HBO Films' biopic of Jack Kevorkian, You Don't Know Jack, already has its Dr. Kevorkian in Al Pacino. Now Pacino has castmates in Susan Sarandon and John Goodman. The biopic is loosely based on the book Between the Dying and the Dead: Dr. Jack Kevorkian's Life and the Battle to Legalize Euthanasia. Goodman will play one of the authors of the book, Noel Nicol, Kevorkian's friend and co-worker whose "medical training as a corpsman and laboratory technician enabled him to assist Kevorkian on many occasions, while his laboratory supply company often provided materials for Kevorkian's efforts."

Meanwhile, Susan Sarandon will play Hemlock Society activist Janet Good "who becomes one of Jack's staunchest supporters, working side by side with him to make humane suicide available to the terminally ill and suffering. After she is herself diagnosed with terminal cancer, she avails herself of Kevorkian's services, choosing her own time to die, surrounded by her friends and loved ones."

Sarandon and Goodman already starred together in last year's Speed Racer, though this project will obviously be quite the drastic departure from that one. It is good to see great actors getting some substantial roles, though I'm awaiting this particular project with a mixture of curiosity and anxiety.

Are you interested in seeing a Dr. Kevorkian biopic?