Fox 2000 has hired Michael Sucsy (The Vow) to direct the feature adaptation of Dare Me, described in movie terms as "Heathers meets Fight Club."  According to Deadline, the studio is courting Natalie Portman to star.  Based on the book synopsis, I assume Portman would play the new cheer squad coach: "Cool and commanding, an emissary from the adult world just beyond their reach, Coach Colette French draws Addy and the other cheerleaders into her life."  A suicide draws a police investigation, and Addy begins to uncover dangerous secrets.  If Portman signs on, Dare Me becomes a project to keep an eye on that should offer a handful of nice roles for young up-and-comers.

Portman has nearly finished filming Jane Got a Gun, a troubled Western project that she produced and headlined.  Portman will next be seen in Thor: The Dark World, opening November 8.  Hit the jump for the Dare Me book synopsis.

Author Megan Abbott was hired to adapt her book:

dare me book cover

Addy Hanlon has always been Beth Cassidy's best friend and trusted lieutenant. Beth calls the shots and Addy carries them out, a long-established order of things that has brought them to the pinnacle of their high-school careers. Now they're seniors who rule the intensely competitive cheer squad, feared and followed by the other girls---until the young new coach arrives.

Cool and commanding, an emissary from the adult world just beyond their reach, Coach Colette French draws Addy and the other cheerleaders into her life. Only Beth, unsettled by the new regime, remains outside Coach's golden circle, waging a subtle but vicious campaign to regain her position as "top girl"---both with the team and with Addy herself.

Then a suicide focuses a police investigation on Coach and her squad. After the first wave of shock and grief, Addy tries to uncover the truth behind the death---and learns that the boundary between loyalty and love can be dangerous terrain. [Amazon]