LIPS TOGETHER's Oswalt Out of NBC's 'Beach Lane'?

As BroadwayWorld reported earlier, actor-comedian Patton Oswalt had been cast in the co-starring leading role on "Beach Lane," a half-hour comedy pilot for NBC since Broadway's LIPS TOGETHER got postponed indefinitely.

Today, The Hollywood Reporter reveals that after a table reading on Tuesday, Oswalt has been removed from the project. Oswalt was starring opposite stage and screen stars Matthew Broderick and Kristen Johnston. Oswalt was to play James, a "slacker with inherited wealth who's given the job of running a small Hamptons newspaper. James hires a renowned journalist (Broderick) to help turn the paper around."

Reportedly, after the table read Oswalt was offered a different role in the project, however it is unconfirmed whether or not he will remain attached.

Oswalt was attached to appear in Roundabout's Broadway production of LIPS TOGETHER, TEETH APART. The production fell apart just prior to previews due to star Megan Mullaly's departure from the production.

"Beach Lane" was created by Paul Simms and is produced by Lorne Michaels and Marci Klein.

Patton Oswalt has released three hugely successful standup specials and two critically acclaimed comedy albums. His latest one-hour, Grammy nominated Comedy Central Special, "My Weakness is Strong," aired the fall of 2009, and the subsequent "My Weakness is Strong" DVD/CD was released to tremendous success through Warner Brothers records. Patton made his dramatic debut in the acclaimed, Independent Spirit-nominated film Big Fan, in the lead role as "Paul Aufiero." The directorial debut of writer Robert Siegel (The Wrestler), Big Fan catapulted Patton to the front ranks of every "Best Of" list of 2009. Also in 2009, Patton co-starred opposed Matt Damon in Steven Soderbergh's feature film The Informant. He has recently been seen in Observe and Report (opposite Seth Rogen) and is beloved by children the world over for lending his voice to "Remy, the rat," in Pixar Animation's smash, Oscar winning hit, Ratatouille. Patton has appeared in more than 20 films, including: Magnolia, Starsky and Hutch, Sex and Death 101, Zoolander, Balls of Fury and Reno 911!: Miami. Recurring roles include: Showtime's hit series, "The United States of Tara" (Showtime), playing John Corbett's best friend "Neil"; the new SyFy Battlestar Galactica-spinoff series "Caprica"; and Dollhouse. He appears on a host of other series, including: "The Sarah Silverman Program" and "Community." Patton is a regular contributor to "Countdown with Keith Olbermann," "Real Time with Bill Maher" and Lewis Black's "Root of All Evil." Patton tours regularly and extensively, headlining both in the United States and UK. A regular at music festivals like Bumbershoot, Bonaroo and Coachella, he's made the jump to theaters, as well as performing/reading at events by McSweeney's and The Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. He has a regular, bi-monthly show at the new Largo at the Coronet Theater in Los Angeles, and was also a regular fill-in host for Steve Jones on the nationally syndicated "Jonesey's Jukebox" on Indie 103.1. On TV he played "Spence" on "The King of Queens" on CBS for nine seasons, and made guest appearances on: "Seinfeld," "Reaper," "Aqua Teen Hunger Force" and "Tim and Eric's Awesome Show, Great Job!"