The relationship drama Great Hope Springs has had Meryl Streep attached ever since we learned of its existence last summer, but every other major role on the film has changed in the meantime. Jeff Bridges was originally going to star opposite Streep as a husband and wife undergoing marital therapy, then James Gandolfini looked to be taking over the part; at the same time Philip Seymour Hoffman was eyeing the role of the therapist before dropping out, and Mike Nichols had been attached to direct before being replaced by The Devil Wears Prada helmet David Frankel.

With the role of the husband still uncast, Streep has at least found a therapist to help her through it. Deadline reports that Steve Carell has begun negotiations to play the Dr. Feld in the film, which will be his first project after leaving The Office this spring. The project sounds far more dramatic than most of Carell's work on the screen since Little Miss Sunshine, and it's clear that the guy is fielding a lot of offers as he prepares to go into screen work full-time. It will be interesting to see where he takes things, having suffered his share of big-budget comedy misfires-- Evan Almighty, Get Smart--but scoring a hit last spring with Date Night. No matter what he's trying to do, he can't really go wrong by working with Meryl Streep, especially when they inevitably find an equally high caliber actor to play the husband. Hey, given how long it's been since he had to drop out last summer, Bridges may come swinging back through the project after all.