The Matthew Lillard comeback continues; EW reports that the actor, who came back in a big way last year with a supporting turn in The Descendants, is in talks to join the Clint Eastwood-starrer Trouble with the Curve. The movie follows an aging baseball scout (Eastwood) who copes with his own oncoming blindness while heading to Atlanta to scope out an up and coming player for his team. Lillard’s role will be that of a rival scout, who I assume will also be gunning for the same player, and back in November it was announced that Amy Adams would be playing Eastwood’s daughter.
The Wrap also reports that TV actor Joe Massingill, who has appeared in shows such as Glee has joined the film in an unknown role. The movie is slated to begin production in March with Robert Lorenz at the helm, who handled second unit work on Eastwood’s Mystic River and Million Dollar Baby and is making his debut as a feature director. Judging by his track record second-unit wise, it seems to be right up his alley too and considering the Academy loves Eastwood for reasons, there may be a chance he gets some award love on his first outing.
Although this looks like a generic tearjerker movie, Lillard’s involvement alone gets me somewhat excited. As a child of the 90’s, it warms my heart to see Lillard being given another bite at the apple. Thanks to a dodgy resume (Wing Commander anyone?) and an unshakable association with the Scooby Doo franchise, people have been writing him off for years. But there’s no denying his talent and it’s wonderful to see people starting to take notice once again. Here’s hoping it leads to even more high profile film roles so Lillard can one day take the podium at the Oscars with statue in hand and say “Checkmate, Freddie Prinze Jr.!” followed by a backflip. I doubt that’ll ever happen, but a man can dream.
Any interest in Trouble with the Curve? Wasn’t Eastwood retiring at one point or did I make that up in a fit of hopeful optimism?