Lea Thompson Headshot - P 2013
Left Behind, the reboot of the adaptation of the popular end times book series that has sold more than 65 million copies in the U.S., has added Lea Thompson to its cast, The Hollywood Reporter has learned exclusively.
The film, based on the novels by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LaHaye, will also star Nicolas Cage, Chad Michael Murray, Cassi Thomson, Nicky Whelan, Quinton Aaron and Jordin Sparks.
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Co-written by John Patus and Paul Lalonde, who is also producing alongside Michael Walker and Ed Clydesdale of Stoney Lake Entertainment, Left Behind chronicles the events following the biblical rapture, when millions of people around the world disappear. Those left behind have to learn to survive in a world that is quickly plunging into chaos and destruction.
The pic, directed by Vic Armstrong, is filming in Baton Rouge, La. Jason Hewitt is executive producing (through his Films in Motion banner) along with J. David Williams.
Thompson will play the wife of Cage’s character. She warns her family of the coming apocalypse, but ultimately ends up pushing them even further away.
The first adaptations of the Left Behind books starred Kirk Cameron and launched in 2000. Lalonde wrote and produced the original series as well.
Thompson, who starred in the Back to the Future trilogy and ’90s sitcom Caroline in the City, has more recently appeared in J. Edgar and will also be seen in the soon-to-be-released Ping Pong Summer. She’s repped by Innovative Artists and Gilbertson Entertainment.
E-mail: Rebecca.Ford@THR.com
Twitter: @Beccamford
