Never Gone

Never Gone is a 2010 American teen psychological slasher film directed by Rian Johnson and written by Mark L. Smith based on an original story that he developed.

The film was produced by Douglas Wick, Walter F. Parkes and Laurie MacDonald.

The film deals with a popular high school student and her friends being picked off one by one by who she thinks is her imaginary friend who she abandoned years ago.

The film stars Dakota Fanning, Ashley Rickards, Evan Peters, Bryan Cranston, Elizabeth Banks, Johnny Simmons, Landon Liborion, Lucy Hale, Scout Taylor Compton, Josh Hutcherson, Rumer Willis, Mae Whitman, Ed Westwick, Connor Paolo and Neve Campbell

Never Gone was distributed by Columbia Pictures and was released on July 23rd, 2010. The film received very positive reviews due to it's creativity in story, a mature approach to the slasher genre and for Dakota Fanning's raw performance. The film was a box office success, grossing over $102 dollars worldwide.

Cast

 * Dakota Fanning as Mary-Anne Stewart
 * Ashley Rickards as Jessica
 * Evan Peters as Grey Morrison
 * Johnny Simmons as Declan Crawford
 * Landon Liborion as Luke Simmons
 * Lucy Hale as Keely Winters
 * Rumer Willis as Bailey Jones
 * Ed Westwick as Corey Walsh
 * Josh Hutcherson as Gavin Vaughn
 * Connor Paolo as Dylan Hudson
 * Scout Taylor Compton as Casey Durant
 * Mae Whitman as Brittany Young
 * Bryan Cranston as Jack Stewart
 * Elizabeth Banks as Ellen Stewart
 * Neve Campbell as Officer Moira Foster

Trivia

 * Never Gone was Mark L. Smith's first script and was written in 1996. Due to the success of Scream that same year, the script was sold to Columbia Pictures who shelved the project due to finding the deaths too gruesome and graphic along with the story being too complex. In the fall of 2007, Never Gone was picked up for production which was aimed for late 2008-early 2009.
 * Never Gone was set in Lebanon, Maine where shooting commenced from January 17th, 2009 to March 13th. Production on the film was wrapped in April 2009.
 * Sara Paxton was considered for the role of Mary-Anne Stewart but backed out due to filming The Last House On The Left (2009).