EXCLUSIVE: In a departure from her High School Musical past, Vanessa Hudgens has been set to star alongside Nicolas Cage and John Cusack in Frozen Ground, the Emmett/Furla Films thriller that is being sold here in Toronto, with Voltage Pictures handling international sales. The film, which will begin shooting October 17 in Anchorage, Alaska, marks the feature directing debut of Scott Walker, who wrote the script.

Pic is based on true events surrounding Alaska’s most notorious serial predator, Robert Hansen. Cusack is playing Hansen, regarded in the community as a respected family man. In the span of 12 years, he abducted more than 24 women, flew them into the Alaskan wilderness, and hunted and murdered them. Hudgens will play the one teenage victim who escaped. When she returned to tell her story, nobody believed her. Cage will play the Alaskan State Trooper who finds her on the street. Together they work to bring Hansen to justice.

Frozen Ground is being produced by Randall Emmett and George Furla, along with Amber Entertainment’s Jane Fleming and Mark Ordesky. Envision Entertainment’s Stephan Martirosyan and Remington Chase, and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson and executive producers. Emmett/Furla Films this weekend set a $250 million film find with Envision Entertainment. Hudgens is repped by CAA.

Toronto: Vanessa Hudgens Set For ‘Frozen Ground’ – Deadline.com

An upcoming movie being filmed in Alaska works toward this end. "The Frozen Ground" recounts actual events that occurred in and around Anchorage. Between 1973 and 1983, serial killer Robert Hansen murdered between 17 and 21 women.

Alaska State Trooper Glenn Flothe is credited with building the case to arrest Hansen. However, it was the escape and testimony of one of Hansen’s victims – Cindy Paulson – that ultimately led to his arrest. He took a plea deal on 12 of the murders and is currently serving 416 years plus life in the Spring Creek Correctional Facility in Seward.

Although Hansen’s actions and the circumstances of his victims will be depicted in the film, its emphasis is not on the crimes. Writer-director Scott Walker became interested in telling the story because it largely focuses on two people who overcame prejudice, fear and other difficulties to put an end to Hansen’s horrific spree.

Walker is specifically interested in shining a light on the plight of young people on the street, sometimes referred to as “disposable youth.” His script incorporates the victim’s viewpoint based on many hours of interviews with Paulson. Her cooperation alone validates that it is time for the story to be told and to acknowledge those who never had the chance to tell their story.

Principal photography on the film, which stars Nicolas Cage and John Cusack, begins in October. Spending in Alaska is anticipated to be near $19 million. Local film production company, Piksik LLC, is attached to the project. More than 100 Alaskans are expected to work on the film, with projected wages totaling $3.5 million. In keeping with the growing film industry here in Alaska, other economic benefits, based on lodging, food, transportation and support services will also be realized. But, in the final analysis, the economic benefits may be tangential to the opportunity for social catharsis.

.In a recent visit to Anchorage, the production team expressed an interest in highlighting and supporting community programs to aid women and youth on the street. The Abused Women’s Aid in Crisis (AWAIC) shelter, Covenant House for homeless teens, Standing Together Against Rape (STAR) agency, and Gov. Parnell’s “Choose Respect” initiative were among the programs that were discussed.

Aspects of the story of "The Frozen Ground" may be difficult and disconcerting to us all. But the benefits of the production to Alaska, both socially and economically, cannot be denied. The courage of Cindy Paulson and the dedication of Trooper Glenn Flothe and other law enforcement officials will leave the audience with a hopeful message of lives transformed by courage and caring. In honor and respect to all of the lives touched by the madness of Robert Hansen, their story needs to be told.

Nicolas Cage and John Cusack are in talks to star in a movie about a real-life Alaska serial killer that will film this fall in Anchorage, producers say.

Filming on "The Frozen Ground" is scheduled to begin Oct. 10 and will likely last about seven weeks, said producer Randall Emmett ("Rambo," "16 Blocks").

"Creatively and then financially ... it made sense for us to do the whole film in Alaska," Emmett said in a brief phone interview Wednesday. The producers plan to scout locations in and around Anchorage next week.

