Summit Entertainment has acquired most worldwide rights to The Impossible, a film that will star Naomi Watts and Ewan McGregor, with Juan Antonio Bayona directing a script by Sergio G. Sanchez. The film is based on a true story that took place during the tsunami that hit the coast of Thailand in 2004. Summit acquired all rights but Spain, and those were dealt to Warner Bros.
The Impossible is being co-produced by Spanish production companies Apaches Entertainment and Telecinco Cinema. Production begins in August. It’s Summit’s second straight acquisition of a film that stars Watts, after the company acquired domestic rights to Fair Game, the Doug Liman film that premieres in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Watts plays outed CIA agent Valerie Plame and Sean Penn plays her husband, Joseph Wilson. Summit will sell foreign on both films at Cannes.
I’m really looking forward to this film. Ewan and Naomi were fantastic together in Marc Forster’s 2005 release, STAY. If this one captures even a small bit of STAY’s energy, I will be very pleased indeed.
But will a serious film about a natural catastrophe manage to motivate audiences in the current climate? That, I suspect, will be quite a pitch to the marketing teams.
Naomi always looks great when in danger or showing fear, so this film looks like it is made for her.
I just got off the set of “The Impossible” and it looks great so far.