Winnipeg Free Press
Fri, Oct 6, 2000

Kidder cast in local movie

By Dinah Clarkson

CANADIAN actress Margot Kidder has been cast in Buffalo Gal's co-production of Society's Child, a made-for-CBC-TV movie. Kidder, who attended the funeral of former beau Pierre Trudeau earlier this week, is best known for playing Lois Lane opposite Christopher Reeve's Superman.

Jessica Steen, a Canadian actress based in Los Angeles, will take a lead role in Society's Child, playing Terry, the single mother of seven kids who fights for the rights of her 10-year-old daughter Nikki, who has Rett Syndrome, a rare neurological disorder.

Kidder will play a caregiver and health-care worker who is less than sympathetic to Terry and Nikki's fight for their cause.

Steen had a small role in the 1998 blockbuster movie Armageddon, and has guest starred on many TV series, including The Practice, Due South, Touched By An Angel, ER, The Outer Limits and Street Legal. She also had a role alongside Antonio Sabato Jr. and Rebecca Gayheart in the short-lived but eagerly followed sci-fi series Earth 2.

The role of Nikki will be played by 13-year-old rookie actress Kyley Statham, who hails from Vancouver. "She really stood out," said co-producer and Buffalo Gal president Phyllis Laing.

"We're very happy to have (Kidder) playing the role of Joan," said Laing. "We were looking for a more mature actress who has the depth and scope for that part and that's why we looked at her."

Kidder is expected to arrive in town in a couple of weeks. Principal shooting on Society's Child began on Tuesday; filming takes place in and around Winnipeg.

Last update: December 14, 2000 9:20 PM