Smart people over at Ioncinema. LOVE to see The Rover being recognised.

#27. David Michod’s The Rover

 

The Rover

Director/Writer: David Michôd
Producer(s): David Linde and Liz Watts
U.S. Distributor: Rights Available
Cast: Robert Pattinson, Guy Pearce, Scoot McNairy

His four-star, stellar criminal underworld saga Animal Kingdom officially put first-time helmer David Michod on the map. His sophomore film was a top sales title in Cannes 2012, and the pic contains an impressive trio of three so far (further casting announcements should be made shortly) with Scoot McNairy easily enjoying his time in the spotlight.

Gist: The Rover is set in the Australian desert in a dangerous and dysfunctional near future. Eric (Guy Pearce) has left everything and every semblance of human kindness behind him. When his last possession, his car, is stolen by a gang of dangerous criminals, Eric sets off to track them down and is forced along the way to enlist the help of Reynolds (Robert Pattinson), the naive member of the gang left behind in the bloody chaos of the gang’s most recent escape.

Release Date: Production begins this month in Australia, so this means programmers from Telluride, Venice, Toronto, NYFF all have wishes of nabbing a world premiere. Surprisingly, no U.S. distributor has sunk their fangs into this.

So I swear this was NOT on Porchlight’Film’s website on Monday when I checked, but it’s something:

“26 November 2012 – The Rover has started pre production at Adelaide Studios. David Michod’s exciting follow up to Animal Kingdom stars Guy Pearce and Robert Pattinson and is due to start shooting in early 2013.”

Woot woot – it’s happening peoples it’s happening.

Also, I saw Movieline’s interview with Scoot McNairy, but didn’t think it deserved it’s own post.  He does, however, mention:

“So what’s next for you?

I’ve got about two or three scenes in Promised Land that just came out. And then a movie called Twelve Years A Slave that Steve McQueen directed. Brad’s in it, and Michael Fassbender and Chiwetel Ejiofor. I’m working on this film right now with Liam Neeson and Julianne Moore called Non-Stop. Then I’m off to do this movie called Frank with Domhnall Gleeson and Michael Fassbender. And after that, I work with David Michod, who did Animal Kingdom and is really close friends with Andrew Dominik. It’s with Guy Pearce and Rob Pattinson. It’s called The Rover. (my emphasis)

Is it going to be as intense as Animal Kingdom? 

You know, I don’t know the direction in which David’s taking it, but it’s a futuristic western that takes place in the Australian Outback.

Can you talk about the character you play?

I play Rob’s brother. If I say anything else about  it, it gives it all away.”

Oooh.

According to SA Film:

THE ROVER
Porchlight Films Pty Ltd in association with Lava Bear Films LLC
Producers: Liz Watts, David Linde, David Michôd
Writer/Director: David Michôd
International Sales: FilmNation
Australian Distributor: Village Roadshow

Synopsis: The Australian desert in a dangerous and damaged near future. Eric has left everything, everyone and every semblance of human kindness behind him. And then he has his last possession stolen by a gang of dangerous criminals. Eric sets off on a ruthless mission to track them down, forced along the way to enlist the help of Rey, the naïve and injured junior member of the gang, who was left behind in the bloody chaos of the gang’s most recent robbery.

 

My eyes completely lit up when I saw the words ‘The Rover’ 😀  Thanks to The Film Stage:

Scoot McNairy Joins Robert Pattinson In ‘The Rover’ and Michael Fassbender In ‘Frank’

I’ve enjoyed the work of actor Scoot McNairy since 2007′s indie drama In Search of a Midnight Kiss and certainly 2010′s low-budget sci-fi feature Monsters, but it’s safe to say this fall marks his break-out in Hollywood. The actor is one of the best elements of Ben Affleck‘s Argo ensemble and delivers one of my favorite performances in Andrew Dominik’s Killing Them Softly. It looks like the industry has taken notice, as he’s joined the cast of two highly-anticipated features.

Buried in a Deadline article revealing that he’s linked up with WME, McNairy has joined David Michod‘s Animal Kingdom follow-up The Rover, with Robert Pattinson and Guy Pearce. Described as an “existential” western, the film is set in the near-future and follows a man who treks across the Australian outback in an attempt to recover his stolen car from a gang of punks — one of whom is portrayed by Pattinson (and perhaps another could be McNairy).

