In the works for nearly two years when Steve Carell first signed on, the rocker dramedy "Imagine" has been moving along very slowly, in fact, not much at all. Last year, Al Pacino signed on followed by more silence, but now with the American Film Market coming up and a spring shoot in the works, there has been a shake up.
Jeremy Renner has replaced the increasingly busy Carell in the film, that has now added Julianne Moore to what is promising to be a particularly quirky effort. Penned by Dan Fogelman ("Crazy Stupid Love," "The Guilt Trip"), the story centers on a sixty-something Bruce Springsteen-type rocker (Pacino), who discovers a long unopened letter written by John Lennon to him when he was 19 years old, that inspires him to track him down his son who he has never met (Renner). The musician cleans up his act, and moves into a New Jersey hotel, when he strikes up the friendship of the manage (Moore).
Sounds perfectly indie-tacular, but Fogelman will be making his directorial debut with the film, and it's one he's apparently had close to his heart for a while. And the cast is certainly about as first-rate as it gets. This will mark Pacino's second rocker role in recent memory, as he's also playing Phil Spector in David Mamet's biopic, which is still waiting to see a release from HBO. But if big hair is required, Pacino can do it. [Deadline]