Elsa Pataky (Interceptor, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga), Mark Coles Smith (We Bury The Dead, Beast of War), Jessica McNamee (Mortal Kombat 1 & 2, Battle of the Sexes), and Rena Owen (Once Were Warriors, Star Wars: Attack of the Clones, upcoming Moana Live Action) have been added to the cast of Justin Chadwick’s The Mark as of Monday. Cameras are rolling on the new spy thriller on the Gold Coast, in Queensland, Australia with previously-announced Jessica Alba starring alongside Tom Hopper and Angus Sampson.
In The Mark, Alba plays Eden, an enigmatic spy on a covert and dangerous mission. Hopper plays Ben Dawson, a single father whom she pulls into her world of high-stakes espionage, turning his life upside down; Mistaken for the world’s deadliest assassin, Ben becomes the perfect decoy for Eden. She uses the mix-up to expose a powerful network of corrupt politicians, placing Ben in the crosshairs of ruthless crime syndicates and the CIA, led by the seasoned Special Operative Len Milton, played by Sampson. With enemies closing in from all sides, Eden must keep Ben alive long enough to complete her mission – while Ben must summon his inner action hero to stay alive and return to the person who matters most: his daughter.
Chadwick is directing The Mark from a script by Ronnie Christensen. Alba is producing under her Lady Metalmark Entertainment umbrella, as are Arianne Fraser (Land of Bad), Delphine Perrier (Arcadian) and Henry Winterstern (the Underworld franchise) for Highland Film Group, Kia Jam (The Misfits, Lucky Number Slevin) for K. Jam Media, Kosaku Yada for Westbrook Studios (Bad Boys: Ride or Die, King Richard), Tracey Vieira (Land of Bad) for Hoodlum and Peter Jákl (Locked).
Exec producers are Will Smith and Miguel Melendez on behalf of Westbrook Studios, alongside Tracey Nyberg for Lady Metalmark Entertainment, Chadwick, Ceasar Richbow (Protector), Latavius Powell (The Florist), Jason Hope (Ashley), Tracey Robertson (Land of Bad) and Nathan Mayfield (Land of Bad) for Hoodlum, and Jeff Kranzdorf (The Courier), Gevork Semeriyan and Abraham Kesablyan for Falcon Films.
Highland Film Group is handling international rights and co-financing the project alongside Aperture Media Partners. The film is supported by the Australian Government through the Location Offset, the Queensland Government through Screen Queensland’s Production Attraction Strategy, and the Local Government through the City of Gold Coast’s Screen Attraction Program.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Elsa, Mark, Jessica and Rena to The Mark. This is a film rooted in tension, heart and propulsion — and these are actors who bring truth, charisma and power to every frame. The Gold Coast is an incredible production home for us, and as a proud local Queensland company, it means a great deal to be producing a film of this scale here with this calibre of Australian and international talent,” said Vieira.
Highland Film Group’s current slate also includes the acclaimed cyber heist thriller LifeHack from producer Timur Bekmambetov; Brad Anderson’s psychological thriller Moral Capacity starring Dacre Montgomery, Diane Lane, Sofia Boutella and Tim Robbins; the espionage action thriller Stratagem starring Noomi Rapace and Teo Yoo; Martin Campbell‘s thriller Just Play Dead starring Samuel L. Jackson and Eva Green; the action crime thriller Wardriver starring Dane DeHaan and Sasha Calle; Adrian Grunberg’s action-thriller Protector starring Milla Jovovich; and the action crime thriller The Deputy starring Duke Nicholson, William H. Macy, Tiffany Haddish and Stephen Dorff.