Just when things were looking up for "State of Play", what with the arrival of Russell Crowe on to the scene after Brad Pitt's departure, it has been reported that Edward Norton has walked away from the project as well, following in the footsteps of his "Fight Club" co-star.
The story goes that Universal were so incensed with Pitt's withdrawal, just last month, that the studio threatened legal action but it would seem that the hold-up in the production has had a dire knock-on effect for Norton whose schedule quickly became unmanageable. Having already agreed to follow up "State of Play" with indie comedy "Leaves of Grass", Norton has had to commit to the latter as he is producing the film through his Class 5 Films Company.
Rather than issue another bout of legal proceedings, Universal contacted the representation of Ben Affleck to secure an exit strategy for Norton. It now seems that the production will press on as planned in January with Crowe and Affleck replacing Pitt and Norton respectively.