Rosamund Pike and Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds) are in early talks to star in The Godmother.

The Godmother is an adaptation of Carrie Adams’ novel of the same name and follows Tessa, the childless serial godmother of the title, as she grapples with the problems of her friends, while questioning her no-strings-attached lifestyle.

Justin Chadwick (The Other Boleyn Girl) is attached to direct from a script penned by Oscar-winning writer Ron Bass (My Best Friend’s Wedding).

Unanimous Pictures will produce with filming expected to commence mid-2011.

It’s a cold, clear day in London and actor Rosamund Pike has just returned from her morning bike ride. “I made a resolution years ago to be more aware of my body, and it’s really helped to hone my instincts,” she says. Those instincts are responsible for scene-stealing roles in Pride & Prejudice, An Education, and, more recently, Made in Dagenham, for which she won ecstatic reviews as a housewife during the 1968 Ford Motors factory strike in Dagenham, England.

But it’s Pike’s performance in Barney’s Version, an adaptation of Mordecai Richler’s prize-winning novel starring Dustin Hoffman and Paul Giamatti (her love interest in the film), which has finally earned Pike awards season buzz. “It was an incredible challenge for Paul and I to play characters in different phases of love from ages 29 to 60—to find language for that,” she says. “Now I’m going to make sure to wear a lot of miniskirts in public before people get the wrong idea.”

The picture of a patrician English Rose, Pike, 31, is excited about the opportunities she’s had to exhibit range and depth. “An Education was the first film that allowed me to play a villain, but also make people laugh,” she says. “That one opened up a lot of doors.” Among those open doors are a host of roles in upcoming films, including The Big Year, a bird-watching comedy opposite Jack Black and Owen Wilson, and The Sea, a drama with Charlotte Rampling. “I suddenly feel understood,” she says of her recent successes. “I’m like the geek at school who suddenly gets to be friends with the cool kids.” —Cayte Grieve

Paul Giamatti and Rosamund Pike star as husband and wife (for a time) in “Barney’s Version,” the adaptation of Mordecai Richler’s novel about an older man reflecting on his successful but troubled life. The Los Angeles Times caught up with each of them to talk about their new movie, the absence of character movies, changing notions of masculinity and the pros and cons of facial hair.

Q. Why do you think we see so few character-driven films like “Barney’s Version” these days?

Rosamund Pike: “It’s because the smart, intelligent adults who are its audience are not the people who are going to make box-office gold. There’s just not enough of them as there are teenagers who will go and see ‘Twilight.’ I also think people don’t observe people so closely anymore. And we’re not living in the 1970s, that’s the other thing. If we were living in the 1970s, ‘Barney’s’ would be a mainstream studio movie.”

Paul Giamatti: “A movie like ‘Barney’s Version’ doesn’t have a gimmick, which is tricky to pull off these days. It hearkens back to the 1970s movies like (Paul Mazursky’s comedy-drama) ‘An Unmarried Woman.’ I’d like to think there’s more room for things like that. My idea of having a production company is because I’m interested in doing these smaller things. I’d like to think there’s more room for things like that.”

Q. This movie feels like it fits into a larger group of films about men who have the outward trappings of maturity but are really quite scared and childlike inside. What do you think that’s about?

PG: “At one point, Rosamund’s character says to mine, ‘You’re still a child.’ There is a lot of that going on in movies. Certainly the guys in ‘Sideways’ are growing up uncomfortably. Judd Apatow has these child-men. There’s a weird refusal to grow up in movies. I don’t know generationally what that (means).”

RP: “I think the idea of the alpha male has gone out. Although I’m still looking for one.”
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On December 8 there was a Q&A held in London for Rosamund Pike’s new movie Barney’s Version. Rosamund attended the event looking gorgeous as always.

A poster for Barney’s Version has been released.