One key thing to note about Barry Levinson: he loves casting Dustin Hoffman. In addition to Rain Man, he has cast Hoffman in films such as Wag the Dog, Sphere, and Sleepers.

As you can tell from that list there, Levinson has had a pretty diverse career, and one that includes hits and critical darlings… and, sure, some less than successful flicks as well.

He was also responsible for the hit TV show Homicide: Life on the Street, which was set and filmed in his hometown of Baltimore (and which was the precursor to the massively important show The Wire).

He seems to be all about probing into all kinds of different stories and lives, so it's not really a surprise that he latched onto a film project with some quirky brothers struggling with family drama and other challenges, right?