Billy Crudup falls for Mandy Moore

By Joshua Tyler Nov 22, 2005, 17:19 GMT

Moore in her first starring role as Jamie in \'A Walk to Remember\'

Billy Crudup is set to fall for Mandy Moore in the upcoming romantic comedy ‘Dedication’.

According to Variety, they’ll star along with Harvey Keitel, Mia Farrow, and Bob Balaban in the story of a children’s book writer (Crudup) forced to collaborate with a young female illustrator (Moore) after his usual writing partner (Keitel) dies. In the mix is a domineering mother, played by Mia Farrow.

The movie is being directed by first time helmer Justin Theroux. He may be new at directing, but he’s been kicking around Hollywood for awhile. Justin has had smaller roles in dozens of major films like ‘American Psycho’, ‘Mullholland Drive’, ‘Charlie’s Angels Full Throttle’, ‘Zoolander’, and most recently ‘The Baxter’.

For Mandy Moore, this is another step in her continuing shift away from music and into legitimate acting. She’s showed promise in each of her outings so far, even if the movies she’s been in haven’t been exactly spectacular. Mandy’s going full force into acting now, and her schedule is loaded down with upcoming projects. She’s just finished filming ‘Southland Tales’ with cult-favorite director Richard Kelly, and in addition to ‘Dedication’ she’s slated to star in ‘Safety Glass’ and ‘Personal Shopping’.

Billy Crudup has been taking it a little easier. Besides ‘Dedication’ the only other film on his radar is a role in the star laden Tom Cruise actioner ‘Mission Impossible III’.

‘Dedication’ starts shooting, based on a script written by Justin Theroux and David Bromberg, some time in 2006.