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Cameron Diaz's Bad Teacher has found the apple of her character'' scheming eye as Justin Timberlake has been cast in the lead male role.  Directed by Jake Kasdan (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story), Bad Teacher centers on a "foul-mouthed, gold-digging seventh-grade teacher who, after being dumped by her boyfriend, sets her sights on a colleague (Lucy Punch) who is dating a substitute teacher, who also is the scion of a watch fortune."  According to Sony Pictures' press release Timberlake is the watch fortune scion (which is one of the under-utilized jobs in many role-playing games).

Along with Timberlake Molly Shannon and Eric Stonestreet (who plays Cameron Tucker on the hilarious Modern Family) are also joining the cast, which also includes (as we reported last month) Jason Segel as the school's gym teacher and John Michael Higgins as the principal.

Filming begins this month in Los Angeles.  Hit the jump for the full press release.

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Here's the full press release regarding Timberlake's casting:

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE JOINS CAST OF JAKE KASDAN'S "BAD TEACHER"

Molly Shannon and Eric Stonestreet Also Join New Comedy

CULVER CITY, Calif., March 2, 2010 - Justin Timberlake has joined the cast of  Columbia Pictures' comedy Bad Teacher starring along with Cameron Diaz, Jason Segel, and Lucy Punch, it was announced today by Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach, presidents of Columbia Pictures.  Eric Stonestreet from "Modern Family" and Molly Shannon have also joined the cast of the comedy, which centers on an irreverent middle school teacher.  Directed by Jake Kasdan and written by Lee Eisenberg & Gene Stupnitsky, the film is produced by Mosaic's Jimmy Miller and begins production later this month.

Commenting on the announcement, Belgrad said, "With Justin, Molly and Eric, joining Cameron, Jason, Lucy and the rest of this dream comedy cast, we couldn't be more excited about this movie. We love what we've seen of Justin's performance in David Fincher's The Social Network and he is a perfect match for this role."

Justin Timberlake will play a key role as a substitute teacher, the scion of a watch fortune.

The comedy is being overseen at Columbia by Belgrad and Jonathan Kadin. For film related endeavors, Timberlake is represented by Rick Yorn, Jennifer Davisson Killoran, WME and Ziffren Brittenham LLP.

JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE has gained great acclaim for his acting roles.  He has won two Emmy Awards related to appearances on "Saturday Night Live" including Outstanding Music and Lyrics for the highly memorable SNL Digital Short "Dick in a Box."  He will next star in Columbia Pictures' The Social Network for director David Fincher as Sean Parker, the co-founder of Napster.  Timberlake has also starred in such films as the crime drama Alpha Dog, Black Snake Moan, and Southland Tales. He also voiced a starring role in the animated hit Shrek the Third.

MOLLY SHANNON spent six seasons as a member of the repertory company on "Saturday Night Live," primarily known for the eclectic characters she created, such as Mary Katherine Gallagher. She is also praised for her parodies of Courtney Love, Liza Minnelli, Monica Lewinsky and Meredith Vieira.  She was most recently seen in the NBC comedy "Kath & Kim" and Lifetime's movie "More of Me," starring opposite Steven Weber.  Her feature film credits include a moving performance in Mike White's Year of the Dog, as well as Gray Matters, Shut Up & Sing, Evan Almighty, Little Man, Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, Superstar (portraying everybody's favorite Catholic schoolgirl, Mary Katherine Gallagher, a character she created on "Saturday Night Live"), A Night at the Roxbury, Analyze This, and The Santa Clause 2, among others.  On television, Shannon was seen opposite Christopher MacDonald and Jason Schwartzman in the offbeat comedy series, "Cracking Up." She also starred in the USA Network movie, "12 Days of Christmas Eve" and appeared in the remake of the classic musical, "The Music Man," co-starring Matthew Broderick and Kristen Chenoweth. Other television series credits include multiple guest appearances on "Will & Grace" and "Sex and the City," among many others.

ERIC STONESTREET may currently be seen playing Cameron Tucker on the hit television series "Modern Family."  After spending two years working in television commercials and studying with both IO Chicago and The Second City in Chicago, Stonetreet headed west, where he continued working in commercials and started to build an impressive resume creating memorable characters on shows including: "Dharma & Greg," "Malcolm in the Middle," "Party of Five," "Spin City," "ER," "The West Wing," "American Dad," "Providence," "Close To Home," "Crossing Jordan," "Bones," and, most recently, "The Mentalist," "N.C.I.S.," "Nip/Tuck," and "Pushing Daisies."  His most notable character is from his recurring turn as Ronnie Litre, the questionable documents tech, on the original "CSI." Eric played series regular Andrew Schoch opposite Robert Forster and Mathew Lillard in the Fox pilot "13 Graves." His film credits include Almost Famous and IFC's Girls Will Be Girls.

About Sony Pictures Entertainment

Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) is a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America (SCA), a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Sony Corporation. SPE's global operations encompass motion picture production and distribution; television production and distribution; digital content creation and distribution; worldwide channel investments; home entertainment acquisition and distribution; operation of studio facilities; development of new entertainment products, services and technologies; and distribution of filmed entertainment in more than 100 countries. Sony Pictures Entertainment can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.sonypictures.com.

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