Channing Tatum and Steve Carrell may star in Bennett Miller's FOXCATCHER

Channing Tatum may have his chance at Oscar gold with one of his next projects. The LA Times reports that Tatum is in talks to star with Steve Carrell in Bennett Miller's (Capote, Moneyball) next film, the John du Pont story Foxcatcher.

Carell is set to play du Pont, "the heir to the du Pont chemical fortune who, in an apparent fit of paranoid schizophrenia, infamously shot and killed the Olympic wrestler Dave Schultz in 1996 at a Pennsylvania facility du Pont had built (the titular Foxcatcher). He was jailed for the crime, and died in prison in 2010." Tatum would play Schultz, "a seven-time world and Olympic champion who left behind a wife and two young children when he was fatally shot at the age of 36." 

The deal is not finalized with Tatum, but Miller hopes to begin shooting Foxcatcher in the first part of 2012. The project is being financed and produced independently. Miller has been working on this project for a number of years, and is hopeful to have theatrical distribution. Distribution should not be a problem with producers like Anthony Bregman (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) and the writers, E. Max Frye and Dan Futterman (Capote) on board.

This will be a definite departure from films like Fighting, The Eagle, and the upcoming 21 Jump Street and Magic Mike. I am actually making it a mission of mine to support Tatum in more roles. I think that The Eagle was one of his better films to date. I also think that 21 Jump Street and Magic Mike will show a new side to his acting abilities. If I turn out to be wrong I will accept that, but certainly hope I am right. 

What are your thoughts?