CANNES, France (Hollywood Reporter) - Jeff Bridges, whose turn as the Dude in “The Big Lebowski” gave him instant cult status, has joined the cast of “How to Lose Friends and Alienate People” alongside Kirsten Dunst and Simon Pegg.
British journalist Young’s memoirs explore the period when he moved to New York to work at Vanity Fair while looking for love.
Producer Stephen Woolley said inking Bridges to play Vanity Fair editor Graydon Carter for the Robert B. Weide-directed adaptation of Toby Young’s comic novel was key to his plans for it. He said securing Bridges had been a long labor of love because of scheduling conflicts.
“(Bridges) brings gravitas to the part and the notion that (Carter) once would have been a rebel in his younger days,” Woolley said. “Casting Jeff as the Carter character will stop people asking all the time who got the part.”
He added that Gillian Anderson had signed on for a turn in the movie as a doyenne of New York public relations.
Bridges’ recent film work includes “Stick It,” “The Door in the Floor” and “Seabiscuit,” and he has a voice role in the upcoming animated feature “Surf’s Up.”
Reuters/Hollywood Reporter