Ricky Gervais has struck lucky with a gorgeous female lead for his new movie, set in the distinctly unglamorous world of 1970s insurance. Brit newcomer Felicity Jones – last seen as Lady Cordelia Flyte in 2008's Brideshead Revisited – will play the free-spirited leading lady in The Men at the Pru.
The movie follows three twenty-something guys who work at Prudential, with Jones to play Julie, the put-upon girl they coerce into believing that women should be tied to the kitchen sink, despite her dreams of being a photographer.
Jones is hot property right about now – up next in Stephen Frears' **Cheri **with Michelle Pfeiffer and Kathy Bates, and having just finished fending off Russell Brand's advances whilst shooting Julie Taymor's feminised version of The Tempest.
**The Men At The Pru **looks to be Gervais's third stab at movie direction after his upcoming debut comedy This Side Of The Truth – which stars half of Arrested Development (Jason Bateman and Jeffrey Tambor), Jennifer Garner, Tina Fey and Jonah Hill, not to mention Patrick Stewart – and Cemetery Junction which is in pre-production to be co-written and directed by Gervais and his extra tall buddy Stephen Merchant. Shooting kicks off in the summer in the U.K.