Baumbach Confirmed to Direct The Emperor’s Children; Knightley, Bana and Gere Attached

With too much on his plate (if you don’t believe me, look here), Ron Howard is relegating himself to the role of producer alongside buddy Brian Grazer and essentially, giving the director’s chair to the person who was closest to the project. Recently divulged by ThePlaylist, Noah Baumbach had invested a considerable amount of time penning The Emperor’s Children and his TLC might have convinced Imagine Ent. to logically go with the Greenberg director instead. Production begins as soon as this Summer.

Besides confirming Baumbach, TheWrap also scooped up the first bit of casting news – which suggests that the supporting characters aren’t inconsequential add-ons. Eric Bana and Richard Gere are in talks to take supporting roles in a film that is based on the Claire Messud novel – I guess we can add Jennifer Jason Leigh somewhere in that mix. Keira Knightley is being mentioned as well – I imagine she is one third of the film’s Brown University-educated students, raised in upper-crust surroundings and expected to do something important, hit 30 while still struggling to fulfill that promise. The book is set in New York in the months before and following Sept. 11, 2001.

I wonder if and how audiences will warm up to a story about how the elite portion of the Gen-X generation deal with their standing in society/the world.