“Friday Night Lights” star Connie Britton has scored the female lead in producers Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk’s new hush-hush TV series  “An American Horror Story.” The busty 44-year-old actress will play Vivien Harmon, the wife of sensitive therapist Ben Harmon.

Murphy will shoot the pilot episode in April. Plot details remain top secret. However, if Murphy’s “Glee” and “Nip/Tuck” programs are any indication, the new show will most likely go gay by season 2 and feature a parade of  guest cameos.

Britton, who is best known for her roles on “Spin City” and “Friday Night Lights,” was last seen on the big screen in Platinum Dunes’ remake of Wes Craven’s A Nightmare On Elm Street. She played Nancy Holbrook’s mom.

IFC Midnight has released a trailer for director Marcus Graves’ upcoming slasher Choose. The film stars Canadian actress Katheryn Winnick as an aspiring journalist on the trail of a sadistic serial killer who forces his victims to make horrendous, life-altering choices (think a less moralizing Jigsaw).

Choose costars Kevin Pollak (End of Days), Bruce Dern (Swamp Devil), Talia Balsam (Killer Instinct), and Nicholas Tucci (Undocumented). IFC will release the film in selected theaters on March 18, but you can see it now on demand via Comcast, Cox, Cablevision, Time Warner, Bright House, and iTunes.

Horror fans should recognize Winnick from her turn in director John Simpson’s brutal 2008 frightener Amusement and 2006’s home-video original Hellraiser: Hellworld. The 33-year-old stunner can currently be seen as war correspondent Hannah Burley on the Fox crime drama “Bones.”

Peep it:

Former Miss Teen USA Shelley Hennig (”Days of Our Lives”) has been cast as head witch Diana on writer/producer Kevin Williamson’s small-screen adaptation of author L.J. Smith’s “Secret Circle.” Canadian starlet Jessica Parker Kennedy (Now) also joins the show as Melissa, a member of Diana’s coven.

“Secret Circle” stars Brittany Robertson (”Life Unexpected”) as a California teen named Cassie who discovers she’s a witch while living with her mother in New Salem. Costars include Phoebe Tonkin (Bait 3-D) as witch Faye and Thomas Dekker (Nightmare On Elm Street) as Adam the eldest member of the coven and Cassie’s new crush.

Williamson, the creative force behind the Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer films and the TV series “Dawson’s Creek” and “The Vampire Diaries,” is penning the pilot for The CW and will serve as executive producer. Cameras are set to roll this month in Vancouver.

Sucker Punch, director Zack Snyder’s soon-to-be-released girl-power fantasy actioner, was screened in Los Angeles some days ago. I was fortunate enough to catch it and absolutely loved it. Sure, it could have used some gore and a shower scene, but all-in-all the flick is sexy, slick, and fun.

The film, which opens March 25, centers on a young girl who is committed to an insane asylum by her incestuous father after she refuses to blow him. Once in the loony bin, she befriends a group of sexy misfits and together they dream up a plan to escape the facility in their lingerie. To say any more would spoil the ride.

Now, when I dig a movie, I really want to see it do well. However, since 2009’s Jennifer’s Body, my tastes just haven’t mixed with moviegoers. Jennifer’s Body went limp. Piranha 3-D sank. And, Drive Angry 3-D crashed and burned. Hence, I have a bad feeling that Sucker Punch is gonna be anything but a knockout.

Vanessa Hudgens

Fortunately, Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures have released a grip of images from the movie that should do a proper job of enticing jailbait fans. The shots showcase Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish, Jamie Chung, Carla Gugino, and Jena Malone.

Emily Browning made Clatto’s list of The 20 Hottest Women Working in Horror/Sci-Fi Today.

Peep the pics:

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