'A Normal Heart': Alec Baldwin, Julia Roberts Join Ryan Murphy Film

Alec Baldwin and Julia Roberts have signed on to star in "A Normal Heart," a big screen adaptation of the Tony-winning stage show about the early days of the HIV/AIDS epidemic, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The film, being put together by "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy, follows the rise of the disease in the 1980s, when it spread rapidly through New York's gay community. An autobiographical tale written by Larry Kramer, the play debuted off-Broadway in 1985, was revived in 2004 in Los Angeles and London, and debuted on Broadway in 2011.

Mark Ruffalo, who had already signed on to star, will play Ned Weeks, who sounds the alarm about the epidemic in its early days. Baldwin will play his brother, while Roberts will play the doctor who understands the seriousness of the mystery sickness.

"White Collar" star Matt Bomer and "The Big Bang Theory" Emmy-winner Jim Parsons have also signed on; Bomer will play Weeks' journalist boyfriend, while Parsons, who appeared in the Broadway version, will play a southern gay activist.

The Broadway production won Best Revival, as well as Best Performance awards for Ellen Barkin and John Benjamin Hickey. Barkin played the role that Roberts will be taking on on the big screen.

This is the latest in a growing series of star-studded projects that tackle quite directly issues dealing with the gay community and the discrimination it often faces. Dustin Lance Black wrote the play "8," a stage dramatization of the California trial that overturned gay marriage ban Proposition 8; after a staging in New York, a Los Angeles-set staging featuring George Clooney is set to bow in March and there will be various national performances happening throughout the year, as well.

Murphy, meanwhile, has been at the forefront of bringing issues of gay equality into the national conversation; his teen musical "Glee" features several gay characters and story lines, and "American Horror Story" tackles those subjects as well.

Baldwin has plenty of stage experience; he earned a Tony nomination for his turn as Stanley Kowalski in the 1995 staging of "A Streetcar Named Desire," as well as an Emmy nomination for the televised production. He's also starred in "Macbeth" at the Public theater; led the cast in a 2004 revival of "Twentieth Century"; and featured in a Long Island-staged version of "Equus, amongst other roles. He'll also star in the big screen adaptation of the musical "Rock of Ages."

Roberts starred in Murphy's 2010 film "Eat Pray Love."

This is another big screen move for Bomer, who also co-stars in Steven Soderbergh's upcoming male stripper film, "Magic Mike."

For more on the film, click over to The Hollywood Reporter.

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/21/a-normal-heart-alec-baldwin-julia-roberts_n_1220660.html

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