Manis Film announced today that production has started on Big Sky, the English-language debut of Mexican helmer Jorge Michel Grau (We Are What We Are). The film will star Bella Thorne (“Shake It Up,” The Familymoon, Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day), Kyra Sedgwick (“The Closer,” “The Possession”), Frank Grillo (The Grey Captain America: The Winter Soldier), and Aaron Tveit (Les Miserables, Howl). Principal photography commenced this week in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
’Big Sky’ is a suspenseful and thrilling story that will have audiences on the edge of their seats as our troubled characters tumble further into peril, says Randy Manis of Manis Film. We are very excited to share the talent of our skilled director and the highly talented cast that he has attracted.
Big Sky tells the tale of Hazel (Thorne), a teenage girl who suffers a mortal fear of open spaces. She never leaves her bedroom, which has put a strain on the relationship with her strung-out mom, Dee (Sedgwick), and is starting to take its toll on both of them. In a last ditch attempt to cure her daughter, Dee enrolls Hazel in a high-end treatment facility in the desert, hoping they will finally find the help they require so that Hazel can begin to move forward from the horrors of her past that triggered her illness. But help is the last thing that they get. When two brothers, Jesse (Grillo) and Pru (Aaron Tveit), interfere with Hazel and Dee’s plans in the worst possible way, Hazel must confront her paralyzing fears before they consume her and is forced to fight for her survival in the harshest conditions, all while avoiding the cunning schemes hatched by Jesse.
Big Sky is based on an original screenplay by Evan M. Wiener (Monogamy). The producing team consists of Manis (Margin Call, The Calling), Matthew Salloway (Lee Daniel’s The Butler, “So Undercover”), and Christina Papagjika (Lee Daniel’s The Butler). Christine Vachon is executive producing for Killer Films, along with Jeffrey V. Mandel of Big LEO Media. Benaroya Pictures’ genre fare subsidiary AKA pictures is co-financing the film, with Clayton Young serving as executive producer for AKA. Ricky Tollman (The Calling) is co-producer. Santiago Sanchez (Somos lo Que Hay, 72) is the director of photography.
(Photo Credit: Brian To / Alberto Reyes / Joseph Marzullo / FayesVision / WENN.com)
