Steve Carell is no doubt enjoying his post-'The Office' freedom right now that's allowing him to say yes to many scripts which previously he would have had to say no. We heard of his deal that will see him act opposite the peerless Meryl Streep in the forthcoming
Great Hope Springs just last week and today that's followed up with
an announcement from Mandate that Carell will lead
Dogs of Babel. Based on the 2003 book by Carolyn Parkhurst, the story follows a linguistics professor who trains his family dog to talk so she can explain what happened to his dead wife, who was found deceased in the backyard one day, with the dog the only witness! Hollywood have been trying to crack Dogs of Babel since it's quirky tale first found an audience and at one point Todd Phillips was due to direct a version when it was setup at Focus. We can kinda picture a sweet and tear-jerking dramedy that could come from this premise - a kind of "grieving widower who bonds with his dog to get over the accident that caused his wife's death" film and we all know there's few better in this fare than Carell, who effectively played a grieving dad in Dan in Real Life. There'll be tears, empathy and some laughs and we can see why Carell, who played a 40 Year Old Virgin and made it work, would be drawn to it. Few actors could probably get away with talking to a dog and not make it look daft, but we think Carell can do it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ASiWtnpkAI The script comes from
Jamie Linden (Dear John) and as Mandate have announced the movie in a press release today and with Great Hope Springs not filming till August, there's a huge chance this one will will go before camera's soon as Carell's next film. A director is currently being sought but perhaps it could end up back with Irish theatre helmer
John Crowley, the last director attached to the project and who most recently made the modest Brit emotional drama Is Anybody There? with Michael Caine.