The adaptation of Beth Raymer’s high-stakes gambling memoir **Lay the Favourite **seems to be A) attracting a lot of big name talent and B) having a little trouble finding its way to production. But now things seem to be closer than ever andCatherine Zeta-Jones is set to join the cast.
Bruce Willis has been attached for a while now, playing a legendary gambler who figures out a way to cheat the Las Vegas sports book betting system. Zeta-Jones is aboard to play his wife, while Rebecca Hall, last seen in The Town, will be a character loosely based on Raymer herself, a woman who becomes part of Wills’ big scheme. Somewhat naturally, things take a turn for both the dodgy and the dangerous.
As reported late last year, Stephen Frears is making this his follow up to **Tamara Drewe and the script is by Frears’ High Fidelity collaborator DV DeVincentis.
Focus Features had been attached to co-produce the film, but with the budget set at $20 million, Pathe has stepped in to take over the job alongside Random House Films. And while locations in New York and Las Vegas had been scouted, it now looks like New Orleans will replace the Big Apple because of its healthy tax breaks. Frears is scheduled to start filming next month.