With Pitt Gone, Universal Now Wooing Crowe to Come Out and Play

Universal Pictures spent Black Friday doing it's own kind of shopping. The studio made it clear over the holiday weekend that it wants Russell Crowe to replace Brad Pitt as the star of State of Play, after Mr. Pitt walked out on the picture Thanksgiving Eve over disagreements about the shooting script. According to Variety:

U claimed Pitt left a pay-or-play commitment and left open the option of suing him; Pitt's camp claimed he was essentially forced out of a movie he's been eager to topline for almost two years just because the studio wouldn't wait for a strike resolution and a rewrite to bring the script back to a place that made him comfortable.