Former indie star Ethan Hawke is continuing the trend of putting the kabosh on his Gen X image by signing on for the lead in VIGILANDIA, a futuristic thriller from Michael Bay’s Platinum Dunes productions and Universal. The low-budget pic is written and directed by James DeMonaco who wrote THE NEGOTIATOR and the ASSAULT ON PRECINCT remake, which also starred Hawke.
Not much else is known about the project, but it’s the first production to come out of a first-look deal that Universal gave to Producer Jason Blum to produce low-budget genre films. Just what we need, right?
Hawke has struggled of late to find footing in his career, especially transitioning from the REALITY BITES pigeonhole. He delivered a stellar performance in TRAINING DAY and followed up with more action roles in DAYBREAKERS and ASSAULT ON PRECINCT 13, both of which aren’t exactly classics.
Hawke has the intensity to pull off the everyman/underdog role quite well, but some people simply can’t buy him in an action role at all. Personally, with the right role, I think Hawke could easily get back in the game.
VIGILANDIA seems like another slice of genre pie. Could it possibly propel Hawke out of his slump?
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