Oscar Winners Meryl Streep & Julia Roberts Confirmed for August: Osage County Film

Confirming earlier reports, Academy Award winners Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts have signed on to star in the film adaptation of Tracy Letts' Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play August: Osage County, according to Deadline.com. The movie version will be directed by John Wells and adapted by the playwright.

August: Osage County tells the story of the Westons, an extended clan that comes together at their rural Oklahoma homestead after the alcoholic patriarch disappears. Forced to confront unspoken truths and astonishing secrets, the family must also contend with Violet, a pill-popping, deeply unsettled woman at the center of the storm. Streep will play the drug-addled Violet, while Roberts will play her eldest daughter, Barbara Fordham.

After its premiere at Chicago’s Steppenwolf Theatre Company, August: Osage County, directed by Tony winner Anna D. Shapiro, opened on Broadway on December 4, 2007, and went on to win the 2008 Best Play Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize during a run that ended on June 28, 2009. The production played a sold-out eight week engagement at London’s National Theatre, and recently ended an engagement (featuring many of the original cast members) in Sydney, Australia. The role of Violet was originated by Tony winner Deanna Dunagan as Violet. Amy Morton originated the role of Barbara.