Steve Carell to play rock star's long-lost son

(AFP/VALERIE MACON)

The star of Despicable Me and Date Night, Steve Carell, has signed on to play the son of an aging rock star in Imagine, reports New York Magazine's Vulture column. The rocker discovers he has a love child in a long-unopened letter from John Lennon.

The screenwriter, Dan Fogelman, will make his directorial debut with Imagine. He also wrote Cars, Bolt and the upcoming Tangled, another animated film, releasing November 24.

Fogelman also wrote Crazy, Stupid, Love, a comedy starring Carell, Julianne Moore, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon, Ryan Gosling ( The Notebook), and Emma Stone ( Easy A). It will hit theaters April 22.

Carell's production company Carousel will produce the film.

The twist in this script may be inspired by a real decades-old undelivered letter from John Lennon and Yoko Ono addressed to British musician Steve Tilston, reported in The Telegraph this past August. Recently uncovered in the hands of a collector, the note from famous couple suggests money can't buy you love.

RC