According to the New York Daily News, the casting for “August: Osage County” has been finished with the latest addition of Julianne Nicholson as Ivy Weston, as the film is about to start shooting next week. Tracy Letts’ sprawling family saga “August: Osage County” starts filming on Monday. Asked how he whittled down his 3 1/2 hour play for the big-screen, he told me: “I was doing rewrites a couple nights ago.” Asked about his role in picking the cast in the film directed by “ER” alum John Wells, Letts admitted it was minimal. “I don’t know how much they listen to me,” he said, adding that he’s pleased with the cast headed by Meryl Streep as Violet, the mad matriarch. Julia Roberts plays her eldest daughter, Barbara. “The ironic thing is that the more successful a play is the more likely it is that actors will be shunted aside for movie stars. That’s the way it is.” Playing Roberts’ sisters are Juliette Lewis as Karen, and Julianne Nicholson as Ivy, Letts told me. Letts was in Oklahoma on Monday for the first table read. “It is the only day in the entire process I’m able to be there. They asked lots of smart questions.”

According to Deadline, Ewan McGregor has been cast alongside Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts in August: Osage County, the movie adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer- and Tony-winning play that begins production September 24. The Weinstein Company made the announcement today. McGregor will play Bill Fordham, the estranged husband of Barbara (Roberts) and son-in-law of pill-popping matriarch Violet Weston (Streep). A college professor, he left his wife for one of his students but wants to be there for his family. His marriage is disintegrating and his patience is running thin. And according to Variety, Misty Upham has joined the cast as well. Upham will play a college student who comes to work for Streep’s character.

According to Variety, Academy Award-nominated actor, director and playwright Sam Shepard is currently in talks to star as Beverly Weston in the forthcoming film adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play “August: Osage County”. Shepard will reportedly star alongside previously announced Academy Award winners Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, as well as Tony nominee Margo Martindale, Abigail Breslin, Chris Cooper, Benedict Cumberbatch, Dermot Mulroney and Juliette Lewis. August: Osage County will be adapted by Letts, directed by John Wells and produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, along with Jean Doumanian, Steve Traxler and Clair Rudnick Polstein. Filming is set to begin in September.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Benedict Cumberbatch, the Emmy-nominated actor who stars on the BBC’s Sherlock, is in negotiations to join the cast of August: Osage County, the Weinstein Co.’s adaptation of the Pulitzer- and Tony-winning play. John Wells is directing the movie, which revolves around the women of a family whose lives have splintered in many directions until a crisis bring them back to their childhood home and to the dysfunctional woman (Streep) who raised them. Cumberbatch will act as the sensitive son of Streep’s sister, Mattie Fay Aiken (Margo Martindale). She castigates and belittles the man, who believes his father is Charlie Aiken (Chris Cooper), but the truth is he’s the product of an affair. The movie is eyeing a late-September start in Oklahoma. Thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.

Freihofer Casting is having another open call for extras for the film “August: Osage County” on Saturday and Sunday in Bartlesville. “We had a great turnout in Tulsa last Saturday, but we know many people were unable to attend,” casting director Chris Freihofer said in a news release from the Oklahoma Film and Music Office. “We want to open up the opportunity to as many people as possible,” he said. The film, starring Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, is set to shoot in Oklahoma beginning in late September. The open call will be from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday at Bartlesville High School, 1700 SE Hillcrest Drive. No appointments are necessary. Freihofer said the film will need various extras during the first few weeks of filming. “We do not need babies or toddlers, but we would like to add anyone else to our pool of possibilities,” Freihofer said. More information on the casting can be found here.

According to Deadline, Dermot Mulroney is set to star as sleazy businessman Steve in the forthcoming film adaptation of Tracy Letts’ Tony and Pulitzer Prize-winning play “August: Osage County”. Mulroney joins previously announced Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, as well as Margo Martindale, Abigail Breslin and Juliette Lewis. Adapted by Letts, directed by John Wells and produced by George Clooney and Grant Heslov, along with Jean Doumanian, Steve Traxler and Claire Rudnick Polstein, the film will go before the cameras in September. Meanwhile, a casting agency is looking for extras for the film that will be shot in northeastern Oklahoma starting in late September. Freihofer Casting is holding an open call for extras for “August: Osage County” on Saturday, August 18th from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Tulsa. The complete article on the casting can be found here with thanks to everybody for the heads-up!

According to Deadline, actress Margo Martindale has joined the cast of August: Osage County. The Emmy winner will play the jaded sister of Meryl Streep in the feature adaptation of Tracy Letts’ family clan play. Martindale’s character is Mattie Fae Aiken, the wife of Charles Aiken, played by Chris Cooper, and the sister of Violet Weston, played by Streep. The actress will start filming in Oklahoma on September 24. Martindale won a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 2011 for her role on FX’s Justified. Julia Roberts also stars in August: Osage County as Violet’s daughter Barbara. Abigail Breslin, playing Barbara’s daughter, recently joined the film, as did Juliette Lewis. John Wells is directing August: Osage County, Letts is writing the adaptation of his Pulitzer and Tony-winning play. This will be the fourth collaboration for Meryl and Margo – they worked together before on “Marvin’s Room” and “First Do No Harm” – and Margo was in “The Hours” as well, though they didn’t share scenes.

According once again to Deadline, Abigail Breslin is set to be Julia Roberts’ daughter in August: Osage County. The Oscar nominee will play Jean Fordham, the 14-year old angry and acerbic pot smoking child of Roberts’ Barbara character in the family drama. Roberts and Meryl Streep have already been cast in the film as has, as Deadline reported, Juliette Lewis. Based on Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer- and Tony-winning play, August: Osage County chronicles several summer weeks in the life of a severely dysfunctional Oklahoma family and the crisis that gathers them back together. John Wells is directing and Letts is writing the adaptation of his play. George Clooney and Grant Heslov are producing along with Jean Doumanian and Steve Traxler. The Weinstein Co. is financing and distributing August: Osage County. Filming is scheduled to start in the fall in Oklahoma. Thanks to Holly for the news.

According to Deadline, Juliette Lewis is in negotiations to join “August: Osage County”. The actress would play the role of Karen, the self-deluding youngest daughter, in the dark family comedy being financed and distributed by The Weinstein Company. Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts have already been cast in the film. Based on Tracy Letts’ Pulitzer- and Tony-winning play, August: Osage County tells the tale of a severely dysfunctional Oklahoma clan and the family crisis that brings them back together. Lewis’ involvement would mean Andrea Riseborough’s not playing the role of Karen. John Wells is directing; Letts is writing the adaptation of his play. George Clooney and Grant Heslov are producing along with Jean Doumanian and Steve Traxler. Claire Rudnick Polstein is executive producing. The movie is scheduled to start filming in September. Thanks to Glenn for the heads-up!

According to Variety, Chris Cooper is joining the cast of the Weinstein Company’s upcoming “August: Osage County”. Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts are already on board to star in the picture, which focuses on the Weston family, a group of people who have to get past their personal differences when the alcoholic husband of Streep’s character goes missing. Cooper has signed on to play Streep’s brother-in-law. With Streep and Roberts on board – and Andrea Riseborough being recently mentioned as well, Cooper’s casting is one more especially talented actor added to the growing list. Factor in the Pulitzer Prize winning source material (the play won the award for drama in 2008) and this project, which is expected to go into production this August, the film certainly has a lot going for it already. Thanks to Glenn for the heads-up.