Proving that original spec scripts can still occasionally get you somewhere in this world of already-existing properties, writer Brian Duffield recently sparked a studio bidding war for his buzzy screenplay The Babysitter. New Line won, and Joseph McGinty "McG" Nichol (Charlie's Angels, Terminator Salvation) was initially only going to produce, until he decided he liked it so much he was going to direct too. And he now has his lead actress, in the form of Samara Weaving.
If that name isn't familiar, it might be soon. Weaving is an Aussie actress and model (and Hugo Weaving's niece) who escaped Home & Away and Out Of The Blue and will shortly be seen in roles of varying sizes in the upcoming movies Bad Girl, Monster Trucks and Before Dawn. Variety say she's also starring with Bruce Campbell in the TV series Ash Vs Evil Dead, although that information doesn't seem to appear anywhere else yet. Maybe they just mean for one episode.
Not many details about The Babysitter have been made available yet, but it's been described as a "coming-of-age horror". The thrust is apparently a 12-year-old boy and his temporary guardian enduring "a night when things take an unexpected turn for the worst".
There are no start or release dates yet, but if casting's underway expect The Babysitter to call soon.