Mischa Barton - Francesca (The Sophomore/Assassination of a High School President) 08: BRUCE WILLIS?!

**Cristofle** · 06-14-2007, 08:53 PM

Mischa is currently filming this movie in New Jersey- she's got a big role, so we're very excited about it!

Mischa Barton To Join Willis, Thornton In "The Sophomore"

LOS ANGELES, Calif. (June 14, 2007) - Mischa Barton is joining the cast of "The Sophomore," also starring Bruce Willis and Billy Bob Thornton, Access Hollywood has learned.
The film originally had the working title, “"Assassination of a High School President."
Barton, best known for playing Marissa Cooper for three seasons on television’s “The O.C.,” has 5 films slated for 2007 (according to IMDB) – “Closing The Ring,” “Virgin Territory,” “Don’t Fade Away,” “St. Trinian’s,” and “Malice In Sunderland.”

Source: Access Hollywood | Mischa Barton To Join Willis, Thornton In "The Sophomore" | Celebrity and Hollywood News

Here are two kind of plot descriptions of the movie, along with the mention of Francesca:

Quote:

The comedy, set in a Catholic high school, will follow Bobby Funke, a bullied sophomore investigating the theft of the school's SAT exams for St. Dominick's newspaper. Willis will play principal John T. Kirkpatrick, a Desert Storm veteran fond of recounting pungent anecdotes from his time liberating Kuwait and barking inspiring speeches such as: "Gentlemen, you are filth. Your parents have either spoiled or abused you to such a degree that your hearts have become black and lifeless. Your brains are warped, your souls doomed. There is no hope for any of you."

The movie is based on an original script by first-time writers Tim Calpin and Kevin Jakubowski. Brett Simon will make his feature film debut.

Quote:

Bruce Willis, who has a knack for picking memorable supporting roles (see: "Fast Food Nation," "Nobody's Fool"), has just snagged himself another juicy one. The 52-year-old actor has signed on to play the ultimate intimidating principal in "Assassination of a High School President," a hot original script written by first-time scribes Tim Calpin and Kevin Jakubowski that landed on a list of the most-liked screenplays late last year.

A comedic homage to "Chinatown" set in a Catholic high school, "Assassination" is replete with surprising twists, duplicitous characters and a wry, hard-boiled voice-over delivered by Bobby Funke, a bullied sophomore investigating the theft of the school's SAT exams for St. Dominick's newspaper. Of course, this leads to broader conspiracies, and no one is without a secret agenda. Throw in fart jokes, wet willies, beer pong and lunchroom class war and it's "All the President's Teenagers."

(Though the violence in the script is minimal, it remains to be seen if the killing spree at Virginia Tech will effect changes to it.)

Yari Film Group optioned Jakubowski and Calpin's screenplay last fall, and Willis has signed a pay-or-play deal to shoot the film in July for video and commercial director Brett Simon, making his feature film debut. Willis will play principal John T. Kirkpatrick, a Desert Storm veteran fond of recounting pungent anecdotes from his time liberating Kuwait and barking inspiring speeches such as: "Gentlemen, you are filth. Your parents have either spoiled or abused you to such a degree that your hearts have become black and lifeless. Your brains are warped, your souls doomed. There is no hope for any of you."

"That is Kevin's and my amalgamation of what we thought the student-to-faculty dynamic was, which is very warlike," says Calpin, who with Jakubowski is a product of the Catholic education system. "The great part is, it might be what teachers actually thought of Kevin and me."

The hipness of the screenplay's concept and tone echo the high school environs of John Hughes movies. That, and the popularity of Simon's music videos, have prompted many of the industry's hottest young actors — Hilary Duff and Lindsay Lohan, among others — to show interest in Francesca, the femme fatale. (Willis' 18-year-old daughter, Rumer, last seen in "Hostage," will appear in a supporting role.)

The script I sped through was a fast and funny read. A riff on "JFK," "All the President's Men" and Robert Towne's neo-noir classic, "Assassination" contains dialogue richly peppered with the stupidly slangy put-downs of the teen years, and it's more accessibly stylized than last year's "Brick," a previous dramatic attempt to set a noir in a modern-day high school. The plot is intriguingly convoluted, and Calpin, 27, and Jakubowski, 28 — former assistants on "South Park" — make great use of the locales, relentless humiliations and social hierarchies of the high school snake pit.

"Everything mattered so much when you were in high school — that's your world," Jakubowski says, "and something that would happen to a student council president is as big as if the actual president was assassinated."

Pictures of Mischa on the set

eatyourgreens · 06-14-2007, 08:54 PM

I CANNOT WAIT FOR THIS!!!!!!

satkrhewbf

**Sam_MC** · 06-14-2007, 08:55 PM

WOOOO, Liz

FEMME FATALE. Key words!!

