Breaking Bad’s Aaron Paul joins the adaptation of Nick Hornby’s A Long Way Down

Breaking Bad star Aaron Paul has been cast in director Paschal Chaumeil’s (HEARTBREAKER) adaptation of the Nick Hornby novel A LONG WAY DOWN, playing a pizza delivery man who encounters three people about to commit suicide.  Fans of Paul will be happy to see him branch out from his career-defining role in Breaking Bad, especially since the show closes up shop this season.  The Emmy-award winner will replace the previously cast Emile Hirsch in the role and will be joining castmembers Pierce Brosnan, Imogen Poots, and Toni Collette.

I haven’t heard anything about this until now, but with the talent involved, I’m officially intrigued.  Author Nick Hornby has churned out a number of novels that have been adapted to the big screen, including the classic John Cusack flick HIGH FIDELITY, Hugh Grant’s ABOUT A BOY, and FEVER PITCH with Drew Barrymore.  He also wrote the script for the much-lauded AN EDUCATION with Carey Mulligan and Peter Sarsgaard.  That’s a pretty healthy resume.

Here’s the book synopsis:

Meet Martin (Brosnan), JJ (Hirsch), Jess (Poots), and Maureen (Collette). Four people who come together on New Year’s Eve: a former TV talk show host, a musician, a teenage girl, and a mother. Three are British, one is American. They encounter one another on the roof of Topper’s House, a London destination famous as the last stop for those ready to end their lives.

In four distinct and riveting first-person voices, Nick Hornby tells a story of four individuals confronting the limits of choice, circumstance, and their own mortality. This is a tale of connections made and missed, punishing regrets, and the grace of second chances.

The film will shoot in London starting in September with a release sometime in 2013.