In the video interview below (uploaded March 1, 20, producer Will Packer of Rainforest Films (the production house behind the upcoming relationship comedy Think Like A Man, and several other previous films like Takers) reveals that he's currently working on a thriller as the company's next project, which will star Idris Elba and Taraji P. Henson.
Got your attention, didn't I 🙂
I recall interviewing Packer and his Rainforest Partner director Rob hardy last year, and in response to my question about upcoming projects for the company, they mentioned plans for a diverse slate of films and TV series, including thrillers, although they wouldn't reveal anything more than that.
So I suppose today's reveal shouldn't shock; but the pairing of Elba and Henson wasn't one I immediately imagined, especially in a thriller. So I'm obviously very curious to see what's being hatched here.
I checked IMDBPro pages for Elba, Henson and Packer; nothing on the first two, but Packer's lists an upcoming thriller titled No Good Deed, which shows Aimee Lagos (the director of SXSW award-winning drama/thriller 96 Minutes) as its writer, but not director.
IMDBPro doesn't give anything much more than that, so thanks to Google, I came across a late 2010 interview with Rob Hardy and AccessAtlanta.com, while plugging the sequel to Stomp The Yard, that included the following exchange:
Q: Are you and Will [Packer] working on anything right now?
A: We’re working on a movie called “No Good Deed.” It’s a woman-in-peril story with Taraji P. Henson.
Q: At what point are you in the process?
A: We have a script and we’re trying to line up a leading man so we can figure out the best time to shoot it. The hope is to shoot it in Atlanta. We want to do as many movies as we can in this town.
So there ya have it. A "woman in peril" story.
(UPDATE from Screen Gems: We've got a synopsis and we know who'll direct: Brit Sam Miller, who directed episodes Luther, will direct this; and the film centers "around a former DA-turned-stay-at-home mom and her two small children who are terrorized and kidnapped from their home when she invites a good-looking mysterious stranger in to wait for help after his car ran off the road."
Screen Gems says they area planning an April start date in Georgia.
And I guess they found their leading man in Idris Elba – who's been quite busy since 2010.
So if the script is indeed done, and the 2 actors now have time on their schedules to shoot this thing, it's going to come sooner than later.
Watch Packer in the clip below; the reveal doesn't come until towards the end:
