Considering that the majority of his best-known roles are in the somewhat-serious likes of “The Shawshank Redemption” and “Mystic River,” it’s easy to forget that Tim Robbins is a prodigious comic talent. At the start of his career, he appeared mostly in comedies, both good ones (“The Sure Thing,” “Bull Durham“) and bad ones (“Howard The Duck,” “Eric The Viking“). Even today, as an Oscar-winner, Robbins occasionally finds time to crop up in brief roles in gutbusters like “Anchorman” and this summer’s “Green Lantern.”
“Green Lantern” is deliberately funny, right?
But it’s been a while since Robbins stretched his funny bones in a more substantial manner, and it looks like he’s finally getting the opportunity to do, as The Hollywood Reporter brings news from Cannes that the actor has joined Mark Ruffalo in the cast of the sex addiction comedy “Thanks For Sharing.”
As we reported a few months back, the film marks a reteam between Ruffalo and Stuart Blumberg, the co-writer of last year’s Oscar-nominated hit “The Kids Are All Right,” as well as the terminally underrated teen comedy “The Girl Next Door,” who’s making his directorial debut on the project. The plot deals with a trio of characters in New York City undergoing the 12-step program to help them recover from sex addiction, and we assume that Robbins is taking one of the three, leading one more to be cast.
Gilbert Films, who also backed “The Kids Are All Right,” are producing, and its head honcho Gary Gilbert commented that “We are delighted to once again be working with Stuart as he makes his directorial debut on this very exciting project. On “The Kids Are All Right,” he clearly demonstrated an incredible talent for creating exceptional roles while telling original, important and thought-provoking stories.”
Edward Norton will also serve as an executive producer, as part of his partnership with Blumberg’s Class 5 Films (the duo worked together on Norton’s directorial debut “Keeping the Faith“), although it doesn’t seem at this point as though the actor will be appearing in the film. Still, it’s good to know there’s no bad blood between Norton and Ruffalo after the latter took over the role of Bruce Banner/The Hulk in “The Avengers” when the former fell out with Marvel’s top brass. Voltage Pictures are selling the picture internationally, and the project will presumably get underway once Ruffalo is done Hulking out.
