Lucy Punch is one of those up-and-coming actresses coming over from the U.K. who you won't have heard of unless you read casting announcements in the trades, where she's seemingly showing up every week, snagging supporting roles in upcoming comedies like Dinner for Schmucks and Young Americans. And now she may have picked up the most coveted supporting role of all-- best friend in a romance.

I guess it's slightly unusual that the movie, Earthbound, is a drama rather than a comedy, but otherwise Punch seems to be following the Judy Greer route to success. THR reports that Punch will play the best friend to a character played by Kate Hudson, a woman who discovers she has cancer right before meeting a new guy (Gael Garcia-Bernal). The movie is directed by Nicole Kassell, who made the super-dark The Woodsman, so it's safe to assume we won't see Bride Wars-style hijinks from Hudson.

I've actually never managed to stop liking Hudson, despite all the awful things she's done to us since earning our trust with Almost Famous, so I'd like to see this movie mark a return to form-- or at least a return to tolerability. Come on, Lucy, help Kate out of her doldrums and maybe karma will pay you back.