Julia Roberts, Meryl Streep team for 'August'

5:17 PM PDT 9/30/2010 by Jay A. Fernandez, Gregg Kilday

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Film adapted from Tracy Letts' Pulitzer Prize-winning play

Julia Roberts and Meryl Streep are in negotiations to star in the feature adaptation of Tracy Letts' Pulitzer-winning play "August: Osage County." John Wells would direct the film from a screenplay written by Letts for the Weinstein Co.

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The movie would shoot in the summer.

The play, which premiered in 2007 at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company, went on to Broadway and London as it picked up the Pulitzer for drama and the Tony for best play. Harvey Weinstein has been developing a film version since 2007 and will produce with Jean Doumanian.

The play revolves around a family's buried pains and present conflicts after its patriarch dies. Streep would take the role of the drug-addicted matriarch; Roberts would play the eldest daughter, whose estranged husband has had an affair with one of his students.

The project, envisioned as a prestige property with awards potential, is part of the Weinstein Co.'s return-to-basics push, which has included a trio of pickups at the recent Toronto International Film Festival. Harvey Weinstein is overseeing "I Don't Know How She Does It," an adaptation of the Allison Pearson novel, with Sarah Jessica Parker, which is about to begin filming.

The Weinstein Co. is scheduled to release Wells' feature writing-directing debut, "The Company Men," on Oct. 22. Bob Weinstein recently wrapped production on "Scream 4" and is about to begin "Spy Kids 4" for the company's Dimension label.

Roberts most recently appeared in "Eat Pray Love" and "Valentine's Day." She next appears in Tom Hanks' "Larry Crowne" next year for Universal.

Streep most recently appeared in the 2009 comedies "It's Complicated" and "Julie & Julia."

Roberts, Streep and Wells are repped by CAA.