Official word is "scheduling conflicts" forced Page to drop DRAG ME TO HELL

By Matt Holmes / March 3, 2008

Looks like Sam Raimi's new horror movie has gone through a name change from Dragged to Hell to Drag Me to Hell. I think I preferred the first title - sounds just a little creepier. So the official word from Variety is that Ellen Page dropped out of the "spook-a-blast" supernatural horror because of "scheduling conflicts". Her previous commitments to Mandate's Indie picture Peacock and Drew Barrymore's directorial debut Whip It forced her to drop out of the film and not because of her worries over the scripts final draft.

€œWe were racing to start production so that we could accommodate Ellen€™s schedule,€ Ghost House and Mandate said in a joint statement. €œBut like so many other productions trying to start before the potential SAG strike date, this one needed more time, and we had to push back the start of production.€

The new start date is March 31st in L.A which doesn't leave Raimi long to find a plucky young actress who the horror maestro can scare the bejesus out of. I doubt he will be able to find a Oscar nominee this late in the day but here's a couple of young contenders Raimi could be looking at... Hayden Panettiere, the 18 year old Heroes actress was the first young lady who came to mind. She may not have the experience or chops that Page has, but she's a few years younger and has a lot of room to grown as an actress. She's plucky, can play the self aware cutie and reminds me a lot of a young Sarah Michelle Gellar actually. She's quite popular too not just with 30-odd year old males who can't get laid (and those who can) and has a great "scream face" for horror. Problem with scheduling might rear it's ugly head again as her cheer-leading comedy (yeah a cheerleader again) I Love You Beth Cooper will film in the Spring.

Kat Dennings. I really adore her. Born just a year before Page, this young actress from The 40 Year Old Virgin and Charlie Bartlett has got to be a big contender. She's pretty and again can play vulnerable and she could be set for her own Juno-like breakthrough in the industry with the upcoming drama Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist alongside Michael Cera. She seems to be an actress just waiting to hit it big. I would love to see what Raimi could do with her in the horror genre. Jessica Biel, 26 today can't be ruled out. Yeah she's a good half a decade older than the originally cast Ellen Page and she would bring a completely different attitude to the part than the Academy Award nominee but Biel has horror acting chops. I really liked her as the female in distress from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre remake and it's one of the few times I've actually been able to tolerate her. Maybe it's because horror leads normally aren't usually a real actress but still I thought she played victim well. I wouldn't rule her out, even if her filming schedule is pretty locked solid right now.

Ellen Page's fellow X-Men 3 co-star Anna Paquin seem like a pretty decent choice. She's actually 27 but still looks like she could pass for a 21 year old and like Page has a big vulnerability about her acting at times. She can easily play scared and has actually just completed her part in the horror movie Trick r' Treat, which from the trailers certainly has a Raimi B-movie style horror about it. Again she would play it very different from all the other actresses' mentioned but she has the same physique as Page and she has quite a lot of experience of the big time now. She has to be a contender, and her current slate is clean. Any other ideas guys? It is really hard to think of any young Hollywood actresses' who Sam Raimi would be interested in working with and I can't help but feel that he has really lost out on a big opportunity here. Though of course it wasn't his fault.I think the combination of Page and Raimi would have churned an amazing horror movie, quite honestly. If I were he, I would cast Hayden Panettiere straight away for the part or better yet delay the picture until Page is available again, even if it means waiting until after the strike.