12/4/07 Update: In an update to a story posted last week, Variety announces that Russell Crowe has officially joined "State of Play."

Universal Pictures has been scrambling to replace Brad Pitt in the thriller "State of Play" after Pitt officially left the project on the eve of Thanksgiving. Variety now reports that Russell Crowe is in talks to replace Pitt.

Pitt reportedly left due to disagreements with the studio in regards to the script and supposedly demanded that a script rewrite was needed. But due to the writers' strike that's currently going on, the studio would have had to delay the project until a later start date pending the resolution of the strike. By delaying the start of production, there would be no guarantees that cast members Edward Norton, Helen Mirren, Rachel McAdams, Robin Wright Penn and Jason Bateman would remain committed to the project.

Should Crowe join "State of Play," however, it would put his other project - "Nottingham" with director Ridley Scott - in jeopardy.

"State of Play" is based on the BBC miniseries that told of a congressman (Norton) who finds his career in jeopardy after an investigation into the death of his mistress. Crowe would play a journalist who oversees his newspaper's investigation into the murder and develops a relationship with the politician's estranged wife.