AceShowbiz -

Peter Rice, the president of Fox Searchlight Pictures, has outed statement announced that the studio has acquired North American distribution rights to "Fast Food Nation." Based on Eric Schlosser's nonfiction best-seller of the same title, the film is about to be directed by Richard Linklater.

Of thriller genre, "Fast Food Nation" tells the story of an ensemble piece examining the health risks involved in the fast food industry and its environmental and social consequences as well. With its principal photography has just completed, the flick is slated for a 2006 release date.

Set to star in among others are Patricia Arquette, Bobby Cannavale, Luis Guzman, Ethan Hawke, Ashley Johnson, Greg Kinnear, Kris Kristofferson, Avril Lavigne, Esai Morales, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Lou Taylor Pucci, Ana Claudia Talancon and Wilmer Valderrama.