Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix and Jeremy Renner Join James Gray’s LOW LIFE

Writer/director James Gray (We Own the Night) is currently putting together the cast for his next film, Low Life. Marion Cotillard and Joaquin Phoenix are set to star, with Jeremy Renner in negotiations to join the film as well, presumably because he wasn’t too busy already. Deadline reports that the story centers on a woman (Cotillard) who immigrates to America from Poland. During her journey to Ellis Island, she is forced to trade sexual favors for medicine and food to help her ailing sister, then once she arrives in America she falls victim to “a sleazebag” (Phoenix) who advises her to become a prostitute.

Renner is in talks to play Phoenix’s cousin, a charming magician who falls for Cotillard’s character. Filming is poised to begin next year. This marks a comeback of sorts for Phoenix following his sabbatical as a hobo, and it will be his fourth collaboration with Gray. He’s also set to star in Paul Thomas Anderson’s untitled religious drama. Cotillard is gearing up to shoot The Dark Knight Rises, and Renner is currently filming The Avengers before he moves on to The Bourne Legacy later this summer.