The news bits surrounding John Carney‘s Can a Song Save Your Life? have arrived few and far between, starting with last year’s announcement that Scarlett Johansson had signed on to star, with Judd Apatow tagging along as an executive producer. However, the most recent development, revealed just last week, is the one that, for me, carries the most promise: the casting of Mark Ruffalo.

This film — click here to catch up with the synopsis — is an obvious companion piece to Carney‘s Once, but that film was so accidentally magical that I have trouble thinking it can be repeated or matched. I mean, it is called Once, after all. But Ruffalo, as always, brings that aura of authenticity with him, and I think what he could potentially bring to the project may prove invaluable.

Another name, too, has now been added to the cast in Oscar-nominee Hailee Steinfeld (who’ll play Ruffalo‘s daughter), which raises the production’s profile even more. Steinfeld recently signed on Ender’s Game, and with Carlo Carlei‘s Romeo and Juliet adaptation on the horizon, her notoriety is sure to continue to grow throughout the coming year. And that’s what strikes me as odd about Can a Song Save Your Life? — that Carney‘s intimate atmosphere will be played out by three widely-known personas. (By then, Ruffalo will have starred in The Avengers.) [THR]

I suppose, then, the film, which is eyeing a June start date, will tell us a little more about Carney‘s directing talent — and, obviously, if his screenplay can again capture that unique spark. I have some concerns at the moment, if only because Once would be a tough-to-accomplish feat for any filmmaker, but I’m excited to see where it goes nonetheless.

What are your early thoughts on this project?

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