Hope Davis to play Hillary Clinton

By Nellie Andreeva

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Julianne Moore is stepping out of the role of Hillary Clinton and will be replaced by Hope Davis.

A scheduling conflict with another commitment, the feature "The Kids Are All Right," has forced Moore to exit the film "The Special Relationship." The HBO Films/BBC Films project chronicles the unique and sometimes turbulent political relationship between newly installed British Prime Minister Tony Blair and U.S. President Bill Clinton in the late 1990s.

Dennis Quaid will play President Clinton. Michael Sheen, who played Blair in "The Queen" and in the British television movie "The Deal," will take on the role again. Helen McCrory is cast as Cherie Blair, a role she played opposite Sheen in "The Queen."

Oscar-nominated screenwriter Peter Morgan, who wrote the movie, had planned to make "Special Relationship" his directorial debut but pulled out from helming duties last month, with Richard Loncraine stepping in to direct.

Davis, who co-starred on HBO's "In Treatment" this past season, is currently on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning play "God of Carnage" for which she received a Tony nomination.

(Editing by Sheri Linden at Reuters)