Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt are teaming up with James Franco for a film called True Story

Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt became friends during the production of Moneyball — or, at least they forged a strong working relationship. Brad Pitt’s Plan B Productions is working on a film about real-life journalist Michael Finkel.

Deadline does a good job of summarizing the plot, so I’ll let them take it away.

Hill will play Finkel, who was a writer at The New York Times Magazine in 2002 when he learned that Christian Longo was captured in Mexico after a long stint on the FBI Ten Most Wanted List for killing his family. The strange part was that he had been living under the identity of Finkel. The very next day, the real Finkel was fired by the editors of The New York Times, right after they ran an editor’s note declaring that he had falsified parts of an investigative article. His career seemed over, until Longo (who’ll be played by Franco) declared that the real Finkel was the only journalist he would talk to. That led to a surreal relationship with the accused murderer who was trying to declare his innocence.

 Jonah Hill as a straight-laced journalist and James Franco as a crazy killer with Brad Pitt producing? Sounds awesome. If you thought Hill was lying about wanting to be a more serious actor you will need to change your mind. He wants to be an actor, not only a funny man, which is fine by me. If Hill can keep it up, he’ll be back at the Oscars – as a nominee – in no time. [Deadline via Filmonic]

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