Courtesy of the latest issue of EW (not yet online), we now have our first look at Joe Carnahan‘s “The Grey” an intriguing project that re-teams the director with his “The A-Team” star Liam Neeson in what we hope will be a return to form for the helmer.
The outdoor thriller focuses on a group of pipeline workers in Alaska who are flying back into civilization after being remote for a number of months. The 737 they’re on goes down, and they begin to be hunted by a pack of rogue wolves. Bradley Cooper was originally set to star, but was replaced by Liam Neeson last fall, and the film began lensing last month with “Rubicon” stars Dallas Roberts and James Badge Dale, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo (Gavin O’Connor‘s upcoming “Warrior” with Tom Hardy), Nonso Anozie (”Brighton Rock”), and Joe Anderson (”The Crazies,” “The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn”) are all on board.
“I’m a big dog guy,” Carnahan told EW. “I know that if you look at a wolf too long, it’s just a [cuddly] malamute. So we’re doing the ‘Jaws’ approach. They’re like the slasher in a slasher movie.” Sounds like a gritty tale with a smart approach and with Carnahan previously invoking comparisons to “Deliverance” and “Touching the Void” he’s setting up expectations to be big so we hope he can deliver.
The film is being shot in British Columbia in the thick of a Canadian winter which should definitely help with the bleak realism of the film. No word yet on a release date, but its expected to hit in 2012.
