Halloween lead cast?

While I’ve been critical of Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN in the past, I am anxious to see the man fix up the problems and get the project going. He’s a talented guy and one of our best prospects for up-and-coming horror directors so I’d hate to see him take a misstep with a poorly executed remake. While there was some buzz the film was put on hold, there still seems to be some movement in casting as Zombie just announced on Friday the addition of Brad Dourif. We’ve got some more news today on casting for the major role that’s yet to be cast – Laurie Strode. A longtime JoBlo scooper, who’s delivered some scoops that have turned out to be on the money and some that have turned out to be a little confused. So take this with a grain of salt but said scooper says that the frontrunner to play Laurie in HALLOWEEN is none other than “Heroes” star Hayden Panettiere. Says the JoBlo scooper, a deal is not done yet but Panettiere is the favorite of Zombie. I have my doubts that she would take the role in a gore/curse/nudity-fest like Zombie’s HALLOWEEN, especially when she has a sugary pop album aimed at the tween audience coming out this spring. There are, reportedly, other actresses in the running but they’re all waiting on word from Panettiere’s camp. We’ll continue to investigate and report back with any more news…