We’ve got a few casting stories for you this evening. First up, Robert De Niro is in talks to play Bernie Madoff in HBO’s adaptation of Diane Henriques' New York Times bestseller The Wizard of Lies: Bernie Madoff and the Death of Trust. Deadline reports that the cable channel optioned the rights to the book that recounts Madoff’s $65 million Ponzi scheme and is now looking at De Niro to take on the lead role.

Additionally, Clive Owen and Uma Thurman are in talks to star in the drama Blind. The film tells the story of a novelist who is blinded in a car crash that kills his wife, only to be reinvigorated years later while he begins an affair with an indicted businessman’s neglected wife. Screen Daily reports that producer Mark Damon is currently shopping the film at Cannes. Hit the jump for the casting news of Jeremy Renner and Sarah Ramos, as well as a synopsis of the novel The Wizard of Lies.

Jeremy Renner is the top choice to star in You’re Not You opposite Hilary Swank. The Playlist reports that while nothing’s official, producers on the female-driven drama are keen on casting Renner. However, the guy’s currently dealing with three franchises (The Avengers, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and The Bourne Legacy), so he’s more than likely a little busy at the moment.

Finally, Parenthood star Sarah Ramos has joined the cast of the indie drama Predisposed. The film stars Jesse Eisenberg, Melissa Leo and Tracy Morgan. Directed by Phil Dorling, Predisposed tells the story of a drug addict mother (Leo) preparing to enter rehab and her piano-prodigy son (Eisenberg) who is about to go to Julliard. THR reports that Ramos will play Eisenberg’s love interest. Production is set to begin next month in New York City.

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Here’s the synopsis for The Wizard of Lies:

Who is Bernie Madoff, and how did he pull off the biggest Ponzi scheme in history?

These questions have fascinated people ever since the news broke about the respected New York financier who swindled his friends, relatives, and other investors out of $65 billion through a fraud that lasted for decades. Many have speculated about what might have happened or what must have happened, but no reporter has been able to get the full story--until now.

In The Wizard of Lies, Diana B. Henriques of The New York Times--who has led the paper's coverage of the Madoff scandal since the day the story broke--has written the definitive book on the man and his scheme, drawing on unprecedented access and more than one hundred interviews with people at all levels and on all sides of the crime, including Madoff's first interviews for publication since his arrest. Henriques also provides vivid details from the various lawsuits, government investigations, and court filings that will explode the myths that have come to surround the story.

A true-life financial thriller, The Wizard of Lies contrasts Madoff's remarkable rise on Wall Street, where he became one of the country’s most trusted and respected traders, with dramatic scenes from his accelerating slide toward self-destruction. It is also the most complete account of the heartbreaking personal disasters and landmark legal battles triggered by Madoff’s downfall--the suicides, business failures, fractured families, shuttered charities--and the clear lessons this timeless scandal offers to Washington, Wall Street, and Main Street. [Amazon].