Hollywood agents and managers are on red alert this week. Oscar-nominated director Terry George, who brought “Hotel Rwanda” to life and garnered numerous awards, is casting the fourth of a quartet of actors to star in his next film.

George is set to begin shooting “Reservation Road” on Oct. 1 in Connecticut for Focus Features. The story, based on Jonathan Burnham Schwartz’s novel, centers on two couples and what happens when one husband kills the child of the other in a hit-and-run.

So far, Joaquin Phoenix and Mark Ruffalo are set to play the male leads. Jennifer Connelly is on board as Phoenix’s wife, a role that George tells me every actress in her age range has coveted. But the part of Ruffalo’s wife, which is said to be just as good, if not better, is still open.

George is said to be considering a slew of actresses, from Annabella Sciorra to Christina Applegate, with plenty of other names tossed in there, including Bridget Fonda and Jennifer Jason Leigh. Parts this meaty for young actresses don’t come along very often anymore, so you can imagine the jockeying for position on George’s list.

I am told the director himself is currently rewriting and tinkering with Schwartz’s script to get it exactly right.

Filming is set for Oct. 1, and George should have an easier time in Connecticut than he did a couple of years ago while filming “Hotel Rwanda” in the tougher neighborhoods of Johannesburg. You never know, though. Those Greenwich matrons can be pretty tough if you cross them the wrong way!’