Earlier this year Zach Galifianakis signed up to star in the gay rights drama Freeheld. However a slight slip in the start of shooting has forced him to leave. They’ve found a strong replacement though, as Steve Carell has stepped into the breach, according to Deadline.
Julianne Moore and Ellen Page are still onboard though. Freeheld is based on a 2007 Best Documentary Short winner of the same name, about a landmark LGBT equality case.
Page is set to play mechanic Stacie Andree, who was denied the pension benefits of her longtime partner and New Jersey police detective Laurel Hester (Julianne Moore), when the latter became terminally ill. While Hester’s detective partner, Dane Wells, was conservative and initially surprised to learn of Hester’s sexual orientation, he stepped up to become the leader in the fight for Laurel’s rights to assign her benefits to Andree.
Galifianakis is set to be Steven Goldstein, a Garden State Equality activist who played an important role in the case.
Philadephia screenwriter Ron Nyswaner has come up with the script, while Peter Sollett (Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist) will direct.
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