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Alison Pill Replacing Ellen Page in Werewolf Film 'Jack and Diane'

by Alex Billington
August 15, 2009
Source: SlashFilm

I know what you're thinking - a werewolf film?! Yes indeed, but it's even more than that. Jack and Diane has been "in the works" for a long, long time. Back in 2007, SlashFilm and I both wrote big articles about it because it needed extra financing to get off the ground and into production. At that time, it was set to star former Juno actresses Ellen Page and Olivia Thirlby. Unfortunately it never went into production, and we've been waiting for an update on it ever since. However, Brendon Connelly of SlashFilm recently discovered that the official website now lists Milk and Scott Pilgrim star Alison Pill in the cast in place of Ellen Page.

Jack and Diane can be described as a "lesbian werewolf movie," although it's much more of a relationship drama. Here's the full synopsis from IMDb: "Jack and Diane, two teenage girls, meet in New York City and spend the night kissing ferociously. Diane's charming innocence quickly begins to open Jack's tough skinned heart. But, when Jack discovers that Diane is leaving the country in a week she tries to push her away. Diane must struggle to keep their love alive while hiding the secret that her newly awakened sexual desire is giving her werewolf-like visions." Sounds pretty damn interesting, right? That's why we've been pulling for it.

In 2007, Thirlby explained that, "we're having a little trouble getting money because people don't quite understand," or rather that "people are just intimidated by the subject matter." I can certainly understand that, which is why this is independent and they need a financier who really gets the concept. I'm not sure when the switch between Page and Pill was made, but it's an interesting one, considering Page's recognition has been increasing, so maybe her cost started going up, too? While I do think Alison Pill is a great actress, she just doesn't have the spark and beauty that Page does. But if this helps it get made, then I'm all for it.

We'll certainly keep you updated on the project. Maybe this switch is a sign that it might start shooting soon? Ellen Page is currently working with Christopher Nolan on Inception and is probably busy until the end of the year - so maybe they needed to find a replacement to shoot it right away? As far as I know, Olivia Thirlby isn't shooting anything at the moment either. I'll see if I can find anything out, but in the meantime, I'm curious to know how many readers are even interested in hearing more about this indie project anyway?

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