'The Silver Linings Playbook': David O. Russell, Mark Wahlberg Testing Big Name Actresses For Film

Call it an ugly battle between some very beautiful people.

David O. Russell and Mark Wahlberg, who teamed for the Oscar-winning film, "The Fighter" last winter, are preparing two more films together. One is a sequel to "The Fighter," and the other is a film about a depressed man who leaves a mental institution in search of the little things in life.

Titled, "The Silver Linings Playbook," it will feature Mark Walhberg as the lead, with a gigantic cast of A-list actresses battling it out for the co-star role.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Russell is screen testing a veritable dream list of stars, with Elizabeth Banks, Kirsten Dunst, Blake Lively, Rooney Mara, Rachel McAdams, Andrea Riseborough and Olivia Wilde, as well as potentially a few others.

Interestingly, Amy Adams, who nabbed an Oscar nomination for her role in "The Fighter," is not on that list -- perhaps because she's due to star in Paul Thomas Anderson's film, "The Master."

Any of those actresses would be huge gets, as each of them is on the way to topline status. Banks will co-star in "Our Idiot Brother" later this summer, and is filming a huge part in "The Hunger Games"; Lively is still on "Gossip Girl" and is now starring opposite Ryan Reynolds in "The Green Lantern"; Rooney Mara is taking lead in "The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"; Rachel McAdams just featured in the hit Woody Allen film, "Midnight In Paris"; Dunst just won Best Actress at Cannes; and Olivia Wilde, still on "House," is featuring next month in "Cowboys & Aliens."

For more, click over to The Hollywood Reporter.

Comments

[mombabytiger]

02:43 AM on 06/28/2011

Those women all look alike to me and I don't know who 3 of them are. What does the "B" list look like?

[Ina Dolce]

11:06 PM on 06/27/2011

Rachel McAdams is so good in Midnight in Paris.

[Playlist]

04:53 PM on 06/27/2011

Mark Wahlberg..can NOT Act

[cira23]

10:43 PM on 06/26/2011

Rachel McAdams is so talented. She's one of the only actresses, besides Amy Adams, Emily Blunt, and Keira Knightley, that I could watch in anything.

[ki re]

05:41 PM on 06/26/2011

Since when is Blake Lively an A List actress? Just because she starred in the Green Lanturn she is suddenly a big time star. I dont think so.

[sourpatch575]

05:09 PM on 06/26/2011

Rachel McAdams or Elizabeth Banks FTWW! :D

[wonketteRAWKS]

12:29 PM on 06/26/2011

A-List? Pushing that a little, aren't ya?

[DanaDane504]

11:52 AM on 06/26/2011

banks is who i choose

[Rose Trinity]

10:20 PM on 06/25/2011

Rachel McAdams, is the only one in the list I would consider an A list actress she's talented, classy and absolutely gorgeous!

[gingerland62]

09:18 PM on 06/25/2011

These are the American A-list actresses! Yikes, were in some kind of actress slump here. Blake Lively? Really? Maybe if horny film directors actually picked women based on acting ability we'd have a more diverse group of women. Do brunettes exist in Hollywood? remember when our A-list actresses were women like Meryl Streep, Glen Close, Katherine Hepburn, Liz Taylor, Diane Keaton, and Grace Kelly,
The entire culture is dumbing down, looks and celebrity are more important than the actual craft, after all we are talking about a "Marky Mark" production-real talent there too!

[littlestar]

12:07 AM on 06/28/2011

Rachel McAdams is Canadian.

