Katie Cassidy (TAKEN) will topline as the title character in the mind-bending thriller feature, THE SCRIBBLER, which begins production this week in downtown Los Angeles. Starring alongside Cassidy will be Garret Dillahunt (WINTER’S BONE), Michelle Trachtenberg (Gossip Girl), Eliza Dushku (Dollhouse), Gina Gershon (KILLER JOE), Michael Imperioli (THE LOVELY BONES), Billy Campbell (The Killing), and Sasha Grey (THE GIRLFRIEND EXPERIENCE). Rounding out the supporting cast are Ashlynn Yennie (THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE), Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory), and T.V. Carpio (LIMITLESS).

THE SCRIBBLER concerns Suki (Cassidy), a young woman confronting her destructive mental illness using “The Siamese Burn”, an experimental machine designed to eliminate multiple personalities. The closer Suki comes to being “cured”, she’s haunted by a thought… what if the last unwanted identity turns out to be her?

NAA Founder Gabriel Cowan will produce alongside NightSky productions Ken F. Levin. Caliber’s Dallas Sonnier and Jack Heller will executive produce the film alongside NAA’s Kerry Johnson. Daniel Schaffer adapted the screenplay adapted from his own graphic novel, which Image Comics originally published in 2006 and is going to be re-released by First Comics in conjunction with the film’s opening.

Where Burt tends to blurt whatever’s in his head, Dillahunt’s character in “Any Day Now” tends to come out with perfect citations of legal precedent, to be the voice of reason to Cumming’s voice of passion.

“It’s fun to work with dialogue like that,” Dillahunt says. “It’s sort of how it was on ‘Deadwood,’ when I was playing Francis Wolcott and would have these incredible speeches. Somehow, because they’re well-written, they flow off the tongue. It’s fun to express yourself in different ways. You hardly ever get to do things like that.”

Dillahunt, who grew up in Washington State, went to NYU’s graduate school to get an MFA. But he claims he got a new lesson in acting from working with Isaac Leyva, who plays the teen at the center of the film’s conflict.

“He was probably the best actor on the set, to our shame,” Dillahunt says. “The thing that was so valuable to me was that he was so filled with joy at the whole process. It was his dream to be in a movie. And his emotions are right there, so close to the surface. It shamed me. I’d get caught up in minutiae of the business or be dissatisfied with the way things were going. You get cantankerous and start to micromanage.

“And then you get reminded by this boy why you started doing this in the first place. It helped the dynamic of the movie. There was a real danger of falling into sentimentality or stereotypes, which would make the movie easy to dismiss. But Isaac – and Travis, the director – helped us tread the fine line between sentimentality and keeping the emotions truthful.”

From The Hollywood Reporter:

Travis Fine’s Any Day Now won the Heineken [Audience] Award for narrative film, and Tom Putnam and Brenna Sanchez’s BURN received the audience award for documentary at a wrap party held by the 11th annual Tribeca Film Festival on Saturday Night.

Traditionally, the festival has handed out one audience award, but this year it moved to two awards, one for narrative and one for documentary. Each award included a cash prize of $25,000. Additionally as part of the Tribeca Film Festival Artists Awards program, Any Day Now received the sculpture Ascension courtesy of Nathan Sawaya and BURN received Jacobs #16 “Blue Skies” courtesy of Peter Dayton & Winston Wächter Fine Art.

For pics from Tribeca, go to Topnews.in (another one here) and Zimbio.

And you can read the first reviews, with a bunch of new info about the film, at Screen Daily and The Hollywood Reporter.

Raising Hope:

Insider: What are you hoping to do in season three with Burt that you haven’t yet?
Garret: Well, I really like how physical they have Burt – I’m always wrestling and jumping and running and falling – it’s the most physically demanding show I’ve ever done, which I wasn’t expecting, but that’s what makes it fun. I hope to keep that up. And I wonder what would happen if Sabrina and Jimmy got a place of their own, which would make Burt and Virginia deal with empty nest syndrome for the first time. But that’s just me – I don’t know if that’s going to happen.

Any Day Now:

Insider: You have two films opening at The Tribeca Film Festival. First is Any Day Now, where you play one half a gay couple (alongside Alan Cumming) who tries to adopt. What attracted you to this project?
Garret: First, I’m a fan of Alan’s and he was already attached when I signed on. He’s just joy. There’s nothing toxic about the guy – he’s all about having a good time as he makes his way through life. I also thought it was a beautiful story that would be very difficult to bring to life without being sappy or manipulative – that presented an interesting challenge. As did playing this barely out of the closet attorney in the 1970s, who has to make some massive leaps in his personal life in order to make public proclamations of who he loves. It seemed very timely as well.

