Naomi Watts is in talks to join Joe Carnahan's Boss Level opposite a number of action stars. Directed by Carnahan, a filmmaker best known for crafting hard-hitting gritty dramatic action movies, the project is assembling an incredible team of stars for an exciting premise.
Boss Level will star Frank Grillo as an ex-special forces veteran who is trapped in a Groundhog Day loop that results in his death every day. It's a popular premise, but no details have been revealed about the film beyond its title and a brief synopsis. Neither indicate if this is a supernatural occurrence or one based in science fiction. Mel Gibson (Mad Max) and Will Sasso (Best in Show) are also attached to the project. The pressure is on to assemble a film that can deliver a unique take on the popular premise, but with a cast like that, it's sure to offer something unusual to fans of the genre.
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It's a cast that now might include Naomi Watts according to Variety, who is currently in negotiations for the project. The actress and producer's last action movie was Insurgent. As Evelyn, mother of Four (Theo James), she brought a great deal of vulnerability and power to the role. Just who Watts is playing in Boss Level remains to be seen, but she's certainly got the acting chops for it. The actress is best known for more dramatic roles and could provide a great deal of gravitas to Carnahan's script, giving people something extra special to talk about in relation to the already exciting film.
The film will be financed by Emmett/Furla/Oasis and produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura, Mark Vahradian, Randall Emmett, and George Furla. Production companies behind the film include Di Bonaventura pictures, Carnahan and Grillo's War Party, and Scott Free. Watts herself was most recently seen in The Book of Henry and starred opposite Captain Marvel's Brie Larson in The Glass Castle.
It's hard not to look back at the plethora of films that feature a Groundhog's Day type scenario. The film bears a striking resemblance to Edge of Tomorrow in its brief synopsis. Starring Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt, Edge of Tomorrow also featured a soldier who experienced a time loop every time he died. There are plenty of ways to look at the synopsis, however, and there have been multiple creative takes on the concept of repeating events from the original Groundhog's Day to Blumhouse's Happy Death Day.
Clearly, Carnahan, the master of gritty action films and director of hits like The Grey and Smoking Aces, has something special up his sleeve. Just what form this new incarnation of the premise will take remains to be seen, but with a cast like this in front of the camera and Watts herself circling the film, it's sure to be a new take and a unique experience for fans of Grillo and Carnahan himself.
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Source: Variety