57 SECONDS Lines Up Freeman, Hutcherson For Action Sci-Fi Shoot This Spring
Photo credits: (l) Nigel Parry; (r) John Russo
Highland Film Group is off to the races for the upcoming European Film Market with their slate this year, including action sci-fi thriller 57 Seconds starring Morgan Freeman (Million Dollar Baby) and Josh Hutcherson (The Hunger Games movies).
Cameras are set to roll this April in Lousiana for Rusty Cundieff (Tales from the Hood, “Chappelle’s Show”) who is directing from a script by Macon Blair (Netflix’s I Don’t Feel at Home in This World Anymore), who adapted the pic based on the acclaimed story by British author E.C. Tubbs.
Hutcherson stars as Franklin Fausti, a tech blogger Franklin Fausti who lands a career-defining interview with the visionary technology guru Anton Burrell (Freeman). After thwarting an attack against the celebrated technophile, Franklin picks up a mysterious ring that Burrell has dropped and soon discovers the ring allows its possessor to travel 57 seconds into the past. Driven by revenge and with Burrell’s support, Franklin uses the ring to dismantle the pharmaceutical company responsible for his sister’s death. But he soon gets entangled in a treacherous and brutal chain of events with much more than his own destiny at stake.
57 Seconds hails from Curmudgeon Films and Revelations Entertainment. It is produced by Griff Furst (Where All Light Tends to Go), Lori McCreary (Invictus), Gary Lucchesi (Million Dollar Baby), and Thomas P. Vitale (“Slasher”), with Ford Corbett, Som Kohanzadeh, Yoram Kohanzadeh and Miguel Sandoval exec producing.
HFG is co-financing the pic and is repping international sales rights at at EFM 2022 which kicks off its eight-day event on Thursday, February 10. CAA Media Finance is representing domestic rights. Principal photography on the time-bending thriller is set to start in April on location in Louisiana.
“I am beyond thrilled to have the considerable talents of Morgan Freeman and Josh Hutcherson as contributors to our time-travel thriller, 57 Seconds. Today we have tools at our fingertips that allow us to respond to events at the moment, short-circuiting our time to be thoughtful and consider the consequences. 57 Seconds examines how emotions influence the innate human desire to solve things quickly via technology, be it a gun, pill or computer. I am truly looking forward to getting on set with our talented cast and producing team to create something special,” commented Cundieff.
“We are absolutely thrilled to be working with Morgan and Josh, first-class actors with legendary charm which is second to none,” said Highland Film Group’s CEO Arianne Fraser.
“57 Seconds is an exhilarating action thriller, with a high-energy, seat-of-your-pants storyline. We cannot wait to see the cameras roll this spring and see this fantastic story come to life,” added COO Delphine Perrier.
Hutcherson’s credits include Lionsgate’s box-office smash The Hunger Games franchise, as well as Focus Features’ The Kids Are All Right, Warner Bros.’ Journey to the Center of the Earth and its sequel Journey 2: The Mysterious Island and Hulu’s series “Futureman.” He is repped by Gersh, The Beddingfield Co, Viewpoint and Adam Kaller.
Cundieff is known for directing such projects as Sundance premiere mockumentary, Fear of a Black Hat, horror-comedy anthology films Tales from the Hood, Tales from the Hood 2, and Tales from the Hood 3, and Comedy Central’s acclaimed “Chappelle’s Show.” He is represented by Rich Freeman at Code Entertainment.
Blair is repped by CAA, Anonymous Content and attorney Bradley Garrett; and media representation for Freeman and Revelations Entertainment by Stan Rosenfield, Rosenfield Media Group.
Highland Film Group’s current sales slate of films also includes One True Loves, The Black Demon, Muzzle starring Aaron Eckhart, Hot Seat with Mel Gibson, Slayers starring Thomas Jane, Renny Harlin’s The Misfits, Allan Ungar’s Bandit starring Josh Duhamel and Elisha Cuthbert; Stephan Rick’s The Good Neighbor starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Luke Kleintank and Avan Jogia’s Door Mouse starring Hayley Law, Famke Janssen and Keith Powers.
Native New Yorker. Lover of all things pizza, chocolate, pets, and good friends. Karaoke hero. Left of center. Survivor. Fond supporter of cult, obscure and independent cinema - especially fond of Asian movies and global action cinema. Author of the bi-weekly Hit List. Founder and editor of Film Combat Syndicate. Still, very much, only human.
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