HOLLY HUNTER - HUNTER 'CAPTIVATED' BY THIRTEEN WRITER AND STAR

Acclaimed actress HOLLY HUNTER immediately opted to star in controversial drama THIRTEEN - when she heard writer and star NIKKI REED was the same age when she wrote it.

THE PIANO star couldn't believe that a young teenager had penned such a mature film and was equally impressed upon meeting Reed - who is now 15.

Thirteen is the story of a young woman who discovers sex, drugs and petty crime through her friendship with a fellow schoolgirl.

Holly enthuses, "She has an extraordinary voice. An amazing ability to articulate her own experiences. She's so talented.

"This is a rare ability, and she wrote these experiences that she'd had, her friends have had, things that she'd witnessed, and things that she'd gone through. And it's an amazing story."