David O. Russell and Mark Wahlberg to reteam once more for Silver Linings Playbook

I understand having a muse in Hollywood. Fincher has Pitt, Burton has Depp, Nolan has Bale, Scorsese has DiCaprio, Scott has Crowe, but someone picked Mark Wahlberg for their team? Really?

After finding Oscar-level success with him in THE FIGHTER, David O. Russell and Mark Wahlberg are on a Hollywood honeymoon cruise, scooping up new projects left and right. They’re already teaming up for the UNCHARTED movie, despite the fact that Wahlberg has more in common with a coconut than Nathan Drake, and now they’re reportedly teaming for one more film after that.

It’s THE SILVER LININGS PLAYBOOK, and O. Russell has long been attached to it back when it was supposed to star Bradley Cooper and Anne Hathaway. But the latest report is that Wahlberg will fill the lead role instead.

It’s based on a Matthew Quick novel, and you can read a bit about it below:

Pat Peoples is down on his luck. The former high school history teacher has just been released from a mental institution and placed in the care of his mother. Not one to be discouraged, Pat believes he has only been on the inside for a few months––rather than four years––and plans on reconciling with his estranged wife.

Refusing to accept that their apart time is actually a permanent separation, Pat spends his days and nights feverishly trying to become the man she had always desired. Our hapless hero makes a friend in Tiffany, the mentally unstable, widowed sister-in-law of his best friend, Ronnie. Each day as Pat heads out for his 10-mile run, Tiffany silently trails him, refusing to be shaken off by the object of her affection. The odd pair try to navigate a timid friendship, but as Pat is unable to discern friend from foe and reality from deranged optimism, every day proves to be a cringe-worthy adventure.

Sounds like just the kind of gripping drama that Mark Wahlberg should be nowhere near. Wonder if Hathway’s still on board.