Update: Guy Pearce joins Theron and Mortensen in The Road

UPDATE: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that Guy Pearce has also joined the cast. The Road is tentatively schedule to begin shooting in Southwestern Pennsylvania in late February.

According to Variety, Charlize Theron is joining Viggo Mortenson for the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy's contemporary classic The Road. Theron will be playing Mortenson's wife (the characters in the novel don't have names, they're just referred to as "father" and "son"), a relatively minor part mostly played in flashback due to the work's intense focus on the father/son dynamic.

The Road is being directed by John Hillcoat, the Australian director behind 2005's The Proposition, a dark western in much the same vein as McCarthy's earlier works. Also fitting for the production is playwright Joe Penhall adapting the work for screen.

The film was originally slated for production this month, but has now been pushed back a month. The Road is still expected to premiere before the end of the year, though.

[Thanks to reader Tracey D'Astolfo for the tip!]

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