One of Billy Crudup's earliest roles was in the film Without Limits. In that movie, the actor played Steve Prefontaine, the world-famous runner who competed in the Olympics and had his life tragically cut short when he was killed in a car accident at the age of 24. Now Crudup has signed on to be in a new movie about running, but instead of being the athlete, this time he'll be playing the coach.
Both Billy Crudup and Douglas Booth have signed on to star in Life At These Speeds, a new film from director Leif Tilden and writer Marc Novak, according to Variety. Based on the novel by Jeremy Jackson, the movie tells the story of a young man (Booth) whose friends are killed in an accident. Needing a way to eliminate his grief, he begins to take up running and winds up becoming a world-class athlete. Sam Rockwell will serve as an executive producer on the project, only the second time that he's done so (the first was for the film The Winning Season). Tilden describes it as being a "moving film about hope and forgiveness." Booth will next be seen in the Lisa Azuelos-directed LOL with Miley Cyrus and Crudup will appear in the Ben Stiller-Vince Vaughn sci-fi comedy Neighborhood Watch this summer.
The cynic in me wants to say that this sounds like your run-of-the-mill weepie drama, but there is some considerable talent attached and Jeremy Jackson's book has won multiple awards (Jackson was also named on Barnes & Noble's Discover Great New Writers list). Let's cross our fingers that it's not emotionally manipulative and instead just tells a great story.