Love how they say ‘highly-anticipated’ Excitement!!!!

 

We already knew that Village Roadshow was the distributor for “The Rover” in Australia (posted here), but according to The Hollywood Reporter:

“The David Michod-helmed drama, which also stars Guy Pearce, has been sold in the U.K., Canada and Benelux territories to eOne, Scandinavia to Nordisk, Latin America to Sun Distribution, the Middle East to Italia Film and Eastern Europe (excluding Russia) to Revolutionary Releasing. Village Roadshow already picked up the film for Australia and New Zealand.

FilmNation acquired the majority of worldwide sales rights to The Rover during the Cannes Film Festival in May and will continue to present the film to buyers at the Toronto International Film Festival. FilmNation also is handling U.S. sales with UTA.

Michôd, who became an in-demand director after the success of his debut Animal Kingdom, also wrote The Rover, which begins shooting in the winter and is based on a story he conceived with actor Joel Edgerton (Zero Dark Thirty, The Great Gatsby).

Set in a dystopian future, the story centers on a hardened loner, Eric (Pearce), who travels the desolate towns and roads of the Australian outback. When a brutal gang of thieves steals his car and his only remaining possession, they leave behind the wounded Rey (Pattinson). Forcing Rey to help track the gang, Eric will go to any lengths to take back the one thing that matters to him.

“We’ve had a great response from buyers so far,” FilmNation’s Glen Basner said. “David has emerged as an innovative filmmaker, generating much anticipation for his next film among both distributors and audiences worldwide.” …

Click here to read full article.

Oh goodie eOne has it – wonder how they will cope not being able to throw back to Twilight like they’ve done for every one of Rob’s non-Twi films.

 

*Twirls*.   The Playlist spoke with Rob during the Cosmo junket and here’s what he apparently said about “The Rover”:

Catching up with Pattinson as he did press rounds for “Cosmopolis,” he filled us in on what we might expect from Michôd’s follow-up to his crime drama “Animal Kingdom.” Set to shoot next year, “The Rover” boasts some pretty big ideas behind its deceptively simple set up. “It’s a kind of a western,” Pattinson explained. “It’s very existential. It’s really interesting. I couldn’t really explain to you what it’s about but it’s sort of about how much pain can the world take and how much disgust and cruelty before love dies. I think that’s kind of what it’s about.” (Cronenberg, who was in the room, chimed in with: ” That sounds pretty heavy!”)

Pattinson will co-star in the film with Guy Pearce, with the near-future-set story centering on a man who journeys across the Australian outback to find his stolen car, which contains something invaluable to him. However, Pattinson admits that perhaps his description might be a little more highfalutin than the actual movie. “David Michôd’s going to read this and be like ‘What the fuck are you talking about? It’s a crime movie,’ ” he said with a laugh.

As for when “The Rover” is coming out, Pattinson admitted it is later than he originally wanted. “I wish it was shooting this fall,” he said. “I was supposed to be doing this movie this fall but that was pushed to after ‘The Rover,’ which is a good thing because it needs a ton of work. But I really wish I could move ‘The Rover’ up. I’ve got to find something else to do.”

Oh Rob subtle like a sledgehammer.

Aw c’mon you know we all feel like doing that whenever we think about Rob being on Aussie soil for longer than 38 hours.  And being a proud Aussie I’m going to post anything and everything about our wonderful film industry … especially when we are talking about Rob and Guy Pearce and possibly one of the Edgerton boys (either in front of or behind the scenes).  Oh God I’m going to hyperventilate …  sorry I’m back and happy to report that:

“The South Australian Film Corporation (SAFC) has backed feature film The Rover and TV series Sam Fox: Extreme Adventures, which will both be filmed in the state.

The SAFC has committed $900,000 across both projects following Screen Australia’s announcement last week that the federal agency would also invest in the projects. SAFC chair Cheryl Bart said South Australia has secured a bumper crop of production over the next twelve months, which will make the new Adelaide Studios a hive of production activity.

“While the studios have already been pretty busy, with a full complement of industry tenants developing and producing work in the new building, these projects will use our new production facilities to their full potential, and create an incredible energy on site,” she said in a statement.

The Rover and Sam Fox: Extreme Adventures will spend a combined $13.9 million in South Australia, according to the SAFC.   …”

Aussie Aussie Aussie Oi Oi Oi

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