Kristen no longer attached to star in "Focus"

Variety 


Will Smith may have found his next project — he is in final talks to star in the Warner Bros. con artist pic “Focus.”

Kristen Stewart was attached to also star in the pic but when Smith became engaged in the project, Stewart fell off with the feeling that the age difference between the two would be too large a gap.

Smith had been weighing the film for some time and has committed to joining it.

Written and directed by Glenn Ficarra and John Requa, who helmed “Crazy, Stupid, Love” for the studio, the story follows an inexperienced female con artist who teams up with a more seasoned male one. Denise DiNovi will produce.

It’s a sign of positive forward movement for Warners, which has been trying to get the project made since Ficarra and Requa brought them the script early last year. The original idea was to reteam  “Crazy Stupid Love” co-stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone for the leads, but when Gosling’s schedule could not be worked out, Warners began looking at other candidates.

Sources say the studio loves the script but knew it would be tough to greenlight without a top-tier actor, so it began courting leads such as Brad Pitt and Ben Affleck. Affleck came close but earlier commitments got in the way.

Smith has spent several months considering his next project. Though he has several sequels in development, it appears he was looking for something new and original.

THR


Kristen Stewart is no longer set to star in Focus, a Warner Bros. heist project being directed by Crazy, Stupid, Love helmers Glenn Ficarra and John Requa. And as Stewart exits, the project could be landing a male star in Will Smith. 

Focus is a two-hander about a con man who becomes romantically involved with a novice. He is then thrown off his game when the former flame shows up just as he’s staging an elaborate con in Buenos Aires.
Requa and Glenn Ficarra wrote the script with their Crazy, Stupid, Love stars Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone in mind but when the actors were unavailable, moved to Ben Affleck and Stewart.

Affleck dropped out in December, causing a new search for a leading man. Sources say in recent weeks Stewart also quietly exited the project.

And now Smith is in talks to take the male lead.