Roberts and Baldwin will join Mark Rufallo, Matthew Bomer and Jim Parsons in the drama, which is based on Tony-winning play about the fight against HIV/AIDS in New York's gay community.
- January 21, 2012
AceShowbiz -
"The Normal Heart", an upcoming drama directed and produced by "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy, has added more top film stars to join Mark Ruffalo in the cast ensemble. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Julia Roberts and Alec Baldwin have been tapped to star in the film, which is an adaptation of the Tony-winning play of the same title.
Roberts is set to play Emma Brookner, a wheel-chair bound doctor who concerned about the raise of HIV/AIDS in New York's gay community in the 1980s. Baldwin, meanwhile, is set to tackle the part of a lawyer who has a hard time dealing with his sibling's sexual orientation.
In addition to Roberts and Baldwin, the forthcoming movie has also tapped "White Collar" star Matthew Bomer and "The Big Bang Theory" actor Jim Parsons. Bomer will portray a gay fashion journalist Felix Turner, who is tragically infected by the deadly disease. As for Parson, he will play a a gay activist Southerner.
The lead role in the drama, New Weeks, will be tackled by Ruffalo. Weeks is one of the first to raise awareness when what was then known as "gay cancer" grew in the Big Apple. The character was made famous by Joe Mantello, who performed the play on Broadway last April 2011.
Based on the semi-autobiographical play written by Larry Kramer, "The Normal Heart" tells the story about writer/activist Ned Weeks who confronts the rising crisis of HIV/AIDS in the early eighties. Kramer will write the script for the upcoming film, which is being developed at Brad Pitt's Plan B shingle.
