BARRACUDA: Anthony Mackie And Dafne Keen Topline New Action Thriller From Director Neil Burger In New Mexico Shoot
Anthony Mackie (Marvel’s Captain America franchise, Peacock’s hit series “Twisted Metal,” Disney’s Avengers franchise) and Dafne Keen (Deadpool & Wolverine, James Mangold’s Logan) are set to star in Barracuda, from director Neil Burger (Limitless, Divergent, The Illusionist). Adam Mason and Simon Boyes penned the script for the new action thriller which begins filming in Las Cruces, New Mexico this week.
Barracuda follows Karl (Mackie), a former smuggler with a haunted past, who storms a nightclub in Mexico to rescue Jodie (Keen), a kidnapped teenage girl. His actions ignite a chain reaction of blood and bullets that burns across 100 miles of deadly roads toward the U.S. border, spawning into a high-speed race when Karl kills the brother of the ruthless club owner and steals his prized 1973 Plymouth Barracuda. Now hunted by relentless criminals, Karl and Jodie tear across the desert with no way to slow down. Barracuda is a high-octane ride of redemption and roaring engines that never lets up.
Rounding out the current cast are Steven Bauer (AMC’s “Breaking Bad,” Showtime’s “Ray Donovan”) and Anthony Del Negro (Netflix’s “Running Point”). Highland Film Group CEO Arianne Fraser, and COO Delphine Perrier, and Henry Winterstern are producing, as are Jack Rapke and Aaron Rapke for Image Movers (Cast Away, Flight, Allied, Real Steel), Kia Jam (The Mark, The Misfits, Lucky Number Slevin) for K. Jam Media, Todd Lundbohm for 828 Productions (Trap House, Eddington), Peter Jákl for R.U. Robot Studios (Locked, Medieval), and Joe Di Maio (The Black Demon, Cosmic Sin). Academy Award-winning filmmaker Robert Zemeckis will exec produce alongside Isaac Lilly for Image Movers, next to Mark Holder, Christine Holder, Bryan Coyne, Kyle Fox and Walter Josten. 828 Productions is partnering on Barracuda, providing studio facilities, infrastructure, and operational support from its Las Cruces campus.
Highland is handling worldwide rights and co-repping domestic with UTA Independent Film Group.
“I’ve been looking to make a non-stop action thriller and I’ve finally found it with this great screenplay,” said Burger. “This one never lets up. It’s out-of-control, relentless mayhem in a real-time sprint to the border. I’ve also been wanting to work with Anthony Mackie for some time and know we’ll make a great team. As with Limitless and Inheritance, I’m inventing new visual techniques to make this movie a truly wild ride.”
“Neil Burger has a proven track record for directing films with a striking visual style and pacing. Barracuda promises to be the next display of his superlative visionary skill as a filmmaker,” said Fraser. “We are delighted that Anthony Mackie, an actor so beloved by audiences worldwide, has joined the team to bring this adrenaline packed film to life on the big screen. He is the ideal actor to give our hero Karl, that perfect blend of cunning, physical prowess and deeply human vulnerability that the role requires,” added Perrier.
Highland Film Group’s current slate also includes Pierre Morel’s action thriller The Good Samaritan starring Daisy Ridley, Josh Duhamel and Sharlto Copley; the espionage action thriller Stratagem starring Noomi Rapace and Teo Yoo; Justin Chadwick’s action spy-thriller The Mark starring Jessica Alba, Tom Hopper and Elsa Pataky; Martin Campbell‘s thriller Just Play Dead starring Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Green and Brad Anderson’s psychological thriller Moral Capacity starring Dacre Montgomery, Diane Lane, Sofia Boutella and Tim Robbins.
Mackie is represented by UTA and Inspire Entertainment; Keen is represented by Independent Talent Group, UTA, Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher, Public Eye Communications; Bauer is represented by GVA Talent Agency and Zero Gravity Management; Burger is represented by Jay Baker at Range Media Partners and Carlos Goodman of Goodman, Genow, Schenkman, Smelkinson & Christopher; Mason and Boyes are represented by Geoff Shaevitz at Entertainment 360 and Elena Grieco at Hansen, Jacobson, Teller, Hoberman, Newman, Warren, Richman, Rush, Kaller, Gellman, Meigs & Fox.
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