Stephen Dorff, Christian Slater, Wes Bentley Join Indie Drug Thriller ‘Rites Of Passage’

English Actress Kate Maberly Also In Cast

Stephen Dorff, who might be experiencing a career renaissance after his turn in Sofia Coppola’s “Somewhere,” is joining Christian Slater in the indie thriller “Rites of Passage.” Dorff and Slater, as well as another comeback kid Wes Bentley (who kicked a heroin habit in the last few years) and Kate Maberly (“Finding Neverland“), will be under the direction of screenwriter Peter Iliff (“Patriot Games,” “Varsity Blues”). Also penned by Iliff, ‘Passage’ will serve as his directorial debut.

Based on a story conceived by the writer/director and Rick Halsey, the plot “centers on an anthropology bookworm who laments his place in a society that lacks a ceremony to mark his transition into manhood and leads his hard-partying stressed-out classmates to his family’s abandoned ranch – where his brother lives in a psychotic world of drugs, guilt and Chumash Indian rituals.” Slater will play a meth-head sidekick of Bentley who plays the brother. No word on who Dorff plays, but presumably he’s taking the role of the bookworm (an odd, odd role for him, IMDB calls him “Professor Nash,” so we’ll assume that yes, this is indeed his part).

Or, if the IMDB summary is more up your alley (as it was this writer’s), the story “examines the lives and relationships of stressed-out, Ritalin fueled, hard partying Southern California college students.” Slater, Dorff and Ritalin? We’re all in. Production starts this week. — Scott Taylor [Variety]