Cameron Crowe‘s upcoming directorial gig for Fox is looking to secure a big name star for his pet project, Matt Damon.  I use pet project jokingly, as the movie is titled We Bought A Zoo, based on the book of the same name.  From Variety:

Based on Benjamin Mee’s memoir, “We Bought a Zoo” tells the story of a widowed father who buys a dilapidated zoo in the hopes of making a fresh start.  He and his children, along with a tiny, eclectic staff, work to undo years of neglect and create a sanctuary for breeding and raising endangered species, culminating with the zoo’s opening.

It would be the first pairing for the Jerry Maguire director and Bourne Identity star.  Deal has not been put in place for Damon, but Crowe was pursued heavily by Fox and they got their man, so its quite feasible that they could secure Damon as well.  The movie is slated for a December 23, 2011 release date.  Right around the corner, really.

Audiences will get to see Damon in three films later this year, including The Adjustment Bureau and two other big name director projects with Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter and the Coen Brothers True Grit.  Damon saw weak results earlier in the year with Green Zone and last December’s Invictus also failed to score big at turnstiles, so this is a critical stretch for the man in his career, with talk of him not being a part of the next Bourne installment.  I’m hoping it pans out for him, since I like watching him act.

We Bought A Zoo itself sounds a little vague at this point, but the presumption is a tender hearted film with some comedy mixed in along with most of Crowe’s past films.  With both names on board, you can consider me heavily interested.  What do you think, good possibilities with this or not?  Let me know.