Gabriel Mann, Eliza Dushku on the "Case"

Eliza Dushku discusses her drama series ''Tru Calling'' with television critics during the Fox television network presentation at the Television Critics Association Summer press tour in Hollywood, July 18, 2003. Dushku and Gabriel Mann star in ''The Thacker Case,'' an indie film based on a real-life wrongful death case.

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Gabriel Mann and Eliza Dushku star in "The Thacker Case," an indie film based on a real-life wrongful death case.

The story revolves around the mysterious 1983 death of repeat drunk-driving offender Kevin Thacker and the discovery of his body in an alley behind the Marshalltown, Iowa, police department following his latest arrest.

Mann ("The Bourne Supremacy") will play Stuart Pepper, an up-and-coming attorney who lands the controversial case, which required him to wade through law enforcement corruption and cover-ups. Pepper gained national notoriety from the case.

Dushku (TV's "Buffy the Vampire Slayer") will play Pepper's loyal and dedicated assistant. John Savage ("The Thin Red Line") will play Thomas Thacker, who asks Pepper to discover the truth behind his son's death.

Shooting began this week. Brian Jun is directing from an adaptation of a story written by Pepper.

Reuters/Hollywood Reporter