There are two movies living inside Nicolas Jarecki‘s Arbitrage.  Both films are about justice and a wealthy man’s struggle to elude it.  They both appeal to our hope that one day the truth will out and that no one can hide their dark secrets forever no matter how desperately they might try.  Both stories transcend class because we can all relate to a character who will stop at nothing when he’s at risk of losing everything.  But only one story helps Arbitrage stand apart by intelligently showcasing a crime we rarely see depicted in film and embracing the rich drama of family betrayal.  The other story is a dull episode of Law & Order.

Tim Roth is the latest actor to join the cast of writer/director Nicholas Jarecki’s indie drama Arbitrage. The film stars Richard Gere stars as “a troubled hedge fund magnate desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire makes an error that forces him to turn to an unlikely person for help.” Variety reports that Roth will play a detective who’s investigating a murder.

The film now boasts an impressive cast that includes Gere, Susan Sarandon, Eva Green, Aubrey Graham (also known as rapper Drake), and Sundance darling Brit Marling. Jarecki, who helmed the documentary The Outsider, is the brother of filmmakers Andrew and Eugene (Capturing the Friedmans). The cast that he’s assembled is intriguing, especially Marling, who was a breakout hit at this year’s Sundance Film Festival having co-written and starred in two films that were featured: Another Earth and Sound of My Voice. Arbitrage is set to start filming this month in New York City.

We have a couple of quick casting stories for you this afternoon.  One of the break-out stars from this year’s indie film scene is actress Brit Marling.  She has played critically acclaimed roles in Zal Batmanglij’s Sound of My Voice and Mike Cahill’s Another Earth and now she tells Movieline that she’ll co-star in Nicholas Jarecki’s Arbitrage.  The film stars Richard Gere stars as “a troubled hedge fund magnate desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire makes an error that forces him to turn to an unlikely person for help.”  The film also stars Eva Green and Susan Sarandon.  Filming is expected to begin in April.  Marling, who co-wrote Another Earth and Sound of My Voice, also says she plans to reunite with Batmanglij and Cahill for future projects.

Hit the jump for casting news regarding Gabriele Muccino’s Playing the Field.

We have two pieces of casting news for you this afternoon.  First up, Variety reports that Diane Kruger and Lea Seydoux (Robin Hood) have joined the French period drama Les Adieux a la reine. The film is based on the novel by Chantal Thomas and centers on “the three decisive days of the French Revolution in July 1789, told from the point of view of Marie Antoinette’s reader.”  Kruger will play Antoinette in the film, which also stars Gerard Depardieu and Noe­mie Lovski (The French Kissers).  Benoit Jacquot will direct.

Hit the jump for news on Richard Gere joining Arbitrage.

Teen-actor-turned-hip-hop-star Drake may soon be returning to his former profession.  The former Degrassi: The Next Generation star is currently in talks to join writer/director Nicholas Jarecki’s (The Informers) financial thriller Arbitrage.  If the deal goes through, Drake (whose full name is Aubrey Drake Graham) would join a solid cast that already features Eva Green and Susan Sarandon.

According to TheWrap, Arbitrage will center on a hedge fund magnate who is “desperate to complete the sale of his shady trading empire before his fraud is revealed.”  As the story goes, an unexpected turn of events causes him to look for help from an unlikely source.  The film is currently scheduled to begin shooting this March in New York.  As for Drake, he has a previous film credit due to a minor role in 2007′s Charlie Bartlett.  [Update: This story has been revised to reflect our understanding that Al Pacino is no longer attached to star. ]

Al Pacino, Susan Sarandon, and Eva Green have signed on to star in the financial thriller Arbitrage, written and directed by Nicholas Jarecki (The Informers).  Here’s the outline courtesy of Variety:

“Arbitrage stars Pacino as a hedge fund magnate who is in over his head and desperate to complete the sale of his trading empire to a major bank before his fraud is revealed. But an unexpected, bloody error forces him to turn to the most unlikely corner for help.”

“Bloody” in the British expletive sense (i.e. bloody hell!)?  Or in the spilling of bodily fluid (i.e. bloody knife)?  Either’s fine by me: I’m in it for the economic theory.

Pacino will next be seen in the police thriller Son of No One and (for some reason) the Adam Sandler comedy Jack & Jill, with a starring turn in David Mamet’s Phil Spector biopic on the horizon at HBO.  Sarandon has lined up a role in the Duplass brothers’ stoner comedy Jeff Who Lives at Home.  Green, meanwhile, is filming the first season of the Starz period epic Camelot.