After the overwrought supernatural love triangles of both Twilight and Red Riding Hood, it sounds like Catherine Hardwicke is looking to ease back into the sort of territory she covered so well with Thirteen, agreeing a deal to direct The Bitch Posse.
Actress-writer Tristine Skyler has adapted Martha O’Connor’s 2006 novel, which appears to blend the time-jumping memory tales of Now and Then with the pitch-black portrayal of women seen in Heathers.
The "Bitch Posse" of the title is a group of three friends, Cherry, Amy and Rennie, who come from difficult homes but bond over their shared problems. But instead of forming a self-help group, they turn their frustrations against their fellow classmates, causing trouble until something tears their friendship apart. And the ramifications push on into their adult lives, with one entering a mental institution, another trapped in a loveless marriage and the third former friend as a writer who just wants to sleep around.
Without overstretched budgets and silly CG werewolves to worry about this time, Bitch Posse sounds like it could be prime Hardwicke material, taking a hard stare at the cruelty of young women and the effect it can have on them and those around. It may even end up as her next project, though she has a few options, including an adaptation of The Maze Runner and computer thriller Dot War in development.