EXCLUSIVE: Analeigh Tipton (Crazy, Stupid, Love, Warm Bodies) will star in Blumhouse Productions’ Viral (formerly known as Peste), the outbreak horror pic to be helmed by Catfish directing duo Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. The pair helmed Paranormal Activity 3 and 4 for Blumhouse and are heading into production on the IM Global- and Blumhouse International-backed production next week. Tipton will play Stacey, whose suburban life with her parents and sister Emma is upturned when a lethal parasitic virus spreads to their neighborhood and they’re trapped within their quarantined city along with the increasingly violent infected. More casting news is coming shortly as the filmmakers lock Tipton’s co-stars.
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Script originally was written by Barbara Marshall and landed on the Black List, the Blood List, and the Hit List before IM Global snagged it in 2012. Disturbia‘s Christopher Landon, who also wrote Paranormal Activity 2, 3, 4, and 5, was tapped to do rewrites. Dimension’s got U.S. rights to the pic, which is being produced by Jason Blum for Blumhouse, Matt Kaplan for Chapter One Films, and Sherryl Clark for Busted Shark. IM Global CEO Stuart Ford and President of Production Matt Jackson are exec producing alongside Charles Layton. Blumhouse is handling foreign sales.
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Tipton next has on her docket Max Nichols’ Two Night Stand opposite Miles Teller and appears in upcoming pics 4 Minute Mile, Mississippi Grind, and Luc Besson’s Lucy starring Scarlett Johansson. Tipton also stars in the ABC comedy pilot My Thoughts Exactly. She’s repped by Mosaic, CAA and McKuin Frankel Whitehead.