EXCLUSIVE
Columbus Short and Alicja Bachleda are set to star in "The Girl Is In Trouble," their representation at CAA has confirmed to TheWrap.
Wilmer Valderrama and "House" star Jesse Spencer are also attached to the project, according to an individual familiar with the film.
The noir thriller follows a Lower East Side bartender who unravels a mystery that connects a desperate young woman (Bachleda) to a missing drug dealer and the scion of New York's most powerful stockbroker.
Julius Onah is set to make his feature directorial debut on the movie, which he also co-wrote with Mayuran Tiruchelvam.
Onah is a 4th-year MFA student at NYU, and the project is his thesis film. He was recently named one of 2010's 25 New Faces of Independent Film by Filmmaker Magazine after his cell-phone short, "Goodbye Chicken, Farewell Goat," premiered at the Los Angeles Film Festival.
Onah's mentor, Spike Lee, will exec produce "The Girl Is In Trouble, while Jen Gatien of DeerJen Films will produce alongside Toy Closet Films' Robert Profusek and Ryan Silbert.
Production is expected to begin later this fall in New York.
Short has come a long way since debuting as a dancer in 2004's "You Got Served." Just three years later he played the lead in Screen Gems' "Stomp the Yard," and he recently starred in the studio's thriller "Armored," as well as WB's "The Losers." He'll next be seen in "Stomp the Yard 2: Homecoming," a sequel that he also co-produced.
Bachleda recently starred opposite boyfriend Colin Farrell in Neil Jordan's "Ondine," and previously shared the screen with Kevin Kline in the sex trafficking drama "Trade."
Valderrama recently wrapped Tom Hanks' dramedy "Larry Crowne." He can currently be seen in the indie drama "The Dry Land" and will next star in "From Prada to Nada," a Latina version of Jane Austen's classic novel "Sense and Sensibility." The actor, beloved for playing Fez on "That 70's Show," remains attached to produce and star in the buddy comedy "Partybuddys," which is in development at Universal.
Spencer is best known for starring on Fox's "House" and the Australian TV drama "Neighbours." He was previously seen on the big screen opposite Brittany Murphy and Dakota Fanning in "Uptown Girls."
Valderrama and Spencer are represented by UTA, while Bachleda is also represented by The Hofflund Company.
