Action thriller Overdrive has been looking to get traction for a while now, with director Antonio Negret aboard for aaaages but no stars signed up. Thank goodness, then, for Karl Urban and Ben Barnes, who have just jumped aboard.
Urban and Barnes will play adventurous, car-stealing brothers who get into real trouble in the South of France. Oh, and they may soon be joined by Game Of Thrones Emilia Clarke, who is currently thrashing out a deal to co-star.
Overdrive has seen several casting rumours come and go, with Matthew Goode, Alex Pettyfer and Garrett Hedlund all attached at different times to play the two siblings.
The script comes from Wanted writers Derek Haas and Michael Brandt, who dreamed up the concept back in 2008 after a trip to France as part of a Hollywood outreach program. They brought the screenplay to Fox, which started development, but then shoved it into the neutral gear of turnaround. But then Taken director Pierre Morel stepped in to produce, and he’s helping the film get set up for financing. Negret will start shooting at the end of this week in Marseilles.