The Women Attracting Hollywood's Top Actresses

A collaborative filmmaking company formed by two large entertainment players may see its first big hit with an odd choice. The company, Picturehouse, is now bringing to the big screen a 1939 play written by legendary journalist Clare Booth Luce.

It's not the play or its title, though that has lots of Hollywood banking on this movie. It's the list of stars that has signed on, with two signing on as recently as last week.

Bette Midler and Cloris Leachman are the latest to sign on as part of an amazing ensemble that will make up "The Women," according to a Sept. 20 written statement from Picturehouse. Not impressed by Midler or Leachman? Here's the list of other "The Women" stars: Carrie Fisher, Joanna Gleason, Candice Bergen, Meg Ryan, Annette Benning, Eva Mendes, Debra Messing and Jada Pinkett-Smith.

Filming is scheduled wrap up in October and the movie could be in theatres as soon as spring. It will be the first time Luce's play has been made into a full-length film. The play had a Broadway run in the 1940s.

The plot deals with the interactions of women spread across the socio-economic levels. Bette Midler plays a five-time divorcee while Cloris Leachman plays a housekeeper. Several of the actresses play characters in one of the play's major settings, Saks Fifth Avenue. Joanna Gleason plays a customer and typical snob. Lynn Whitefield plays the head fashion buyer for the store.

According to the company's Web site, Picturehouse began in 2005 as a venture of HBO and New Line Cinema. The company's credits include "Rocket Science," which premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival. The movie received a directing award at the festival.

The company, while still awaiting its first blockbuster, has worked with top name talent in previous productions. "El Cantante," the company's current offering stars husband-and-wife Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony. The film is a biography of salsa genius Hector Lavoe and its soundtrack has done well among Spanish-speaking music listeners. Academy Award-winning director Guillermo del Toro has signed on to produce The Orphanage, which is directed by David Schwimmer.