Liam Hemsworth broke onto the Hollywood scene with a supporting part in the Nic Cage flick Knowing, before going on to play the male love interest/eye candy in such films as The Last Song and Hunger Games.
Following his part as “The Kid” among the masculine ensemble of this summer’s Expendables 2, the younger brother of Thor actor Chris Hemsworth will be working center stage on a handful of projects – including the thriller, Paranoia.
Relativity has issued a press release, announcing that the studio has picked up the U.S. rights to Paranoia from IM Global. In addition to Hemsworth, the cast also includes acting heavyweights Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford – along with another young actor, Lucas Till (Battle Los Angeles, X-Men: First Class), whose star is on the rise – and is described as follows:
In this high-stakes thriller, Adam Cassidy (Liam Hemsworth) is a charming, blue collar guy trying to get ahead in his entry-level job at Wyatt Telecom. But after one costly and illegal mistake, Adam is confronted by ruthless CEO Nicholas Wyatt. He won’t turn Adam in under one condition: Adam must agree to infiltrate the competition as a corporate spy. Adam soon finds himself packaged for success, surrounded by glamorous boardrooms, expensive cars, and a life he only dreamed of. But behind the scenes, Wyatt is pulling the strings – stopping at nothing, even murder, to win a multi-billion dollar advantage. Realizing he’s nothing more than a pawn in his boss’s ruthless game, Adam’s only way out – is to go in deeper.
Paranoia is based on Joseph Finder’s novel of the same name; the original script draft was penned by Barry Levy (Vantage Point), which was then rewritten by Jason Dean Hall (Spread). Production is slated to begin sometime this summer under the supervision of Robert Luketic: a fellow who made his mark as a director with Legally Blonde, before going on to helm a string of rom-coms like Win a Date with Tad Hamilton!, The Ugly Truth, and Killers – along with the drama/thriller 21.
Liam Hemsworth in 'The Hunger Games'
Besides Paranoia, Hemsworth will also get a chance to demonstrate his leading man credentials (or lack thereof) in upcoming projects like the sci-fi/romance Timeless and the true-story crime flick Empire State costarring Dwayne Johnson. Plus, there’s also the Arabian Nights movie currently lingering in the development stage, with both Hemsworth and Johnson loosely attached to star.
That’s all to say: whereas fellow young adult franchise star Taylor Lautner is intent on establishing himself as an action star (see: the upcoming Tracers), Hemsworth seems less interested in becoming a niche performer, once his Hunger Games days are done. (An approach which should serve the latter well.)
However, given the collective resume of the people working on Paranoia behind-the-scenes, the film seems unlikely to benefit Hemsworth’s career – at least, not in the fashion that a comparable drama/thriller such as The Firm did for Tom Cruise’s stature (nearly twenty years ago now).
We will find out for certain when Paranoia hits theaters in the U.S. on September 27th, 2013.
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Source: Relativity/IM Global
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