Eliza Dushku

After a leave of absence from the big screen to concentrate on her since-cancelled Fox series “Tru Calling,” Eliza Dushku is primed for her upcoming project, “The Alphabet Killer.” The pic, which reteams Dushku with “Wrong Turn” director Rob Schmidt, is based on a series of real-life murders in Rochester, New York during the early-1970s.

While focused on the swath of killings, the film will take some liberties with Dushku’s character, a police investigator assigned to the headline-generating crime. “It mixes in true events about a young detective who actually developed adult-onset schizophrenia while she opened up this case,” Dushku says of her alter-ego. Considering the murders are still unsolved, some may take issue with modified story. The actress is unfazed, however. “It’s meant only to be respectful,” proclaims the ex-”Buffy” star. “There might be some controversy, but who knows.”

“The Alphabet Killer” will hit theaters in Fall 2007. Dushku’s “Nobel Son,” co-starring Alan Rickman, Mary Steenburgen, Bill Pullman and Bryan Greenberg, recently premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and is awaiting theatrical distribution.