Like the great John Slattery before him, Michael Pitt has sort of established himself as a man of period productions. There was Boardwalk Empire, we have You Can’t Win to look forward to, and he’s now going back to the old days of Hollywood. The old, old days.

Per Deadline’s word, it’s been announced that Pitt will co-star in The First, a recently-developed biopic of silent film star Mary Pickford; the talent is locked to play her first husband, Owen Moore. Although previous reports had named Lily Rabe (All Good Things, American Horror Story) as director Jennifer DeLia‘s main star, it’s since been announced that Ryan Simpkins (A Single Man) will also play the icon — only, in her younger years. (Flashback scenes, I’d wager.) It’s a fine pair of choices, with Pitt, in particular, standing out. Much as his early work would...