A big-budget remake of the 1965 Otto Preminger hit Bunny Lake is Missing has been in the works for three years, an adaptation of a famed novel. Spyglass, fundraiser of the flick, got Joe Carnahan on board to direct, while the film’s star Reese Witherspoon was announced as one of the producers, alongside Jennifer Simpson and Mark Gordon. Reese would play the lead in the film, Ann Lake, mother of missing Bunny Lake. The story is a chilling one (that should be familiar to movie buffs): a young mother arrives at school to pick up her daughter, Bunny, only to be told the child never existed. At least this part of the plot is startlingly familiar to the Jodie Foster flick Flightplan (2005), but who’s keeping track of all the remakes, really? Five weeks before production is scheduled to begin, Bunny Lake isn’t the only one missing. Now, the flick is sans one movie star/producer.

For reasons as yet unknown, Reese Witherspoon has surprisingly bailed on the project, leaving Spyglass in a frantic scuffle to find a new leading lady. With the production clock ticking, it’s unlikely they’ll be able to replace their A-list star in time, and the time table will probably be pushed back on the Bunny Lake project. For now, fans can rent the recently released to DVD version from 1965, starring Laurence Olivier as Supt. Newhouse and Carol Lynley as Ann Lake.