According to The Hollywood Reporter, Benicio Del Toro has signed on and Halle Berry is in negotiations to star in DreamWorks' drama THINGS WE LOST IN THE FIRE.

Paramount Pictures will distribute the film, which centers on a woman (Berry) whose husband suddenly dies. The woman invites her husband's troubled best friend (Del Toro) to live with her family, and as the friend turns his life around, he helps the grief-stricken family confront their loss.

Allen Loeb penned the screenplay. Susanne Bier, whose 2002 Dogme film "Open Hearts" is being remade by Paramount and helmer Zach Braff, will direct "Fire."