Zoe Kazan, Analeigh Tipton and more vying to join Taylor Swift in female rocker biopic “Girls Like Us”

A plethora of rising young actresses are lining up for the chance to star in a biopic of three of the most influential women in music. Country singer Taylor Swift is already attached to the role of Joni Mitchell in “Girls Like Us”, and now Variety reports actresses are being auditioned for the remaining two roles of Carole King and Carly Simon.

For the role of King, filmmakers are reading actresses Analeigh Tipton, Allison Williams and Jessica Pare; while Alison Pill, Olivia Thirlby, Zoe Kazan and Ari Graynor are up for the role of Simon. When Swift became attached to the project, Pill was already in consideration for the role of Simon, but it appears she’s got it far less locked up than Swift. Variety also warns this project is in the exploratory stage, with casting needing to be firmed up – and the chemistry between the three leads passing muster – before it gets the green light at Sony Pictures.

Katie Jacobs will direct from a script by John Sayles, which is adapted from the book by Sheila Weller. The book follows the coming of age and rise to stardom of now-legendary singers Mitchell, Simon and King in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and their impact on a generation of female musicians. Presumably, as evidenced by the Swift attachment, the actresses will be performing songs from the legendary singers themselves. Filming had been tentatively penciled in for a late 2012 shoot.

Interestingly enough, the actresses up for the role of Carole King come mostly from television. Williams recently broke out playing Lena Dunham’s best friend on HBO’s hit freshman series “Girls”, while Pare made a splash playing Jon Hamm’s new wife Megan on the newest season of AMC’s “Mad Men.” Tipton has been gaining notice with supporting roles on the big screen in films such as “Crazy, Stupid, Love” and “Damsels in Distress”, but she broke into the industry with a runner-up run on “America’s Next Top Model.”

The girls up for the role of Carly Simon also have a lot in common, as they have all made a name for themselves on the indie quirky comedy scene. Pill most recently starred in Woody Allen’s “To Rome with Love” and also starred on Aaron Sorkin’s new HBO series “The Newsroom”, recently given a second season. Graynor recently starred in “For a Good Time, Call…” and “Celeste and Jesse Forever.” Kazan wrote and starred in “Ruby Sparks”, and recently wrapped up “The F Word” opposite Daniel Radcliffe. Thirlby, who is probably most well known for playing Ellen Page’s best friend in “Juno”, can currently be seen in action remake “Dredd 3D.”