Update: It's taken a few weeks of haggling but now Deadline reports that Neeson and Wilde are both set to starfor Haggis.
Two Liam Neeson casting stories in one week? Why monsieur, you are spoiling us! Yes, the Ballymena Bruiser is indeed one of the actors who Paul Haggis has recruited for his latest planned film, Third Person. From the sounds of it, Neeson will be in a relationship with Olivia Wilde. Tough job…
Haggis talked to Vulture about the new project, which, in its script stage at least, isn’t actually new at all. He’s apparently been writing it for years and, after the New York Post began talking up the focus as on a New York party reporter, Haggis has been quick to fact-check. "It's about three story lines, three love stories, three relationships in three different cities that combine in a very odd way: New York, Paris, Rome. And so I wanted one of them to have a job in New York. So after writing the script, I thought, Oh, party reporting, that would be great. But literally, it's just that. The character is not based on anyone, or anything like that.”
Haggis was largely cagey on casting details, but did let slip that Neeson is on board and that he’ll be romancing Wilde’s character, who is indeed a party reporter in the Big Apple.
There’s nothing quite set in stone just yet, though Haggis is looking to start shooting the movie in August. If it does come to pass, it'll mark a reunion between Haggis and Wilde, since she co-starred in his short-lived US telly drama The Black Donnellys back in 2007...