Deschanel signs on with Shyamalan

HOLLYWOOD, May 31 (UPI) -- "Bridge to Terabithia" star Zooey Deschanel has agreed to play the female lead in M. Night Shyamalan's Hollywood environmental thriller "The Happening."

Academy award nominee Mark Wahlberg was previously announced as the film's male star, Zap2It.com reported Thursday. Production is scheduled to begin in August in Philadelphia.

"The Happening" is about a science teacher whose family is forced to flee from a threat to humanity.

Deschanel can be heard in the upcoming animated comedy "Surf's Up."