It's been awhile since we had a chat about this gambling-drama. But as we said, we're definitely interested in the upcoming Stephen Frears‘s project titled Lay The Favorite, so here we are for a little casting update!
According to the latest reports, Vince Vaughn is the latest name that will join the cast which already includes Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Justin Timberlake and Joshua Jackson.
Frears will direct from a script by D.V. DeVincentis, and as you all remember, the script is actually based on the memoir of Beth Raymer.
Rebecca Hall plays Raymer, who chronicled her years working in the world of Vegas sports gambling, Bruce Willis plays Raymer's mentor Dink Heimowitz, character described as “lovable, irascible, and big-bellied” while Catherine Zeta-Jones is set to star as Heimowitz' wife.
Now we have Vaughn set to play Rosie, a Long Island bookie who employed Raymer.
Let us remind you once again how the story goes: “It's hard not to like the breezy, ingenuous voice of this plucky protagonist who proves she's game for any kind of new experience. Hailing from Ohio, Raymer eventually made her way to Las Vegas when she was 24 and found a lucrative position assisting a Queens-born, Stuyvesant High School-educated gambling operator, Dink Heimowitz.
The lovable, irascible, big-bellied Dinky had shucked life as a bookmaker back in New York, having run into trouble, for professional sports gambling; he put Raymer and the other motley staff on the phones setting up bets for all kinds of sports matchups (baseball, football, horse racing, hockey) in order to find a line that gave him an edge. Dinky referred Raymer to a high-flying bookie on Long Island, Bernard Rose, who had his own offshore network.
As girl Friday Raymer fetched doughnuts, placed calls, and acted as a runner, making wads of dough, but mostly Raymer cherished working among the assortment of gambling types, the low-end hustlers and misfits she chronicles with evident tenderness.”
Stay tuned for more updates on this one!