Back in the spring of 2009 we heard tell of a hot project called PRISONERS, which was based on a highly-regarded spec script by Aaron Guzikowski. The script, a vigilante thriller about a determined father, attracted a handful of big names; Leonardo Di Caprio, Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale and Antoine Fuqua (director of TRAINING DAY) among them. But as is often the case with even the most cherished scripts Hollywood, the stars did not align and PRISONERS never got the greenlight.
Cut to present day: The movie still has hope. More than that, it looks like it’s going to get made this year. The LA Times is reporting that director Denis Villeneuve – hot off his Best Foreign Film Oscar-nomineeINCENDIES – has boarded PRISONERS and aims to shoot in the fall. While none of the aforementioned stars are still attached, the thriller’s Black-Listed screenplay and the clout Villeneuve brings should ensure that PRISONERS won’t have trouble attracting a cast.
Warner Bros. and Alcon Entertainment will produce the film, has often been called MYSTIC RIVER meets TAKEN. It focuses on a working-class Boston father whose young daughter is kidnapped, along with her friend. Frustrated by a local detective’s handling of the case, the father takes as a hostage the man he believes committed the crimes.
Sounds like a solid premise; I’m certainly never opposed to a balls-out revenge thriller. (Incidentally, Wahlberg was going to play the father, and Bale the detective, until that deal fell through.) We’ll let you know if there’s any further development.
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