First Still from 'The Rover'

 

'The Rover' Press Release Reveals Filming will wrap Mid-March:

Porchlight Films and Lava Bear Films are delighted to announce that filming on THE ROVER commenced on Tuesday 29th January 2013. With support from Screen Australia, the South Australian Film Corporation and Screen NSW the seven-week shoot will take place in South Australia.

Written and directed by DAVID MICHÔD, the visionary behind 2011’s mesmerizing and universally acclaimed Animal Kingdom, THE ROVER is a slow burn thriller, starring GUY PEARCE (Lawless, The King’s Speech, Memento) and ROBERT PATTINSON (The Twilight Saga, Cosmopolis).

Joining the two principal cast is a superb ensemble including SCOOT McNAIRY (Argo, Killing Them Softly) who plays Pattinson’s brother, SUSAN PRIOR (Animal Kingdom, Not Suitable for Children), GILLIAN JONES (Oscar and Lucinda, The Tree), ANTHONY HAYES (Burning Man, Animal Kingdom) and DAVID FIELD (Chopper, Two Hands). All have descended on regional South Australia for the hot and dusty shoot.

While donning the directorial hat, Michôd also wrote the script for THE ROVER based on a story he conceived with Joel Edgerton (Zero Dark Thirty, The Great Gatsby). The film is set in the Australian desert, in a dangerous and damaged near future. Eric (Pearce) has left everything, everyone and every semblance of human kindness behind him when a gang of desperate criminals steals his last possession. Eric sets off on a ruthless mission to track them down, forced along the way to enlist the help of Rey (Pattinson), the naïve and injured junior member of the gang who was left behind in the chaos of the gang’s most recent robbery.

Liz Watts is producing for Porchlight Films and David Linde for Lava Bear Films. Watts and Porchlight Films produced Michôd’s debut feature Animal Kingdom. At commencement of production the Producers commended the enthusiasm of the cast in their new environment. “The South Australian desert environment can be a tough one to work in, particularly for those coming from a Northern Hemisphere winter but both the cast and crew have thrown themselves into the shoot. We are shooting in some of the most haunting and stunning landscapes in the world, and are fortunate to have such an exceptional cast and a truly talented crew”, Watts and Linde said.

FilmNation represents U.S. sales with UTA Independent Film Group. FilmNation also acquired the majority of worldwide sales rights to THE ROVER and the film has already been sold to leading distributors around the world (for a full list please refer to page two) – including Australia where distributor Roadshow Films’ Managing Director Joel Pearlman added “this is an incredibly exciting project which we are thrilled to be working on with Liz, David and the whole creative team.”

Shooting completes in mid-March in South Australia, with postproduction taking place in Sydney.

About Porchlight Films
Principal producers Liz Watts and Vincent Sheehan established production company Porchlight Films with co- director Anita Sheehan in 1997. Their titles include both feature films and television working with the very best of Australian and international talent including David Michôd’s Animal Kingdom, Cate Shortland’s Lore, The Hunter starring Willem Dafoe, Little Fish starring Cate Blanchett, The Home Song Stories starring Joan Chen, and the critically acclaimed features, Mullet and Walking on Water.

About Lava Bear Films
Lava Bear Films was founded in 2011 as a film production and financing company developing projects specifically designed for the global marketplace. Leveraging CEO David Linde’s industry experience, success at building filmed entertainment related businesses and harnessing both traditional means of distribution as well as new technologies, platforms and markets, the company offers tremendous opportunities to creative partners worldwide. Reliance Entertainment is a major equity partner in the venture. Lava Bear has a production and distribution agreement with Universal Pictures along with a network of direct distribution partnerships in several key territories around the globe with leading distribution companies overseas.

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