Porchlight Films and Lava Bear Films are delighted to
announce that filming on THE ROVER commenced on Tuesday 29th January 2013. With support from Screen Australia, the South
Australian Film Corporation and Screen NSW the seven-week shoot will take place
in South Australia.
Written and directed by DAVID MICHÔD, the visionary
behind 2011's mesmerizing and universally acclaimed Animal Kingdom, THE ROVER
is a slow burn thriller, starring GUY PEARCE (Lawless, The King's Speech,
Memento) and ROBERT PATTINSON (The Twilight Saga, Cosmopolis).
Joining the two principal cast is a superb ensemble
including SCOOT McNAIRY (Argo, Killing Them Softly) who plays Pattinson's
brother, SUSAN PRIOR (Animal Kingdom, Not Suitable for Children), GILLIAN JONES
(Oscar and Lucinda, The Tree), ANTHONY HAYES (Burning Man, Animal Kingdom) and
DAVID FIELD (Chopper, Two Hands). All
have descended on regional South Australia for the hot and dusty shoot.
While donning the directorial hat, Michôd also wrote the
script for THE ROVER based on a story he conceived with Joel Edgerton (Zero
Dark Thirty, The Great Gatsby). The film
is set in the Australian desert, in a dangerous and damaged near future. Eric
(Pearce) has left everything, everyone and every semblance of human kindness
behind him when a gang of desperate criminals steals his last possession. Eric sets off on a ruthless mission to track
them down, forced along the way to enlist the help of Rey (Pattinson), the
naïve and injured junior member of the gang
who was left behind in the chaos of the gang's most recent robbery.
Liz Watts is producing for Porchlight Films and David
Linde for Lava Bear Films. Watts and
Porchlight Films produced Michôd's debut feature Animal Kingdom. At commencement of production the Producers
commended the enthusiasm of the cast in their new environment. "The South Australian desert environment
can be a tough one to work in, particularly for those coming from a Northern
Hemisphere winter but both the cast and crew have thrown themselves into the
shoot. We are shooting in some of the most haunting and stunning landscapes in
the world, and are fortunate to have such an exceptional cast and a truly
talented crew ", Watts and Linde said.
FilmNation represents U.S. sales with UTA Independent
Film Group. FilmNation also acquired the majority of worldwide sales rights to
THE ROVER and the film has already been sold to leading distributors around the
world (for a full list please refer to page two) - including Australia where
distributor Roadshow Films' Managing Director Joel Pearlman added "this is
an incredibly exciting project which we are thrilled to be working on with Liz,
David and the whole creative team."
Shooting completes in mid-March in South Australia, with
postproduction taking place in Sydney.
