Eager to put the teen soap “Gossip Girl” behind her, Blake Lively has been making strong turns in feature films like “The Private Lives of Pippa Lee,” last year’s “The Town” (and less notably, this year’s “Green Lantern“). The actress is set to make a return trip to Toronto this year for the indie drama “Hick” and it should be another shift for the actress for those who mostly know her as Serena van der Woodsen.
Directed by Derick Martini (”Lymelife”), the film is an adaptation of Andrea Portes’ coming-of-age novel of the same name (she penned the script as well). The story revolves around Luli (played by Chloe Moretz), a 13-year-old Nebraskan girl and her hard-going life on the road after she runs away from her neglectful parents and home. She’s taken in by Glenda (Lively), a hard-living grifter who takes her under her wing. Alec Baldwin, Rory Culkin, Ray McKinnon, Juliette Lewis and Eddie Redmayne round out the cast. Here’s the official logline:
A Nebraska teen gets much more than she bargained for when she sets out for the bright lights of the big city.
Lively as a drifer? Moretz as a runaway? We have to admit, we’re curious. [TIFF]
