Crowe Flies to Replace Brad Pitt as Reporter in New Flick

By: E&P Staff It's not every year that your basic anti-glamorous, nut-and-bolts newspaper reporter gets to be represented on the silver screen by a Brad Pitt. Imagine the concern in newsrooms around the country -- at least in the male half -- after we reported last week that Pitt was dropping out of the upcoming flick "State of Play."

So relax. Pitt has just been replaced by Russell Crowe. Journos who think of themselves as modern day gladiators should take heart.

Pitt had quit over concerns about the script in wake of the writer's strike.

The character in question is named Cal McCaffrey, a journalist whose investigation into a political researcher's death leads him to a conspiracy. It's a remake of a BBC series, written by Paul Abbott and directed by Kevin Macdonald.

Other stars include Helen Mirren, Edward Norton, and Robin Wright Penn.