Melissa Leo has joined the cast of the vigilante thriller Prisoners. Denis Villeneuve (Incendies) is set to direct Hugh Jackman in the story of a working-class father who sets out to track down the man he believes is responsible for kidnapping his daughter and her friend. Along the way, he runs up against the big city detective assigned to the case. Leo is set to star opposite Jackman, but the nature of her role is not disclosed. It'd be kind of great to see her nab the detective role and square off against Jackman. Written by Aaron Guzikowkski (Contraband), production on Prisoners is set to begin early next year for a fall 2013 release.
Leo has made a number of interesting choices following her Best Supporting Actress Oscar win for The Fighter. She’ll next be seen later this year opposite Denzel Washington in Robert Zemeckis’ Flight, she recently filmed the Tom Cruise-fronted sci-fi pic Oblivion, and she’s poised to star in the White House actioner Olympus Has Fallen. Hit the jump to read the Prisoners press release.
LOS ANGELES, CA, SEPTEMBER 18, 2012 – Academy Award winning actress, Melissa Leo, will join Hugh Jackman in the gripping thriller PRISONERS to be directed by Denis Villeneuve (Academy Award-nominated “Incendies”) it was announced by Alcon Co-Founders and Co-CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson.
The ‘black list’ script, which was written by Aaron Guzikowski (“Contraband”), revolves around a small-town carpenter named Keller (Jackman) whose young daughter and her best friend are kidnapped. After the cops fail to find them, Keller takes the law into his own hands, but in the process runs up against Detective Loki, a hot shot cop with confidence to burn, assigned to the case.
Kosove and Johnson are producing, along with 8:38 Productions’ Kira Davis and Madhouse Entertainment’s Adam Kolbrenner. Ed McDonnell and John Stark will executive produce.
Production is scheduled to begin in early 2013. Alcon is targeting a Fall 2013 release through its output deal with Warner Bros.
Leo will next be seen in the upcoming drama “Flight,” directed Robert Zemeckis and starring Denzel Washington for release by Paramount Pictures. She just wrapped filming on “Oblivion” starring opposite Tom Cruise and Morgan Freeman. Leo was nominated for an Oscar as an Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in “Frozen River” in 2009 and won and Oscar as an Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in “The Fighter” in 2010.
Leo is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment.