Russell Crowe To Star In Action-Thriller ‘Bear Country’; A Higher Standard Launching Sales For Cannes Market

EXCLUSIVE: Oscar winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator) will re-team with his Unhinged director Derrick Borte on the action-thriller Bear Country.

Crowe will play ageing but formidable club owner, Manco Kapak who has been robbed by a masked gunman. Now, his aspirations of selling his club and riding off into the sunset alongside his girlfriend appear more distant than ever. Cartel bosses are breathing down his neck and a young upstart has been posing as the new guy in town eager to purchase the club.

Borte, alongside Daniel Forte (American Dreamer), wrote the screenplay based on the Thomas Perry novel, Strip. A Higher Standard will handle sales at the Cannes market.

Mark Fasano (Marlowe) of Nickel City Pictures will produce with Jeffrey Greenstein (The Bricklayer) of A Higher Standard, Mark Bower and Bruno Mustic of Life & Soul Pictures, and David Lipper and Robert A. Daly jr. of Latigo films who are co-financing with Gramercy Park Media.

The Nickel City Pictures and A Higher Standard production is due to begin principal photography in October on the Gold Coast of Australia.

A Beautiful Mind, LA Confidential and Gladiator star Crowe is in production on Nuremberg and has Kraven the Hunter upcoming.

On re-teaming with Crowe, Borte said: “After the great experience we shared on Unhinged, I’d been looking for another project with Russell – one that would allow him to show more of what so many people (including myself) loved so much about Jackson Healy in The Nice Guys – and we both immediately knew that Bear Country was the one.”

“Bear Country will keep viewers on the edge of their seats with plenty of action and surprises in store. Russell brings a captivating energy to the screen and has helped cultivate some of the best thrillers in recent memory,” added Fasano.

“The way Russell and Derrick took such a simple concept and turned Unhinged into a nonstop white knuckle ride is exactly what excites me about re-teaming the two for this sophisticated and fun ride through the sexy and seedy streets of Los Angeles. In addition to having action and comedy, this one allows Derrick to do what he does best, ratcheting up the suspense via a highly castable ensemble cast of characters in Bear Country,” commented Greenstein.

Crowe is repped by Brillstein Entertainment Partners and Goodman, Genow. Borte is repped by Paradigm Talent Agency and Frankfurt Kurnit.