Revenge for Jolly:

Insider: How did Alan compare to Kristen Wiig, whom you marry in Revenge For Jolly?
Garret: [laughs] Well, my responsibilities are a lot less in Jolly. It’s a great, long wedding scene. I had played Kristen’s husband before in this short called One Night Only. Her boyfriend wrote that movie and also Jolly, so I guess he thinks Kristen and I have good on-screen chemistry. She’s another one, like Alan, that is unafraid. She jumps wholeheartedly into a role and you can’t help but be right there with them.

Looper:

Insider: Who do you play in the movie?
Garret: I play Jesse, who is one of the “Gatmen” – they’re the dudes in the long black coats that are the enforcers for the bad guys. I’m hunting Joseph’s character when he messes up and breaks the rules, which allows me to the baddest of the “Gatmen.” I had the real leather coat, just so you know – which was not the best in New Orleans heat [laughs], What I like about the characters in this film is that there’s no white hats. I’m just a guy with a family trying to do his job. I don’t want to get hurt, I just want to find him and go home.

Killing Them Softly:

Insider: Didn’t Killing Them Softly [which reunites Garret with his Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford director Andrew Dominik] also film in New Orleans?
Garret: It did, but my role is just a cameo in that because Andrew was bringing back the whole Jesse James crew. Although the first cut of the film was two and a half hours long, and I know they had to trim that down to an hour and a half, so I might have been cut out. I don’t know. But it was great to see those guys again.

Following the revelations of the “Inside Probe” expose of their family history, the Chances are put on trial in a fight to retain custody of Hope.

Previews:

And you can find two new Looper featurettes at Filmofilia.com.

“New Girl,” “Raising Hope” AND “Glee”
TO CONTINUE LAUGHS IN 2012-13 SEASON ON FOX

Spring Into Tuesdays Tomorrow with the Return of Glee,
Followed By All-New Episodes of New Girl and Raising Hope

FOX has ordered a second season of freshman breakout hit New Girl, a third installment of the irreverent family comedy Raising Hope and a fourth season of the genre-defying musical sensation Glee, it was announced today by Kevin Reilly, President of Entertainment, Fox Broadcasting Company.

“Over the past season, New Girl has become the hottest new appointment series for young adults; Raising Hope has established itself as one of the smartest and most unique offbeat comedies on television; and Glee has continued its success as a genre-defying, global cultural phenomenon,” said Reilly. “All three of these comedies add a fresh and distinctive flavor to our Tuesday nights, and I’m really happy to bring them back to our air next season.”

All-new episodes of Glee return to Tuesdays (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), beginning tomorrow, April 10, with New Girl remaining at 9:00-9:31 PM ET/PT, and Raising Hope returning to its regular time slot at 9:31-10:00 PM ET/PT.

Currently in its first season, New Girl is the No. 1 new series among Adults 18-34 and the No. 2 new scripted series among Adults 18-49. The show stars Zooey Deschanel as a school teacher who moved in with three single guys, and their new friendships changed their lives in unexpected ways. The Golden Globe-nominated series also stars Jake Johnson, Max Greenfield, Lamorne Morris and Hannah Simone. In the all-new “Normal” episode airing tomorrow, Tuesday, April 10 (9:00-9:31 PM ET/PT), Jess (Deschanel) invites Russell (guest star Dermot Mulroney) to spend the weekend at the loft. Created by Liz Meriwether (“No Strings Attached”), New Girl is produced by Chernin Entertainment in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Meriwether, Jake Kasdan, Peter Chernin, Katherine Pope, Dave Finkel and Brett Baer are executive producers.

In the two-part season finale of Raising Hope beginning tomorrow, Tuesday, April 10 (9:31-10:00 PM ET/PT), and concluding on Tuesday, April 17 (9:31-10:00 PM ET/PT), Nancy Grace guest-stars as the host of the newsmagazine series “Inside Probe,” which turns its focus on the Chance’s history, culminating in the family going on trial to fight for custody of baby Hope. Created by Emmy Award winner Greg Garcia, the series follows the Chance family as the unplanned addition to their family becomes a toddler. The show stars Lucas Neff, Emmy Award nominee Martha Plimpton, Garret Dillahunt, Shannon Woodward and Cloris Leachman. Raising Hope is produced by Amigos de Garcia Productions in association with 20th Century Fox Television.

Now in its third season, Glee continues to be a Top 10 comedy among Adults 18-49 and the No. 1 scripted series among Teens. The hit series returns this spring answering the dramatic cliffhangers of Quinn’s (Dianna Agron) car accident, Finn (Cory Monteith) and Rachel’s (Lea Michele) wedding and Sue’s (Jane Lynch) pregnancy, as graduation at McKinley High approaches. In the Spring Premiere “Big Brother” episode airing tomorrow, Tuesday, April 10 (8:00-9:00 PM ET/PT), Blaine’s (Darren Criss) big-shot Hollywood actor brother Cooper (guest star Matt Bomer, “White Collar”) comes to visit. Glee is produced by Ryan Murphy Television in association with 20th Century Fox Television. Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuk, Ian Brennan and Dante Di Loreto serve as executive producers.

Here is the poster (click for full size):