With their surprisingly solid action movie “No Escape” still in theaters, brothers John Erick Dowdle and Drew Dowdle have signed on to tackle the action-thriller “Six Minutes to Freedom” for MadRiver Pictures, it was announced Wednesday.
John Erick Dowdle will direct the adaptation of John Gilstrap’s novel and co-write the script with Drew Dowdle, who will also produce with Marc Butan, Sam Franco and Laura Bickford. Ed Fee will serve as executive producer.
“Six Minutes to Freedom” is based on the true story of American Kurt Muse, who was imprisoned in 1989 for broadcasting a pirate radio station that propagated dissent against Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega, and the saga of his rescue from prison by the US Delta Force. Muse is the first and only American civilian rescued by the elite special force.
Most recently, the Dowdle Brothers wrote, directed and produced “No Escape” starring Owen Wilson, Lake Bell and Pierce Brosnan. Their other notable credits include “As Above, So Below” for Universal and Legendary, “Devil” for Universal and “Quarantine” for Screen Gems. They’re represented by WME.
Launched in May, MadRiver Pictures is a financing and production Company that develops, finances and produces three-to-four director and star-driven films per year in the $15 million to $50 million budget range with a global wide release. The company has raised development and production financing from a consortium of private and strategic investors, with Vendian Entertainment making a $30 million equity investment into MadRiver in the form of a revolving equity fund.
MadRiver is financing and producing Harmony Korine‘s “The Trap,” which stars Idris Elba, Benicio Del Toro, James Franco and Al Pacino, and Mark Romanek‘s “Norco.” Butan’s existing slate includes John Hillocat’s “Triple 9” starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Casey Affleck, Woody Harrelson, Kate Winslet, Aaron Paul and Anthony Mackie; Burr Steers’ “Pride & Prejudice & Zombies” starring Lily James and Suki Waterhouse, which will be released by Screen Gems on Feb. 19, 2016; and James Gray‘s “The Lost City of Z” starring Charlie Hunnam, which is currently in production and will be released by Paramount.