The film tells the tale of Robert Hansen, the so-called "Butcher Baker" of Anchorage. Hansen is believed to have killed up to 21 women in the 1970s and '80s and is now serving life at the Spring Creek prison in Seward.

Cusack will play the killer, Emmett said. Cage is set to play an Alaska State Trooper investigating the murders.

The movie marks the second major production to film in Alaska in the past two years as industry boosters and lawmakers seek to lure filmmakers with a generous state tax incentive. "We are thrilled to have a large production coming back," said Dave Worrell, manager for the Alaska Film Office. Worrell said the state is preparing to pre-approve the movie for the state film incentive program, which allows filmmakers to recover as much as 44 percent of their spending.

"I don't think this one is going to be quite as large a production as 'Everybody Loves Whales.' But nonetheless it is a significant production with a named cast, so that's really exciting news," Worrell said. The entertainment-industry magazine Variety reported details of the project Tuesday night, pegging the movie's budget at $27 million. Emmett declined to talk in detail about the film's spending plan.

The filmmakers plan to open an office in Anchorage in September to begin pre-production, said Emmett, who has served as producer or executive producer on dozens of movies including Nicolas Cage vehicles such as "Wicker Man" and "Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call -- New Orleans."

Emmett said the inspiration to film in Alaska came from an unlikely connection. The producer spends time in Palm Springs, Calif., where Alaska furrier Perry Green goes during the winter, he said. The two became good friends and Green kept telling the prolific movie producer to take advantage of Alaska's tax credits.

"This one came along and it just was the perfect fit," Emmett said of the serial killer tale. Another producer on "The Frozen Ground," Mark Ordesky, said it's too early to talk about many of the production details such as how many extras or crew members might be hired in Alaska.

"We just put a casting director on the movie, literally, last week," he said.

He deferred questions about the movie's script -- is it merely inspired by events or meant to be an accurate account? -- to first-time director Scott Walker, who was not immediately available.

"There were a lot of people up there that were touched by these killings. We want to be extremely respectful," said Ordesky, who is best known as executive producer for the "Lord of the Rings" movie trilogy.

Reports from Variety and movie-industry news site deadline.com name multiple executive producers for the Alaska project, including rapper Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson.

The Alaska tax incentive is among the most generous in the nation. But when compared to competing locations such as Vancouver, British Columbia, the remote state has a small pool of experienced crew members for work on major movies.

"As many (crew members) as we can hire from Anchorage, we will, and then the rest will have to be brought in," Emmett said.

"The Frozen Ground" filmmakers originally considered splitting the production between two states -- perhaps shooting exterior shots in Alaska but filming interiors in Louisiana or Michigan, he said. Walker, the writer-director, wanted to keep the production in Alaska.

"After running the costs and looking at how good your (tax) incentive is, we just made the decision to shoot the whole thing there," Emmett said.

Hansen, the killer whose story inspired the movie, was a pilot and baker who preyed on prostitutes and dancers. He confessed in 1984 to killing 17 women in Anchorage and the surrounding area.

The crimes are the stuff of horror movies. Hansen often raped his victims before he shot or stabbed them. He confessed to flying some of the women to the Knik area, turning them loose and stalking them in the woods, according to news reports following his arrest.

Now 72, Hansen is serving a 461-year sentence at Spring Creek Correctional Center.

The writer-director did not meet with Hansen during his research, Ordesky said.

Here's how the producers described the plot of the movie in an email Wednesday:

"The Frozen Ground is based on the events surrounding Alaska's most notorious serial predator, Robert Hansen, a respected family man who for over 12 years, systematically abducted more than 24 women and flew them into the Alaskan wilderness to be hunted. But when one principled and dedicated Alaskan State Trooper finds Hansen's only surviving teenage victim alive on the street, she becomes the vital key in an unlikely partnership that finally brings Hansen to justice."

Cage, Cusack may star in film about Alaska serial killer: Arts | Alaska news at adn.com