[syds180turn]

05:11 PM on 06/25/2011

In response to "Hollywood doesn't like diversity...because the audiences don't"...is partly true. However, as in Avatar, Die Another Day, as well as European TV and movies, Americans need to understand that there is life and diversity outside of the U.S. The younger the audience, it has been asked, tested and proven that they don't care...they like whatever movie they like. It only matters to a certain demographic and older studio heads. When Hollywood rids themselves of the old guard and firmly plants itself into the 21st century, people will be cast regardless of age, race, gender or any other category that keeps talented people from pursuing their Art.
European audiences are far more accepting of difference than American audiences that's why you see tons of different races in film and TV...in leading roles. Hollywood never adapts European TV shows nor films with a diverse cast. They only buy the rights to the ones that are completely Caucasian. For example, Footballers Wives...the show had something for everyone. When they tried to adapt that British TV show for American audiences, it didn't see the light of day. It wouldn't work because they couldn't justify American football players and their wives being totally Caucasian. It's sad but true. This movie and others like it even discriminates again Caucasians...they have to be Blond, skinny and young. That leaves out a ton of people who wouldn't even be considered for the role.

[Said One]

10:10 AM on 06/26/2011

Thats such nonsense - the people on the world's top box office floppers list:

Nicole Kidman
Brad Pitt etc
If it were really all about money then these two would never get funding from the movie studios since audiences clearly did not accept their movies etc etc - the reason why is studio's heads with prejudice.

The movie Blade made tons of money and featured a black guy in a non-stereotypical role but do you think Brad Grey would ever fund lets say Rosario Dawson to do a similar type of role? No and its not because audiences won't accept it

[LiberalLee]

01:49 PM on 06/26/2011

How did I know you be here posting something nasty about Pitt?
Easy.
Your precious girlie didn't make the A list of ACTRESSES.
He's listed in Forbes as #10 on the earnings list.
Hardly a flopper,

[LiberalLee]

02:03 PM on 06/26/2011

And Blade?
You're holding up Blade as great cinema? I like Wesley Snipes as much as the next person, but seriously? And you couldn't even think of his name... tch, tch, tch. " it featured a black guy"
You ARE still just a kid aren't you?

[Elle418]

12:37 PM on 06/25/2011

If they wanted to go younger (as in NOT Angelina Jolie, Julia Roberts, among others that have been listed) how about Michelle Williams? Or Zoe Dechanel? Jennifer Lawrence or Emma Stone if you wanted to up-and-coming.
I realize I'm the only one here on Blake Lively's side (is it because she's on Gossip Girl that everyone hates her? Do the comic book geeks just not see her as whomever she played in the Green Lantern? Or has no one seen The Town?). But can we PLEASE let Kirsten Dunst go? The last movie she was a good actress in was Interview with a Vampire and her last movie worth seeing was Virgin Suicides despite her cheesy acting...I feel like she's on a list with Kate Bosworth.
I like McAdams and Lively and especially Elisabeth Banks... I just don't like using "A-list" for anyone who hasn't made a reality show yet.

[PatrickNM]

11:34 AM on 06/25/2011

Keira Knightley, Natalie Portman, Cate Blanchette, Angelina Jolie, Penelope Cruz are A list.
McAdams and Dunst are close. These are B and C list

[Said One]

10:08 AM on 06/26/2011

Natalie Portman is the only A-list actress on your list - A-list also refers to popularity. Penelope is C list and Blanchette while a favorite of the critics is not really a fan favorite

[PatrickNM]

01:32 PM on 06/26/2011

oh beat me with a stick. I was thinking talent and popularity among film fans, not people who text and talk on cell phones during movies nor fanboys who wait five days in line to get the first tickets for Star Wars

[LiberalLee]

01:56 PM on 06/26/2011

People here might not know you're the all time expert on who's talented and who's not.

Or more obviously, they may not care what you think and have their own opinions. Or even more obviously, they may think, "Oh, it's Said One, Aniston's uber-fan. Ignore it."

[flyinskyler]

08:58 PM on 06/24/2011

Kirsten Dunst is the only actress in this group that I would consider A list.

[AverageJose007]

08:31 AM on 06/26/2011

ditto

[LMPE]

06:50 PM on 06/24/2011

Why not have them duke it out like characters in "The Fighter"?