Michael Mayer to direct My Friend Flicka remake

Maria Bello, a Golden Globe nominee for her role as William H. Macy's love interest in The Cooler, will play the mother of a horse-crazy teenager in a remake of the 1943 film My Friend Flicka. Danny Pino, who stars on the CBS crime drama Cold Case, and relative newcomer Dallas Roberts also have joined a cast that already included country star Tim McGraw, Ryan Kwanten of the WB network drama Summerland, and Alison Lohman (Big Fish, White Oleander). Based on the novel by Mary O'Hara, the updated Flicka is set against the backdrop of a modern-day ranch in Wyoming. It tells the story of Katie (Lohman), a teenager who dreams of running her family's ranch, much to the dismay of her father (McGraw). Katie finds a wild horse she names Flicka and claims it as her own. Bello will play Katie's mother, Pino plays Jack, and Roberts will play Gus. Openly gay filmmaker Michael Mayer (A Home at the End of the World, which also featured Roberts) is directing from a script by Larry Konner and Mark Rosenthal. The original 1943 film starred a young Roddy McDowall as a boy who bonds with a colt, and the story was later made into a 1950s TV series that aired on CBS for two years. (Liza Foreman, via Reuters)