Juliette Lewis May Star in August: Osage County Film with Meryl Streep & Julia Roberts

Oscar and Emmy nominee Juliette Lewis is in negotiations to star as Karen in the upcoming film adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play August: Osage County, according to Deadline.com. The announcement of Lewis negates previous speculation that British actress Andrea Riseborough would play the role of Karen. Lewis will join previously announced stars Academy Award winners Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts. Adapted by Letts, directed by John Wells and produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, along with Jean Doumanian, Steve Traxler and Claire Rudnick Polstein, filming begins in September. No release date has been announced.

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. Roberts will play Violet’s older daughter Barbara, while Lewis will reportedly play 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.

Lewis received an Oscar nomination for the film Cape Fear. Her other film credits include The Other Sister, Natural Born Killers, The Evening Star, Old School and What’s Eating Gilbert Grape.