Hayden Panettiere and Nikki Reed Head to 'Downers Grove'

Hayden Panettiere (the cute cheerleader from NBC's "Heroes") and Nikki Reed (from the Twlight films) have signed on to star in the upcoming teen thriller Downers Grove, according to THR. Neither of them, of course, are teenagers, but they'll play high school girls in the movie. Not that this is anything unique, mind you, and at 21 and 22 years old, respectively, they're not that far from high school age.

I probably don't need to clarify, but that's Nikki on the left and Hayden on the right

The film's screenplay was written by novelist Bret Easton Ellis, whose books have been turned into some memorable movies: the well-known Less Than Zero, American Psycho, and The Rules of Attraction, as well as 2008's The Informers, the script for which he also co-wrote. This time Easton Ellis is sort of turning the tables: Downers Grove is based on a novel by Michael Hornberg.

The story takes place in a high school in the titular Chicago suburb, where every year a senior dies a bizarre death before the end of the school year.

Panettiere and Reed join Rebecca De Mornay in the cast, where they'll be directed by TV veteran Justin McCormick, whose lone film-directing credit is Prom Night. The specific roles haven't been announced yet, but I'm assuming (based on looks alone) that De Mornay will play Panettiere's mom.

Downers Grove is set to go into production in Louisiana this spring, so we're probably looking at a 2012 release. Easton Ellis has reportedly been working on the adaptation since 2008, so hopefully it's a polished script at this point. I'm mildly interested in seeing what comes of this unique-sounding project, although the basic plot summary doesn't make it sound like anything special.

Comments

[MM]

"..directed by TV veteran Justin McCormick, whose lone film-directing credit is Prom Night. "

Justin McCormick has also directed a remake of 'The Stepfather' in 2009. I think with those two films he's qualified to direct this too. I like Bret Easton Ellis too, so hoping for the best.

[Mike Chesnut]

You're right, of course. I totally missed The Stepfather. Thanks for the correction.