With a potential actors' strike looming next year, many of the movie world's biggest names are cramming their schedules before they have to pick up their placards. Jennifer Aniston already has Management with Steve Zahn and the all-name He's Just Not That Into You on her dancing card. Now she adds Marley And Me.
Quite wonderfully described in Variety as an adaptation of "John Grogan's bestselling memoir about an incorrigible Labrador retriever", the film will star Owen Wilson and Aniston as a couple who adopt a cute little puppy to give them a taste of parenthood. But the dog becomes a bigger handful than any child and wreaks havoc even after the couple have actual human children. But - of course - he becomes a much-loved, if hairy, member of the family.
The film is set to be directed by David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada) with the latest draft of the script being written by Scott Frank (The Interpreter). Production is set to begin early next year. Producers are seeking an unknown for the role of the Labrador.