Margot Robbie Joins ‘The Taliban Shuffle’

A year after breaking out in Martin Scorsese’s Oscar-nominated The Wolf of Wall Street, actress Margot Robbie is finding herself quite in demand.  The Hollywood Reporter broke the news today that Robbie will co-star opposite Tina Fey in the political black comedy The Taliban Shuffle.  An adaptation of journalist Kim Barker’s memoir, the film explores the fish-out-of-water experiences of a war correspondent reporting in Iraq.  The directing team of Glenn Ficcara and John Requa (I Love You Phillip Morris, Crazy Stupid Love) will helm the movie with Fey’s 30 Rock cohort Robert Carlock penning the screenplay.

Fey will headline as Barker, a journalist newly arrived in Kabul.  The film focuses on her experiences– the danger and boredom– of a female war correspondent in the Middle East.  Robbie is being courted to portray a beautiful news anchor, described as someone who will do anything to advance her career, who develops a friendship with Barker in Afghanistan, one however that’s fueled by a relentless and perhaps even dangerous competitive drive.  Fey is producing the film for Paramount Pictures alongside her former Saturday Night Live boss Lorne Michaels.

Robbie has a handful of other films already in the pipeline.  The actress will next appear in the crime drama Focus (also directed by Ficcara and Requa) opposite Will Smith and Rodrigo Santoro (300) which is expected to hit theaters in February of next year.  2015 should be strong year for Robbie as she will also appear in the period drama Suite Française opposite Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn) and Matthias Schoenaerts (The Drop) and the science fiction film Z for Zachariah opposite Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) and Chris Pine (Into the Woods.)  She recently wrapped the Warner Bros. remake of Tarzan playing Jane Porter opposite True Blood‘s Alexander Skarsgard in the title role; the film from Harry Potter director David Yates is expected to hit theaters in 2016.