Now that New Line Cinema has picked up the drama and director David Frankel has been instated at the helm – in lieu of Alfonso Gomez-Rejon (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl), who exited the project earlier in the year – Collateral Beauty is beginning to fill up its casting list, and one of the newcomers currently circling a role in the flick is Helen Mirren.
That’s according to Variety, who report that Mirren is now in line to star opposite Will Smith in Frankel’s feature. Headlining the drama as a New York advertising executive, Collateral Beauty sees Smith’s lead succumb to a crippling spell of depression after his life is unceremoniously upended by a personal tragedy. In an attempt to lift him out of his personal rut, Smith’s work colleagues hatch a plan to steer his fortunes back in the right direction, only for it to backfire in the most unexpected of ways.
Variety didn’t disclose who Mirren could potentially play in the film, although considering that the esteemed actress has only opened negotiations, there’s no guarantee that the deal for her to star will be sealed. Hypothetically, we assume that Mirren is circling the part of one of Smith’s enthused workmates, offering a helping hand to our down-and-out protagonist once his life begins to circle the drain.
Working from a script penned by Allan Loeb, we understand that Frankel and Will Smith are also attached to produce Collateral Beauty, which has come an awful long way since Hugh Jackman and Rooney Mara were in talks to join.
Production on Collateral Beauty has been pegged to get underway in the Big Apple in the early stages of 2016. Meanwhile, Helen Mirren can next be seen alongside Bryan Cranston in Trumbo.
