More information about the new project Ellen is attached to!

Roll out the red carpet, Iowa. Another movie crew is coming to town.

The psychological thriller “Peacock” will begin filming in the Des Moines area in early May, with Oscar nominee Ellen Page (of “Juno” fame) and Cillian Murphy (the creepy psychiatrist and “scarecrow” from “Batman Begins“) in the lead roles. Iowans will get a chance to audition for the film’s other roles.

This is the third movie deal for the 21-year-old Canadian actress since last month’s Oscars ceremony. She’ll star in “Whip It!,” Drew Barrymore’s directorial debut about a roller-derby girl, and had signed up for – but later withdrew from – “Drag Me to Hell,” a horror flick directed by Sam Raimi, best known his work on the recent Spider-Man movies and the 1987 cult classic “The Evil Dead.”

In this story, named for the fictional town of Peacock, Neb., Murphy is a soft-spoken bank employee whose secret split personalities – a husband and wife – are thrown into turmoil when a train crashes into his (their?) backyard. Page plays a struggling mother who holds the key to Murphy’s character’s past and the mystery of his crowded psyche.

“It’s a really interesting script. To me, it’s a cross between the Coen brothers and ‘Twin Peaks.’ I think it’s going to be intriguing,” said Ann Wilkinson, who manages PMS Casting in Pella and hopes to find Iowans for at least 18 supporting roles.

According to details on her Web site, pmscasting.com, there are roles for just about everyone. The list includes:

- A nosy neighbor woman in her late 30s who “walks with a dragging gait – the result of a prosthetic leg.”

- A pair of gossipy bank tellers in their 20s.

- A 62-year-old security guard who “spends his time napping in his chair with a newspaper on his lap.”

- “The manager of a sleazy motel” who is at least 50 years old and “may be balding.”

- A 2-year-old boy to play Page’s character’s son. (The production crew is hoping to find identical twins for this role, but will consider individual toddlers.)

Actors interested in these roles or any of the other dozen on the list should send a headshot and resume (or at least contact information) to Wilkinson, who will host several auditions throughout the state in the next few weeks. She’ll be in Fairfield on Wednesday, Iowa City on Saturday, Cedar Rapids on April 5 and the Quad Cities sometime soon, although she hasn’t confirmed a date.

For auditions, actors will read excerpts from the script, which is available on the Web site.