娱乐英语新闻："Juno" star Ellen Page not going to "Hell"

Canadian actress Ellen Page attends a news conference presenting her film "Juno" at the Rome International Film Festival, Oct. 26, 2007. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo)

    BEIJING, March 3 (Xinhuanet) -- Oscar-nominated "Juno" actress Ellen Page has dropped out of supernatural thriller "Drag Me to Hell" due to scheduling conflicts and fears of an actors strike, media reported Monday.

    The movie directed by "Spider-Man" director Sam Raimi was slated to start lensing March 17 in Los Angeles but has been postponed indefinitely due to a possible Screen Actors Guild (SAG) strike.

    "We were racing to start production so that we could accommodate Ellen's schedule," the film's producers, Raimi's Ghost House Pictures and financier Mandate Pictures, said in a statement. "But like so many other productions trying to start before the potential SAG strike date, this one needed more time and we had to push back the start of production."

    The SAG's labor contract expires June 30, and Hollywood is anxiously trying to finish projects before then. Those that might be affected by a possible walkout are being indefinitely postponed.

    The rush is now on to fill the part, that of a woman who is the unwitting recipient of a supernatural curse. The void might cause jitters among the foreign buyers who bought into the movie partially based on Page's starring turn.

    Page, who signed a flurry of deals in the wake of her Oscar nomination for "Juno," will next star in Mandate's psychological thriller "Peacock" and then segue to Drew Barrymore's directorial debut, "Whip It," also for Mandate.