Mann, Dushku and Save Crack Thacker CaseGabriel Mann, Eliza Dushku and John Savage are set to star in the indie film The Thacker Case, based on the real-life 1983 wrongful death case of Kevin Thacker.Robert Dean Klein wrote the screenplay based on the story written by attorney Stuart Pepper. Brian Jun is directing.The story centers on around the mysterious death of repeat drunk driving offender Thacker and the discovery of his body in an alley behind the Marshalltown, Iowa, police department after his latest DUI arrest.Mann will play Pepper, a young up-and-coming attorney who launches his career by landing the controversial case, which required him to wade through law enforcement corruption and cover-ups. Ultimately, Pepper gained national attention from the case.Dushku will play Monica Wright, a young attorney and Pepper’s loyal assistant.Savage will play Thomas Thacker, Kevin’s father, who enlists the help of Pepper to discover the truth behind his son’s death.Shooting began this week in Los Angeles and Iowa.(source)

Five raise a glass to ‘Bottle’ picChris Pine, Rachael Taylor, Eliza Dushku, Bill Pullman and Alan Rickman are toasting “Bottle Shock,” a drama about the birth of the Napa Valley wine industry from filmmaker Randall M. Miller.Set in the 1970s, the film is based on the true story of the Montelena Winery, which won an international wine-tasting competition and put the California region on the vino map.Pine portrays the son of the vineyard owner who saves the winery and represents Napa in the French tasting, while Taylor plays a university student who interns at the winery.Dushku acts as a local bartender, and Pullman is the owner of the run-down winery who clashes with his son.Rickman is an Englishman who runs L’Academie du Vin in Paris and is the chief architect of the blind-tasting challenge that results in an upset victory for the American vintages.The script was written by Miller and Jody Savin from an original script by Ross Schwartz. Savin also is producing along with Marc Toberoff and J. Todd Harris of IPW.IPW raised the financing for the film, which begins shooting Aug. 1 in Napa and Sonoma.Miller, an actor-turned director, is best known for writing, directing and producing 2005′s ensemble musical “Marilyn Hotchkiss Ballroom Dancing & Charm School.”Pine, repped by SDB Partners and John Carrabino Management, is shooting “Small Town Saturday Night.” The project by writer-director Ryan Craig was initially set up at the Sundance Producers Lab in 2006. Pine will next be seen in Paramount Vantage’s “Carriers,” due out early next year, and recently starred in the Neil LaBute play “Fat Pig” at the Geffen Playhouse.Taylor can be seen in the summer hit “Transformers” and recently wrapped the horror film “Shutter” opposite Joshua Jackson. She is repped by WMA and Marquee in Australia. Gersh-repped Dushku next stars in the indie crime drama “The Alphabet Killer” while Pullman, repped by One Entertainment, recently appeared in the crime comedy “You Kill Me.”Rickman, repped by Endeavor and ICM London, is on screen as Severus Snape in “Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix” and will next be seen in Tim Burton’s “Sweeney Todd.” (source)

Dushku Learns the AlphabetAfter spending years fighting evil, you finally face the First Evil, defeat him, send your town into an abyss, and then what? For one slayer, it’s putting aside your evil-vanquishing roots in order to face some creepy Asian children. For the other chosen one, it’s a little bit of everything. Eliza Dushku jumped from her time as Faith to a time-bending med student on TV, and now to a whole mess of films with a little laughter, a little screaming and a little psychosis — the last of which comes from the upcoming thriller, The Alphabet Killer.Rob Schmidt, who last headed the feature Wrong Turn, will direct the murder mystery that is based on the real-life Alphabet Murders from Rochester, NY in the seventies. According to the official site, which is already online, the movie will follow Megan, a police investigator played by Dushku, who is up against her fianc

Eliza Dushku and Mike Vogel to Headline MambaEliza Dushku (Tru Calling) and Mike Vogel (Poseidon) are toplining the English-language teen-thriller Mamba, according to Variety.The eight-week shoot begins next Monday in northern Spain’s Basque Country under first-time Spanish director Alvaro de Arminan.The movie is based on a screenplay written by Roderick and Bruce Taylor (The Brave One) and Cuadri (The Heart of The Earth).Mamba turns on a group of surfer students who discover an old satanic board game called Mamba. Every time one person loses in the game, they suffer dire death.International cast also includes Germany’s actress Naike Rivelli (Casanova) and Spanish actors Gary Piquer (The Feast of The Goat), Alex O’Dogherty (Alatriste) and Martxelo Rubio (My Hero). (source)

Former child star Macaulay Culkin and ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’ star Eliza Dushku have signed on to lead in an upcoming dark comedy ‘Sex and Breakfast’, focusing on group sex.The movie, written and directed by Miles Brandman, follows a couple with problems in the bedroom who seek solution from a therapist. The counsellor then suggests group sex as a solution to their problems.”I read a lot of material and loved this script. It’s really about the pressure that leads them to experiment, the anticipation leading up to the event and then the fallout.” Zap2it quoted him as saying. The film has already begun shooting and also features Alexis Dziena “Invasion”) and Kuno Becker (“Goal!”). This film will be Culkin’s first movie since ‘Saved!’ which premiered at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Culkin’s filmography also includes: ‘Party Monster’, ‘The Pagemaster’, ‘The Nutcracker’, ‘The Good Son’, ‘Home Alone’, ‘Home Alone 2: Lost in New York’, ‘My Girl’ and ‘Uncle uck’. Best known for her performance as rogue slayer Faith in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Angel,” Dushku most recently starred in the FOX series “Tru Calling.” Other credits for the 25-year-old actress include “Bring It On” and “Wrong Turn.” (source)

First off, a happy belated birthday to Eliza. I was out of town and couldn’t post anything on December 30.Anyways, Eliza’s starting off the new year with several new projects (mostly horror movies) according to IMDB.com.Incubus as Amy Smith – August 2006Dark Ride as Selina Rivers – official siteThe House as Monica DavonThe After Killer as RachelDon’t have any real confirmation about these movies as of yet though, so we’ll just have to wait and see.