Poet Sylvia Plath’s only novel (which she wrote under a pen name) is a tragic descent into depression that stands as a parallel to the author’s own life. It would be an excruciating subject matter to explore. In fact, Plath committed suicide just after the first print run.

However, Julia Stiles is staring that psychological pressure down by signing on to produce and star in The Bell Jar.

By starring, she’ll take on the role of Esther Greenwood, and she’ll be joined by Virginia Madsen who will play Dr. Nolan – the female therapist Greenwood sees after unsuccessful sessions with a male psychiatrist. Nicole Kassell (who directed The Woodsman and is directing a movie where Whoopi Goldberg plays God) will be directing.

I am so pleased to announce that Virginia has signed on to the ensemble of Red Riding Hood. Director Catherine Hardwicke’s Gothic variation on the classic fairy tale is set for Warner Bros. release March 11, 2011.

Set in a medieval village that is haunted by a werewolf, a young girl falls for an orphaned woodcutter, much to her family’s displeasure.

Virginia will play the mother of Amanda Seyfried’s heroine in the werewolfilm, which was scripted by Orphan’s David Leslie Johnson. The cast also includes Lukas Haas, Shiloh Fernandez, Gary Oldman and Julie Christie.