The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that Academy Award®-winning actresses Julia Roberts (EAT PRAY LOVE) and Meryl Streep (THE IRON LADY) are attached to AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY, based on the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award®-winning play by Tracy Letts, and directed by John Wells (“Shameless”, THE COMPANY MEN). The announcement was made by TWC Co-Chairmen Harvey and Bob Weinstein.
Said Roberts, “After seeing Meryl Streep’s mesmerizing portrayal as Margaret Thatcher in THE IRON LADY, it has me even more excited and proud to co star with her.”
“I’m delighted and feel very privileged to have the opportunity to direct Meryl and Julia in this magnificent piece written by Tracy Letts,” said Wells. “Meryl’s extraordinary body of work made her the only conceivable choice to play Violet. Coupled with Julia’s effortless mastery of every role she undertakes and her fearlessness as an actress, I’m confident this first ever collaboration with Meryl and Julia will produce an exciting and moving film.”
AUGUST: OSAGE COUNTY tells the dark, hilarious and deeply touching story of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose lives have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Midwest house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them. Letts’ play made its Broadway debut in December 2007 after premiering at Chicago’s legendary Steppenwolf Theatre earlier that year. It continued with a successful international run.
Streep has been cast as pill-popping matriarch Violet Weston, and Roberts will play her complicated adult daughter Barbara. Streep has been nominated for the 2012 Best Actress Academy Award® for THE IRON LADY, and recently won a BAFTA and a Golden Globe Award® for her performance.