so happens to be the same school at which Grant’s character has taken a job teaching screenwriting. So, it’s “Larry Crowne” in reverse basically, with Hugh Grant playing another twist on his “About a Boy” persona. Grant and Tomei could make for a good on-screen couple though, so there’s some hope for this one. The project is directed and written by Marc Lawrence who has teamed up with Hugh Grant on his three previous directorial features (“Two Weeks Notice,” “Music and Lyrics” and “Did You Hear About the Morgans?”) so maybe we won’t get too excited actually.

In other casting news it appears that Laura Linney is in talks to join another untitled movie, this time it’s the “Untitled Julian Assange WikiLeaks Project.” Yes, like it or not we’re getting a big screen biopic of the most unlikable modern day anti-establishment hero, and at present, Benedict Cumberbatch is attached to the lead role, with James McAvoy onboard as well, while Bill Condon will direct from Josh Singer’s script. The film will be based on two books about Assange and Wikileaks, with Cumberbatch as the hacker himself and McAvoy as his best friend -- no word yet on Linney's potential part. But based on the cast and director we wouldn’t bet against this being an Oscar contender in future years. [The Wrap]