Catherine Hardwicke is in talks to direct Miss Bala, the remake of the Mexican film that was nominated for Best Foreign Film in 2011. I’ve heard the studio is heavily courting Gina Rodriguez, among other actresses (like Michelle Rodriguez) She doesn’t have the role yet but is the front-runner. Hardwicke has separately been circling The Phantom Tollbooth, which is at sister label TriStar project. If the studio gets a star tof Miss Bala quickly, Hardwicke won’t likely catch the other train. Kevin Misher and Pablo Cruz are producing, Andy Berman is executive producer. Gareth Dunnet-Alcocer is adapting the script by original director Gerard Naranjo and Mauricio Katz.

The film is an adaptation of the Mexican entry for best foreign-language film at the 84th Academy Awards in 2011. It centers on a woman named Laura Guerrero who, along with her friend, enters a Miss Baja beauty pageant. She witnesses during rehearsals a gang killing Drug Enforcement Administration agents and nightclub-goers, which turns her life upside down. She’s then kidnapped by the men and forced to work for them in the deadly drug war.