Olivia Thirlby has been on the cusp of birthing out of her Indie womb ever since the critics darling
Juno three years ago - but whilst the leading players from that movie have gone on to multi-million dollar contracts - the plucky New Yorker has turned in solid work in movies that most probably won't ever get to see. She was great in
The Wackness, The Answer Man and
Solitary Man (and how many of those have you seen?), along with a couple of other Indie projects whilst losing out major roles in
Pineapple Express and
Sucker Punch to big breasted blondes, with more conventional Hollywood 'all American" looks. Still - Thirlby's in this business for the long haul, and maybe there's signs of the tide turning this week (and I swear - I'm getting to the meat of the story)...
Variety say Thirlby will play Cassandra Anderson, a 'telepathic' rookie sidekick to
Karl Urban's Judge Dredd in DNA Films' reboot of the satirical 2000 AD comic anti-hero. The 3D movie is gearing up to shoot in South Africa in the fall with the intention of it being closer to its gritty, edgier roots over the ludicrous, mid 90s Sylvester Stallone vehicle. Think John Carpenters Escape From New York (especially as there's only a $45 million budget for this tentpole) or as we are told from a script review as Die Hard taking place within the world of Blade Runner. Although I have huge reservations about director Pete Travis (Vantage Point) he will be working from a script by a top tier sci-fi writer in Alex Garland (28 Days Later, Sunshine).