John Cusack signs on for Roland Emmerich's 2012

It seems John Cusack's film focus may be shifting from romantic comedies to the suspenseful and supernatural. What with his most recent films being Martian Child and the Stephen King-adapted 1408, it may come as no big surprise that he just got on board with Roland Emmerich's 2012.

The year 2012 is the year in which the Mayan calendar predicts the End of Days, and the movie, from the same man who brought you Independence Day and The Day After Tomorrow, begins with the apocalypse. In real life, one can assume that the end of the world will mean that there are no survivors. Thank goodness for movie magic!

Cusack will play the lead “heroic survivor,” cast as a limo driver, writer and divorced dad trying to save his family after the big bang. Chiwetel Ejiofor, most recently in Redbelt and American Gangster, is in talks to co-star.

The film, written by Emmerich and Harald Kloser, will begin shooting in July and aims for a July 10, 2009 release. Emmerich is also the executive producer. Columbia Pictures will issue the film.

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