Steve Carell and James Gandolfini have just been cast to star in the HBO movie, Bone Wars, where they will be portraying two paleontologists who were once engaged in a heated competition to discover dinosaur fossils.  Known also as The Great Dinosaur Rush, the feud not only led to one of the greatest discoveries of new dinosaur species but also left the two men ruined after they spent their own fortune to fund the search.  Hit the jump for more.

From Deadline comes news that Carell will take on the role of Edward Drinker Cope of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, while Gandolfini will portray his nemesis, Othniel Charles Marsh of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale.  The film is said to be going for a comedic approach while revealing the historical decade-long rivalry between the two paleontologists.  Bone Wars will be executive produced by Carell and Gandolfini in conjunction with Alexandra Ryan of Attaboy Productions and Thom Hinkle of Carousel Television.  A writer is yet to be found to pen the project and a production date is yet to be announced.

Steve Carell is currently filming his latest project, Anchorman: The Legend Continues, while James Gandolfini is busy working on the crime drama Animal Rescue with Tom Hardy.  You can catch both Carell and Gandolfini in theaters now in The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, also starring Jim Carrey and Steve Buscemi (Boardwalk Empire).