**Cristofle** · 06-14-2007, 08:56 PM

Pleeeeeeeeeease let that be it. Considering who was fighting for it, lol. Mischa is definitely the best choice

**Sam_MC** · 06-14-2007, 08:58 PM

Hands down.

She's got femme fatale written all over her lol.

**Cristofle** · 06-14-2007, 09:00 PM

She also has more experience with bad girl roles. More experience period, actually, lol.

**Sam_MC** · 06-14-2007, 09:03 PM

I have nothing against Hilary Duff, but I think people would assume a "sweet" role for her.

And well Lindsay. They would have to live with her bad rep, have a rehab centre on stand by and baby proof the knives on set.

**Cristofle** · 06-14-2007, 09:07 PM

LMAO. Exactly.

I can't really see Hilary in a femme fatale role; she seems like a nice girl but that's just it. She SCREAMS "nice girl", lol.

And yeah, Lindsay, while I think she's the more talented actress between her and Hilary, comes with a LOT of problems and she's been getting a lot of flack for showing up late to set or holding back productions due to rehab and such.

CreekFreak · 06-14-2007, 09:07 PM

Hilary Duff can't act or sing.

LMAOOOOOOO. Lindsay and knives.

**Cristofle** · 06-14-2007, 10:42 PM

Thanks to Marie for this; I think this confirms Francesca.

'Soph' hop for Barton with Willis

NEW YORK -- Mischa Barton and Rumer Willis have been cast opposite Bruce Willis, Rumer's father, in the dark comedy "The Sophomore" for Yari Film Group.

In this teenage take on "Chinatown," Barton plays the most popular girl in her Catholic high school. She persuades a sophomore reporter to investigate the theft of SAT exams, but after he reveals that the school's president and top jock are responsible, a more sinister conspiracy emerges.

Rumer Willis plays the troublemaking sidekick of Barton's character. Bruce Willis plays the school's twisted principal, a Desert Storm veteran who can't let go of his glory days in Kuwait.

Bob Yari is producing the feature with Roy Lee and Doug Davison of Vertigo Entertainment. Elsie Choi serves as co-producer. YFG production exec Brad Jenkel is overseeing the project, which was brought to the studio by YFG development exec Eric Umali. Vertigo co-produced "Addicted," starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, with YFG.

The film (previously titled "Assassination of a High School President") will be directed by Brett Simon and written by Tim Calpin and Kevin Jakubowski, who all are making their feature film debuts. Principal photography is set to begin in August. Simon has helmed music videos for several bands, including Good Charlotte and the Killers.

The film (previously titled "Assassination of a High School President") will be directed by Brett Simon and written by Tim Calpin and Kevin Jakubowski, who all are making their feature film debuts. Principal photography is set to begin in August. Simon has helmed music videos for several bands, including Good Charlotte and the Killers.

Barton, best known for her role on "The O.C.," recently starred in Luke Kasdan's indie drama "Don't Fade Away" and is filming Roland Joffe's drama "Finding t.A.T.u" in Russia.

Rumer Willis made her screen debut at age 5 in "Now and Then," which starred her mother, Demi Moore. She most recently appeared in the 2005 film "Hostage" with her father.

Barton is repped by CAA and Jack Heller at the Schiff Co. Rumer Willis is repped by Jennifer Merlino of Untitled Entertainment.

Source: 'Soph' hop for Barton with Willis

**-Alicia-** · 06-14-2007, 11:12 PM

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Bruce AND Mischa?!?!?

OMG I can't wait for this!

Junk_Yard_Slut · 06-15-2007, 01:52 AM

This movie sounds BEYOND awesome. Mischa's definitely the best choice for the role. She's actually an actress lol, unlike the rest.

I'm so excited! It's going to rock!

PiCkLeS4dAwSoN · 06-15-2007, 03:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mischalicious (View Post)

Bruce AND Mischa?!?!?

OMG I can't wait for this!

Seriously, too good to be true! I am SO anticipating this one!

I was just thinking how great it'd be if she teamed up with Bruce, since I've been on my Die Hard kick lately. And, you can't really count The Sixth Sense...I forget, did they even share a scene together, or was it just her and Haley? And, Bruce working with his eldest daughter (again), and Mischa, seriously just greatness! This has just jumped to the head of the list of what I want to see most now, lol.

MiScHa <3 · 06-15-2007, 05:01 AM

ZOMFGGGGGGGGG *starts breathing in a bag*

Mischaaaaaa new movieeeeeeeee Bruceeeeeeeee

shes a star shes a star shes a star!!!!!!!

ps. Francesca is an italian name!! whooop

eatyourgreens · 06-15-2007, 07:37 AM

SHE'S TOTALLY FRANCESCA! EEEEEEE!

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