Jeremy Renner's decision to turn down recent work in favor of the awards circuit is paying dividends. The Oscar-nominated Oscar will be joining Ewan McGregor in The Raven, says the NYT, and he also has an offer to star in either Peter Berg's Battleship or an unnamed project that Renner says he's gone in five times to land. Might that be Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master, which is looking for someone to play the second lead to Philip Seymour Hoffman? (A Playlist commenter says that's the case, though the site assumes the role is Paul Dano's.) If Anderson needs an actor who's capable of performing a heartfelt piano duel, suddenly Renner's The View appearance makes a lot more sense. [NYT]