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Ben Affleck had previously been announced as starring in The Company Men, an timely film about corporate downsizing, lay-offs, and the effect it all has on those let go and those retained.  Variety is reporting today that two more distinguished actors have joined Affleck on the unemployment line.  Affleck plays a  big-shot corporate stooge who wakes up on day to find his job and his six-figure salary are now things of the past.  Kevin Costner (one of my many guilty pleasures) will play his brother-in-law, a blue collar worker who offers him a construction job.  Tommy Lee Jones is set to star as one of Affleck’s previous employers who grows to despise the actions taken by his fellow partners.

The Company Men is the feature directorial debut of John Wells, who’s known best for his work on NBC’s E.R.  The film is set for a 2010 release, but the title may end up changing.  Per IMDB, another film with the identical title is due in theaters this year.  That film stars my voice double, Steve Buscemi, along with Steve Zahn, Ron Livingston, and Martin Landau as an aging businessman struggling with the economy and his company’s place within it.  Both films sound wonderfully depressing.

If it’s too soon for films about the Iraq war does that mean it’s too soon for recession movies too?