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This article mentions that Katie has been offered the part of murderer Barbara Hoffman: Doug Moe: Hoffman movie may get big star By Doug Moe MIKE GRAF, just back in town after two weeks in California casting his movie about the Barbara Hoffman case, was saying the part of Hoffman is creating a buzz in Hollywood, especially since Charlize Theron won the Academy Award in February for playing another real-life homicidal maniac. "This is a part every young actress wants to play," Graf said Tuesday, adding that the part has officially been offered to former "Dawson's Creek" star Katie Holmes. Graf, whose Spot FilmWorks company specializes in shooting high-end broadcast advertising spots for agencies in Milwaukee and Chicago, optioned Madison writer Karl Harter's book on the Hoffman case, "Winter of Frozen Dreams," several years ago and has been trying to finance it ever since. The script Graf wrote with Milwaukee ad man Michael Caughill has been winning awards - most recently, a Gold Remi for superior screenwriting at the 37th annual Houston International Film Festival - and it helped Graf land a top entertainment attorney in New York City. It was the lawyer's idea to pursue casting before the financing is finalized. "He's confident we'll be shooting in January," Graf said, and the plan is to film in and around Madison, unless Canada's lower production costs lure the filmmakers north. The only other part that has actually been offered is that of Madison detective Chuck Lulling - a colorful character who once told me he won $600 on the Hoffman verdict. Lulling bet guilty, of course, and the beautiful and intelligent UW chemistry student was found guilty in 1980 of one of the two murders (Harold Berge and Gerald Davies) for which she stood trial in Dane County Court. The Lulling part has been offered to Stellan Skarsgard, whose film credits include "Good Will Hunting." Years of writing about movies has taught me that nothing - nothing - is certain until the money is on the table, but my sense is Mike Graf is going to pull this off. If Chuck Lulling was still around I'd even bet him on that. ... ====================== I was not familiar with who Barbara Hoffman was, so I went to Amazon.com and looked up Karl Harter's book on the Hoffman case, "Winter of Frozen Dreams." On Christmas Day 1977, Jerry Davies led Madison, Wisconsin police to a snowbank concealing the corpse of Harry Berge. By the day after Easter, Davies lay dead in his bathtub, an apparent suicide. The link between the two was their shared love for Barbara Hoffman, a former honor student and massage parlor queen who had enlisted Davies's aid in removing Berge's body from her apartment. In recounting the complexities of the case, which riveted the community for two and a half years, Harter reveals an eye for the gruesome detail and ironic twist, but when the verdicts are in, Hoffman, and the mens' deaths, seem destined to remain mysteries. ================== *Edited to say that I contacted Mr Graf via email and asked him if he could tell us anything else about Katie's involvement in this project. He was nice enough to reply quickly and he said that they offered her the part, and they're waiting to hear if she is interested. They haven't talked to her yet though.
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