Welcome to the Shrine to Actors

State of Play has one heck of a cast list. We’ve got:

Russell Crowe (American Gangster, 3:10 to Yuma)

Ben Affleck (He’s Just Not That Into You, Hollywoodland)

Rachel McAdams (The Family Stone and upcoming Sherlock Holmes)

Helen Mirren (Prime Suspect, The Queen)

Viola Davis (Madea Goes to Jail, and fresh off her Oscar nom for Doubt)

Robin Wright Penn (New York, I Love You and Beowulf)

Jeff Daniels (Traitor and Good Night, and Good Luck)

Harry Lennix (Across the Universe, and one of the few bright spots in TVs Dollhouse)

Jason Bateman (Juno, Arrested Development)

The director, Kevin Macdonald, also directed the Oscar-lauded Last King of Scotland.

Clearly, there’s a lot of talent here. While not a guarantee of success, it certainly offers a high probability of some fine acting, no matter the plot. It’s interesting to note that Brad Pitt was originally slated for the role Russell Crowe took over, but Pitt dropped out due to personal concerns with the script. I don’t know if it’s sour grapes, but director Macdonald says Crowe is more suited to the part of the scruffy underdog journalist who supplies a contrast to Affleck’s super slick politician. I’ve seen Pitt do scruffy, but Crowe does tend to have more of a careworn look about him. Perhaps Pitt felt he wasn’t suited to the role, either.

We’ll see what early reviews of State of Play bring–good actors and a good film, or good actors wasted in a bad film? Did Pitt miss his chance, or make a smart move?

State of Play hits US and Canadian theaters on April 17, 2009. (The UK gets it April 24.)