Dreamworks' family drama Welcome to People** has locked in its final major role, in the attractive form of Michelle Pfeiffer. She'll join Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks and Olivia Wilde.
It's eleventh-hour casting, since shooting is set to start imminently. Pfeiffer will play Pine's widowed mother, in a story that sees the prodigal Pine returning home for his father's funeral. Wilde plays his girlfriend, and Banks his estranged alcoholic half sister, whose life he tries to turn around.
The film is the directorial debut of proflific screenwriter Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek, Transformers, Cowboys & Aliens) and was written in cahoots with his usual writing partner Roberto Orci. His high-profile screenplays have been heavy on the FX requirements, but for his own first gig behind the camera he's obviously decided to keep it real (unless there's a third-act alien-invasion twist he's keeping under wraps).
Shooting starts next week, for a 2012 release. Winona Ryder played Spock's mom, and now Pfeiffer is Captain Kirk's. The Age of Innocence will never seem the same again.