From: Chicago Sun Times

Timberlake gears up for war in Iraq in film

Justin Timberlake is enlisting in the Iraq War. Sort of. The rocker will star in the upcoming "Black Snake Moan" as a young man going off to Iraq.

Director Craig Brewer says, "I needed a guy to play a soldier going off to war. I needed an American son. I need someone to break America's heart, so Justin Timberlake is going to Iraq."

The movie will be shot in Memphis. It will be produced by John Singleton and directed by Brewer, who also teamed for the upcoming critically acclaimed "Hustle & Flow." The rest of the cast includes Samuel L. Jackson and Christina Ricci. "It's a movie about blues, sex and race set in Memphis," Brewer says.

Why Timberlake? "It's simple," Brewer says. "People might not know it yet, but he's actually a really good actor." Later this year, Timberlake will star opposite Bruce Willis in "Alpha Dog" about pot-dealing L.A. gangs. He also will do the voice of a young King Arthur in girlfriend Cameron Diaz' "Shrek 3."