PARK CITY, UT - JANUARY 21: Actor Paul Giamatti poses for a portrait during the 2011 Sundance Film Festival at The Samsung Galaxy Tab Lift on January 21, 2011 in Park City, Utah.
Larry Busacca/Getty Images for Sundance Film FestivalPaul Giamatti is circling Rock of Ages, New Line’s all-star adaptation of the Broadway musical.
New Line is in talks with the actor even as the studio meets Thursday with Amy Adams for another key part.
Adam Shankman is directing the pic, which already has Tom Cruise, Mary J. Blige and Julianne Hough warming up their pipes.
Ages tells the story, replete with hair-band music, of a small town girl (Hough) who comes to Hollywood for the 1980s music scene and is nearly destroyed by it. She catches the eye of Stacee Jaxx (Cruise), playing an arrogant rocker at the height of his career, ends up as a stripper in a club run by Blige but also finds true love at the end.
(The studio is conducting an open casting call to find an actor to play the girl’s love.)
Giamatti would play Paul Gill, a music exec brimming with L.A. charm. Adams could end up playing Constance Sack, a reporter from a magazine who intends to interview Jaxx.
Shankman’s Offspring Entertainment, Tobey Maguire‘s Maguire Entertainment and Corner Store Entertainment are producing. Garrett Grant is executive producing.
Production is shooting for a May start date.
Giamatti, repped by UTA and Kipperman Management, won a Golden Globe for his recent performance in Barney’s Version and stars in Win Win, Tom McCarthy’s latest movie that opens today.
Adams, who is coming off an Oscar nomination for The Fighter, showed her vocal prowess in Disney’s Enchanted. She also sings in Disney’s upcoming Muppets movie.
