Last month, we learned that former Doctor Who Matt Smith was in negotiations to play cult leader Charles Manson in a project that was being called THE FAMILY, from the AMERICAN PSYCHO team of director Mary Harron and writer Guinevere Turner. The deal appears to have been closed with Smith, as The Hollywood Reporter has announced that he will be playing Manson in the film that's now known as CHARLIE SAYS.
CHARLIE SAYS is based on the books The Family by Ed Sanders and The Long Prison Journey of Leslie van Houten: Life Beyond the Cult by Karlene Faith. The story centers on
grad student Faith as she works with three brainwashed young women who were part of the Manson family — Leslie Van Houten, Patricia Krenwinkel and Susan Atkins. The story will be told via a series of flashbacks after the three women are incarcerated in a special security unit at the California Institute for Women.
We had heard that Hannah Murray and Marianne Rendon were up for the roles of Van Houten and Atkins, and they appear to be officially signed on now as well.
Also in the cast with Smith, Murray, and Rendon are Suki Waterhouse, Odessa Young, Carla Gugino, Kaylie Carter, and Emmy-winning The Walking Dead alum Merritt Wever. Young will be playing Krenwinkel, while Wever (pictured above) takes on the role of Faith.
Harron says,
Guinevere Turner’s script brings a fresh and unique perspective to the infamous story of the Manson murders and we have now found the perfect cast to bring it to life."
CHARLIE SAYS is being produced by Jeremy M. Rosen and Kevin Shulman. Dana Guerin, Michael Guerin, David Hillary, and Ed Sanders are executive producing.
Filming begins in L.A. this spring.