LOS ANGELES _ Randall Sullivan's "Death of a Cheerleader: An American Tragedy," a 1985 article for Rolling Stone magazine, told the story of Kirsten Marina Costas, an American high school student murdered by classmate Bernadette Protti in 1984.
The California suburban case involving top students drew so much attention it was made into 1994's TV movie "A Friend to Die For" starring Tori Spelling and Kellie Martin. That production has been remade into "Death of a Cheerleader," starring Aubrey Peeples and Sarah Dugdale, set to debut Saturday on Lifetime.
Peeples plays Bridget Moretti, a shy outsider from a lower middle-class background who aspires to be beautiful, popular and perfect. She is convinced she can achieve her goals through the rich and popular Kelly Locke (Dugdale). When Bridget's plans fall apart and she feels humiliated and jealous, her only solution is to remove the person standing in her way.
Although Peeples and Dugdale play characters who end up in a deadly situation, that didn't stop the film's stars from becoming best friends. All the actresses starring in the production got together before filming started for a meal and immediately connected.
"It's kind of beautiful that something so tragic _ like the loss of such a young, vibrant life _ could bring together such wonderful women," says Peeples. "I feel extremely grateful."
Dugdale quickly adds that the bond the actors formed was even more of a blessing because one of the elements in the film is how women can be pitted against each other.
One thing that brought Peeples and Dugdale together was a deep commitment to telling the story as authentically and respectfully as possible.
"Because it is such a horrific crime that happened, we wanted to be cautious in how we were portraying this fictionalized version," Peeples says. "For me, I did as much research as I could because the reporting that came out in the '80s very much stereotyped these young women.
"It was good girl versus bad girl. Popular versus unpopular. There's more to it than that to cause someone to commit a murder. Clearly in the film, all the girls are dealing with insecurities. But I really wanted to delve into the psychological factors that would drive Bridget _ or Bernadette in real life _ to commit this murder. In the '80s, there was such a lack of awareness of mental health."
Dugdale approached her role knowing that from the outside, it looked like her character had a perfect life. She then began to go deeper to show that even those who live in an affluent world can be dealing with demons.
Dugdale felt an extreme sense of responsibility because she was playing a character based on a girl whose life was tragically ended at a young age. She wanted to make sure Kelly was a fully rounded character and not just "the mean girl."
"When someone is cruel or mean, it usually comes from a place of hurt," Dugdale says.
Both Peeples and Dugdale found it easy to understand what it's like to want something and be pitted against others because of their career choices to become actors.
"There is so much superficiality in celebrity and in life in general aimed at women through things like the beauty industry," Peeples says.
