Considering that I am a loyal fan of Noah Baumbach‘s work, The Playlist‘s report, which states that both James Franco and Cate Blanchett have bowed out of the writer-director’s next film, While We’re Young, is a pretty unexpected blow. However, Ben Stiller, who arguably gave his best performance to date in Baumbach‘s Greenberg, is still attached to the project, which makes it unlikely that rounding up another pair of legitimate performers will be a daunting task.
Indeed, Baumbach faced a similar situation with Greenberg, which was originally supposed to star Mark Ruffalo and Amy Adams, rather than the eventual pairing of Stiller and Greta Gerwig.
Like Baumbach‘s semi-autobiographical The Squid and the Whale, While We’re Young will be set in Brooklyn. It will follow a young, energetic couple who convince a documentary filmmaker and his wife to loosen up their lives. And, despite the casting mishaps, filming is scheduled to begin in June.
What do you think of Baumbach’s work? Do these casting changes worry you?