Summit knows the tween market better than anybody else these days and with their mad money franchise “Twilight” drawing to a close, they’re trying to find other ways to lure that all-important dollar from young moviegoers. They picked up the adaptation of “The Perks of Being a Wallfower” during Sundance earlier this year, and now it’s gearing up to shoot and has added another cast member to Emma Watson and Logan Lerman who were first attached last spring.
Variety reveals that Mae Whitman — perhaps best known for playing George Michael’s Christian girlfriend Ann on “Arrested Development” or as Roxy Richter in “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World” — has joined the film. Based on the novel by Stephen Chbosky, who is also directing, the film tells the story of a shy, unpopular teenager who, through a series of letters to an anonymous person, explores his awkward adolescence including drug use, abuse and sexuality in 1991 Pittsburgh. Due to its touchy subjects, the novel placed sixth on the American Library Association’s list of the top 10 most frequently challenged books of 2008.
Whitman will play the tattooed vegetarian first girlfriend of Charlie (Lerman). Watson will play Sam, an older friend that Charlie develops feelings for. Filming on ‘Perks’ will begin next month in Pittsburgh.