Tate Taylor's The Help was filled with spectacular performances, but Octavia Spencer was simply perfect as the vengeful Minny Jackson. The actress is already being suggested for a Best Supporting Actress nomination at the next Academy Awards and she's even picked up a new role since, now set to star in James Ponsoldt's new film Smashed. With the amount of buzz she's getting, however, it would be foolish if she didn't add as many upcoming projects as she could to her schedule, and now she's added yet another new movie.
Spencer is now in early talks to star alongside Julianne Hough and Russell Brand in Diablo Cody's untitled directorial debut, according to Variety. Formally titled Lamb of God, the movie is about a sheltered young girl who moves to Vegas after losing her faith following a plane crash. There she finds an "unlikely companion who inadvertently helps her find her true self" (Brand). Spencer will play a dealer at the casino where Brand's character works. The project is being produced by Mandate Pictures and is scheduled to go into production in the spring. Cody's next work, the Jason Reitman-directed Young Adult, arrives in theaters on December 16th.
Hopefully this is a much bigger role than it sounds like. While one can probably imagine that the relationship between Hough and Brand will take center stage in the film, a talented actress like Spencer shouldn't just be relegated to background. In addition to Smashed and the Diablo Cody project, Spencer has also wrapped production on the comedy Girls! Girls! Girls!, Del Shores' The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife, and Eshom and Ian Nelms' Lost on Purpose.
