LOS ANGELES - Sarah Michelle Gellar is attached to star in a feature version of the Electronic Arts video game "American McGee’s Alice," which is itself based on Lewis Carroll’s "Alice in Wonderland" novels.
In the game, Alice has grown up to become a disturbed young woman. After her parents are killed in a fire, Alice returns to Wonderland, a dark and threatening place of looking glasses, mysterious potions, nonsensical tea parties and talking animals, confronting her fears and the wicked Queen of Hearts.
The film, "Alice," is set up at Universal Pictures, where it will be directed by Marcus Nispel, who shot the recent update of "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Gellar’s recent credits include "The Grudge" and the "Scooby Doo" films.
"American McGee’s Alice" became a critically acclaimed hit on the PC when it shipped in December 2000. The game received an 83% aggregate review score on Gamerankings.com, which helped Electronic Arts sell more than 488,000 units of the game and generate more than $11.8 million in revenue, consulting firm NPD Group said. The game was created by American McGee, a lead designer of the "Quake" and "Doom" series.
That same month, Dimension Films optioned the movie rights to "Alice" from Electronic Arts; horror veteran Wes Craven was attached to produce and direct.
