With the 2012 Oscars set to be awarded later this month, it's way too early to think about next year's ceremony. Or is it?

Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts -- who have three Oscar wins and 20 nominations between them -- have signed on to co-star in the upcoming film 'August: Osage County,' which should already be considered a frontrunner for next year's Academy Awards.

John Wells, co-creator of 'ER', will direct the film.

The film will be based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name and is set over one month in Oklahoma, when the Westons gather to deal with the death of the family patriarch.

Streep will star as the dysfunctional mother of three grown women who's dealing with the death of her husband, a growing addiction to pills and her own cancer diagnosis.  Roberts will star as her oldest daughter, a college professor struggling to keep her mother under control.

Said Roberts of signing on to the film:

After seeing Meryl Streep’s mesmerizing portrayal as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, it has me even more excited and proud to co-star with her."

Filming on 'August: Osage County' is set to begin later this month.  Roberts can be seen next in the Snow White adaptation 'Mirror, Mirror'.

Streep, meanwhile, can next be seen at the Academy Awards later this month, where she's nominated for best actress for her work in 'The Iron Lady.'

More From TSM Interactive