Catherine Hardwicke has been pretty good at shepherding the careers of young, up 'n coming actresses. Evan Rachel Wood and Nikki Reed both have her to thank for much of their early success after the intense 2003 drama, Thirteen. And while I think Kristen Stewart would have ended up a star on her own easily enough, it was Hardwicke behind the camera for the first Twilight film. We know how that turned out. Granted, that was also the point where Hardwicke seemed to veer wildly off course. Attaching her name to a number of potential films, possibly in hopes that we'd forget about Red Riding Hood, Hardwicke had been hoping to reteam with Wood on an erotic thriller titled Plush.
Turns out that's not going to happen for whatever reason, as Variety reports that Emily Browning(The Uninvited) has stepped into the lead. The story follows a psychic psychologist who digs into the memories of his patients in order to help them unleash past demons. That is until Browning shows up and is more than a match for him as she shares the same power. Hardwicke will not only direct, but produce and co-write the script with Artie Nelson.
Browning is a solid actress who I think was beat up a little unfairly after Sucker Punch. She was pretty good in the recent festival indie, Sleeping Beauty, and Hardwicke seems like the perfect director for her. As for Hardwicke, she's got a ton on her plate right now so it's unclear when this would roll. She's got adaptations of The Maze Runner and The Bitch Posse on the way at some point, along with a boxing drama featuring Noomi Rapace.
