Well, it looks like the studios are hoping to cash in early on the buzz surrounding big-budget musicals like Hairspray and are snagging any property with so much as a single dance number. Variety is reporting that Mary Elizabeth Winstead has just signed to star in the dance film Make It Happen. Written by the same man who brought us Save the Last Dance (or as I liked to call it, White Girls Can Jump) and Step Up, the pic will be directed by Darren Grant (Diary of a Mad Black Woman) and will tell the story of a small town girl (Winstead) who heads to the big city for a professional dancing career only to wind up working a Burlesque house. But since the film will be aimed at teens, I'm guessing the burlesque will be more like a Pussycat Dolls routine than anything R-rated.Winstead's career has been building steam over the past couple of years after some relatively high-profile roles -- including supporting parts in Bobby, Black Christmas, Factory Girl, and Grindhouse -- and while she didn't have the biggest role in Tarantino's Death Proof, I'm sure the sight of her in a cheerleader outfit managed to stick in the minds of a few of the audience members. Winstead will also be back in theaters this summer as John McClane's daughter in Live Free or Die Hard. You may remember that, at the Grindhouse junket, Winstead revealed to us that she'd have some ass-kicking to do in the film -- she won't just be a damsel in distress. Make It Happen looks to be Winstead's first foray into dancing but since she is a child star I'm sure there have been some dance lessons somewhere in her past. Production on Make It Happen is set to start this July, plenty of time to brush on a few steps if need be.
