Chris Cooper in Talks for August: Osage County Film, Starring Meryl Streep & Julia Roberts

Oscar winner Chris Cooper is in talks to star in the forthcoming film adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play August: Osage County, according to Variety. The previously announced film will also star Academy Award winners Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, and will be produced by George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Harvey Weinstein. The movie will be helmed by John Wells and adapted by Letts. Production is set to start sometime in August.



August: Osage County is the story of the Weston family, who reunites at their rural homestead in Oklahoma after the disappearance of Beverly, the alcoholic patriarch. Streep will play Violet, the pill-popping and deeply troubled mother of the family. Cooper will reportedly play Violet’s brother-in-law Charlie, with Roberts taking on the role of Violet’s oldest daughter Barbara. British actress Andrea Riseborough is also in talks to star as Karen, Violet's youngest daughter. August: Osage County premiered at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, then transferred to Broadway on December 4, 2007. The production won the 2008 Tony Award for Best Play before playing its final performance on June 28, 2009.



An Oscar winner for Adaptation, Cooper's many films include The Muppets, The Bourne Identity, American Beauty, The Town, The Company Man, The Tempest and Married Life. Cooper has appeared on Broadway in Of the Fields, Lately and off-Broadway in Trumbo.