Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo in 'advanced talks' to join cast of Catholic abuse drama

Rachel McAdams(Photo: Andrew Bishkinsky)

Some high profile actors are reportedly joining the cast of a new drama about the abuse scandal that hit the Roman Catholic Church in Boston.

The Hollywood Reporter says Rachel McAdams, Mark Ruffalo, Stanley Tucci and Michael Keaton are all being lined up to star in the Tom McCarthy-directed drama called Spotlight.

The film would revolve around the scandal that saw the Boston Globe uncover a decades-long cover-up of abuse in the Massachusetts area under Cardinal Bernard Law that saw paedophile priests moved from one parish to another instead of turned over to the authorities. In one case, a priest was found to be abusing seven boys from the same family.

The newspaper's exposé was followed by the cardinal's resignation, and in the end abuse claims would be filed by 500 people, involving over 150 priests. It turned out to be the start of a decade of abuse scandals for the Catholic Church worldwide, the fallout of which is still being dealt with.

Such was the investigation that it won the Boston Globe's Spotlight Team of reporters the Pulitzer Prize for their journalism.

The four actors are reportedly in "advanced talks" with Win Win director McCarthy to take on roles in the drama, with McAdams and Ruffalo believed to be taking on the roles of reporters at the Boston Globe.

Tucci and Keaton's roles have yet to be confirmed.

The heavy subject matter of Spotlight is a world away from McCarthy's forthcoming comedy-drama, The Cobbler, starring Adam Sandler as a shoemaker who finds himself able to magically "walk in another man's shoes" and see life from their perspective. The film is due out later this year.