Russell Crowe is in negotiations to replace Brad Pitt in political thriller State of Play after Hollywood strike-related issues forced the Troy star to pull out of the project last week.
According to industry reports, studio executives at Universal spent the weekend meeting with Crowe in a bid to persuade him to take over the role immediately.
Pitt had been onboard the film for months after agreeing to play a journalist who uncovers a murder scandal that implicates a political heavyweight he used to work for.
But the movie star felt compelled to walk away from the film when executives refused to await a resolution to the ongoing writers strike–now in its fourth week–before commencing filming.
Pitt also insisted on a script rewrite, which was refused.
Trade paper Variety reports Pitt may face legal action from the studio bosses after walking away from a film that was stalled by a strike.
As WENN went to press, Helen Mirren and Edward Norton were still attached to supporting roles in the film, which was supposed to have started filming on Nov. 17.
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