Things aren't starting out well for State of Play. First Brad Pitt dropped out, now Edward Norton is following suit.
Pitt departed the film just before Thanksgiving over script issues, which has left Universal quite displeased, and was replaced by Russell Crowe.
However, the official line is that Norton is dropping out over scheduling troubles. You see, when Crowe signed on, production got bumped to January, which evidently conflicted with Norton's plans to play the lead(s) in the comedy Leaves of Grass. Now Ben Affleck is in talks to replace Norton as the politician caught in a murder conspiracy.
Quite a lot of hullabaloo considering filming hasn't even started yet. Not what one calls a 'good omen.'
Source: Variety.