Ed Harris Replacing Liam Neeson in WHAT’S WRONG WITH VIRGINIA; Emma Roberts and Amy Madigan to Co-Star with Jennifer Connelly

I can’t think of a bad instance of Ed Harris stepping into replace an actor in an upcoming movie.  So while Liam Neeson-who I think is fantastic-leaving Dustin Lance Black’s “What’s Wrong With Virginia” is disappointing, I have no problem with Ed Harris playing his role.  If Robert Downey Jr., George Clooney, or Dame Judi Dench want to step down from a role, I got just the guy: Ed Harris.

Hit the jump to find out about other actors who are not Ed Harris joining “Virginia” and wonder what these actors found appealing about the story.

Jennifer Connolly is already on board the project and she’ll be joined not only by Harris but by Emma Roberts and Amy Madigan as well.  So you’ve got a solid cast and I’m sure the story was partially what drew their attention since Black received such acclaim for his “Milk” script.  Here’s Variety’s plot synopsis:

Harris plays the role of a sheriff whose state senate bid is jeopardized when his daughter begins to date the son of a psychologically disturbed woman (Connelly) with whom the sheriff has engaged in a two-decade affair.

I’m pretty sure the “state senate bid” should be the least of the sheriff’s concern when his daughter might be having half-incest with the spawn of the crazy pile he’s stuck with for two decades.  We all have skeletons in our closet but it’s much harder to hide them when they’re the skeletons the size of giraffes.  And if Harris’ character actually had giraffe skeletons stashed in his closet that wouldn’t be his biggest problem.