Casting Call: George Clooney Ready To ‘Stare At Goats’

George Clooney thinks it’s polite to “Stare.” Ben Barnes learns a tough lesson in vanity. And, Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon are bound for “Greatness.” It’s all in the latest edition of the Access Hollywood Casting Call…

George Clooney has signed on to star in “Men Who Stare at Goats,” reports Variety.

The film is an adaptation of British journalist Jon Ronson’s conspiracy theorist book about the U.S. Army’s First Earth Battalion, a unit which was designed to have supernatural powers.

The title refers to the idea that one could kill a goat just by staring at it.

The film will be directed by Clooney’s restaurant business partner/fellow actor Grant Heslov, who co-owns the famed Smoke House with Clooney in Burbank, Calif.

Clooney, who was last seen in “Leatherheads,” next appears on the big screen alongside Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton and John Malkovich in the Coen brothers’ “Burn After Reading.”

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Ben Barnes has been cast as the iconic character Dorian Gray in a new big screen adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s novel, “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” per The Hollywood Reporter.

Shooting is slated to begin in late July.

Barnes currently stars in “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian,” which debuted atop the box office over the weekend.

Wilde’s legendary gothic horror novel, first published in 1890, tells the story of a young man captivated by his own beauty. One day realizing his beauty will fade, Dorian wishes a portrait of him would age, instead of himself.

While his wish is fulfilled, it also comes with unforeseen consequences.

No word yet on a possible release date.

Next up for Barnes is the romantic comedy “Easy Virtue,” alongside Jessica Biel and Colin Firth. He has also signed on for the next installment in the “Narnia” franchise, “The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.”

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Pierce Brosnan and Susan Sarandon are set to star in “The Greatest,” reports Variety.

In the drama, the duo will play grieving parents of a young girl who brings chaos to a family that is trying to get over the loss of a teenage son.

“Greatest” marks the directorial debut of Shana Feste, who is also the movie’s screenwriter.

Brosnan will next be seen in the upcoming Broadway adaptation “Mamma Mia!,” and is set to reprise the title role in “The Thomas Crown Affair 2.”

Sarandon, who currently appears in “Speed Racer,” just finished shooting the Peter Jackson-directed “The Lovely Bones.”