EXCLUSIVE: After directing a starry ensemble led by Abigail Breslin in the Miranda Rights drama Miranda’s Victim, filmmaker Michelle Danner has set the sci-fi action-thriller Helios as her next feature.
The film from Centerboro Production, based on a script by Patricia A. Beninati (Hubble: 20 Years of Discovery), Michael K. Anderson (The Wonder Show) and Bernard Moore, is set in the year 2030, following the crew of the spaceship Helios on an urgent mission to the International Space Station. When a massive solar flare from an incoming cataclysmic solar storm hits the station on a collision course with Earth, it is up to astronomer and former NASA Astronaut, Jess Denver, and Air Force Colonel Sam Adler to team up and save humanity.
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Producers on the project eyeing a 2023 shoot include Centerboro’s Beninati, John Lewis of Ruckus Pictures (Lullaby), Todd Slater of Convoke Media (King of Killers), Anderson, and production attorney Marilyn G. Haft (Grace Is Gone). Robert Feierbach will serve as an executive producer. Blue Origin’s Orbital Reef Space Station and United Launch Alliance will support the production as space partners.
“We are so thrilled to work with Michelle Danner, who is a brilliant director, and innovative writer. We are incredibly excited to have Michelle incorporate her signature cinematic influence and vision into thought provoking storytelling, which will deliver big action,” said Centerboro Productions’ President, Beninati. “The Helios movie demonstrates the true solutions available to humanity in a time of a space weather crisis and is attractive to a global audience, that will be a fun thrill ride popcorn movie. Danner has a long legacy for her work with big stars such as Chris Rock, Salma Hayek, Gerard Butler, Penelope Cruz, Seth MacFarlane and many more, and that will make the movie positioned for international and sequel success.”
“Michelle’s insightful grasp of storytelling and her talent for unearthing the authentic truth in an actor’s performance will bring the necessary heart and emotion to this action thriller,” remarked Ruckus Pictures’ Lewis. “As a renowned and sought-after acting coach, Michelle Danner is a breath of fresh air for any actor seeking that elusive, magical performance. Our mission is to convey a narrative that examines the high stakes presented by a catastrophe of this magnitude, using realistic technology and accurate solutions available to humanity. Together, we will delve into the complexities of the human condition under such extreme pressure, exploring both the noble and the less savory aspects of human nature.”
Added Danner in a statement to Deadline: “I’m excited to tell the story of Helios. It’s a unique story, different from any other sci-fi disaster movie I’ve seen in that its focus is on how human beings react in the face of destruction, both tearing themselves apart and pulling themselves together. Above anything else, what affected me was this genuine and heartfelt portrayal of humanity in the most extreme of circumstances.”
A renowned acting teacher who co-founded both the Edgemar Center for the Arts and the Los Angeles Acting Conservatory, Danner’s list of students has included Christian Slater, Salma Hayek, Gerard Butler, Seth MacFarlane, Penelope Cruz, Chris Rock, Gabrielle Union and Zooey Deschanel. She most recently attracted an A-list roster of talent for her seventh feature, Miranda’s Victim, with Breslin being joined by Luke Wilson, Andy Garcia, Donald Sutherland, Ryan Philippe, Mireille Enos, Kyle MacLachlan, Taryn Manning and more. The courtroom drama opened this year’s Santa Barbara Film Festival, where it was nominated for Best Film.
Other past features from Danner include the action thriller The Runner starring Edouard Philipponnat, Cameron Douglas, Elisabeth Röhm, Eric Balfour and Nadji Jeter; the rom-com How to Go Out on a Date in Queens starring Jason Alexander, Ron Perlman and Enrique Murciano; the psychological thriller Hello Herman starring Norman Reedus; and the comedy The Bandit Hound with Judd Nelson, Lou Ferrigno, Catherine Bell and Joe Flanigan.
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