LOS ANGELES (June 15, 2023) – Josh Duhamel (Transformers franchise) is set to join Zachary Levi (Shazam! Fury of the Gods) in the survival thriller Not Without Hope, it was announced today. Also joining the cast are JoBeth Williams (The Big Chill), Quentin Plair (Hulu’s “Tiny Beautiful Things”), Terrence Terrell (Netflix’s “Obliterated”) and Marshall Cook (Open Road’s Copshop).
Based on Nick Schuyler and Jere Longman’s best-seller by the same name, the film is written and directed by Joe Carnahan (Open Road’s The Grey, Hulu’s Boss Level).
The film is produced by Carnahan; Michael Jefferson, Adam Beasley and Cindy Bru of Volition Media (Land of Bad, One True Loves, Sam & Kate); Kia Jam of K. Jam Media (The Misfits starring Pierce Brosnan); Dean Altit of Altit Media Group (The Good Neighbor starring Jonathan Rhys Meyers); Rick French of Prix Productions (the upcoming Buddy Holly biopic Clear Lake); David Lipper and Robert A. Daly Jr of Latigo Films (Joe Baby starring Harvey Keitel and Ron Perlman) and Highland Film Group.
Production is underway in Malta on the true story. Highland Film Group is handling international rights to Not Without Hope, with CAA Media Finance handling the domestic rights. The film is co-financed by GALA Media Capital.
“Josh Duhamel is a great addition to our ensemble cast and will bring a nuanced intensity to the role of the US Coast Guard Captain who leads the heroic rescue mission in this true story of brotherhood and survival. Not Without Hope is based on tragic events, but it is also filled with a lot of courage, hope and heart,” said Highland Film Group CEO Arianne Fraser and COO Delphine Perrier.
Based on the New York Times non-fiction best-seller, Not Without Hope follows best friends Nick Schuyler (Zachary Levi) and Will Bleakley (Marshall Cook), and NFL players Marquis Cooper (Quentin Plair) and Corey Smith (Terrence Terrell), as they depart Clearwater, Florida for a day trip at their favorite fishing spot 70 miles out in the Gulf of Mexico. As a severe storm heads their way, a trapped anchor causes their boat to capsize, throwing the four friends violently into the freezing water. US Coast Guard Captain Timothy Close (Josh Duhamel) and his crew summon their largest ship to cut through the raging ocean as the group battles massive waves, dehydration, severe hypothermia, and marine predators, in their epic struggle to survive and return home to their distraught loved ones.
Josh Duhamel rose to prominence in Michael Bay’s Transformers film series starring in Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, Transformer: Dark of the Moon and Transformers: The Last Knight alongside Shia LeBeouf, Megan Fox, Tyrese Gibson and Mark Wahlberg. He then went on to star in Twentieth Century Fox’s Ramona and Beezus opposite Selena Gomez and Joey King, Disney’s When in Rome with Kristen Bell, Twentieth Century Fox’s Love, Simon alongside Jennifer Garner, Allan Ungar’s Bandit starring Mel Gibson, and Amazon’s Shotgun Wedding in which he stars alongside Jennifer Lopez.
JoBeth Williams rose to prominence in the lead role of the iconic horror film Poltergeist, a role she reprised in the sequel Poltergeist II: The Other Side. She then went on to star in Columbia Pictures’ The Big Chill alongside Glenn Close and Jeff Goldblum. She has received three Emmy Award nominations for her work in the television movie “Adam,” the miniseries “Baby M” and TV series “Frasier.” Her many film credits include The Dogs of War alongside Christopher Walken and Tom Berenger, Stir Crazy with Gene Wilder and Kramer vs Kramer with Meryl Streep and Dustin Hoffman. She earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Live Action Short Film for her short film On Hope.
Quentin Plair is currently starring in Hulu’s critically acclaimed limited series “Tiny Beautiful Things” and also in Hulu’s “Welcome to Chippendales.” He most recently starred in Showtime’s limited series “The Good Lord Bird.”
Terrence Terrell won a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in the Emmy Award-winning digital drama series “Giants.” He then starred in the CBS comedy “B Positive.” Most recently he recurred in the NAACP Image Award-winning drama series “The Best Man: The Final Chapters” for Peacock, and he will star in the upcoming Netflix action-comedy “Obliterated.”
Marshall Cook recently starred opposite Omar Sy, Kerry Washington and Mark Strong in the Lionsgate feature Shadow Force. He also stars in the Open Road Films’ Copshop opposite Gerard Butler and Frank Grillo. He’s recurred on Amazon’s “Goliath” with Dennis Quaid and Billy Bob Thornton and was the lead in the indie thriller Hunting Lands. Additionally, his latest feature, Film Fest, a satire of the film festival scene, premiered at the 2020 Austin Film Festival.
Duhamel is repped by Creative Artists Agency; Williams is repped by Coronel Group and SDB Partners; Plair is repped by Innovative Artists, Monogram Management Group and imPRint; Terrell is repped by Rachel Sheedy at INSURGE-Ent, Reena Patton, and Gang, Tyre, Ramer, Brown & Passman, Inc.; Cook is repped by Magnolia Entertainment and Meyer & Downs.
Highland Film Group’s current sales slate also includes the survival thriller The Ridge starring Billy Magnussen; the high-concept horror film Rosario starring Emeraude Toubia; Simon West’s action comedy Old Guy starring Christoph Waltz, Lucy Liu and Cooper Hoffman; the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut starring Emma Roberts and Laurence Fishburne; Dimitri Logothetis’ actioner Gunner starring Morgan Freeman and Luke Hemsworth; Jenn Wexler’s sci-fi thriller Rachel; Adam Cooper’s crime thriller Sleeping Dogs starring Russell Crowe and Karen Gillan; William Eubank’s action thriller Land of Bad starring Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth and Luke Hemsworth; Audrey Cummings’ western action film Place of Bones starring Heather Graham and Tom Hopper; the survival action-thriller Arcadian starring Nicolas Cage and Rod Blackhurst’s Blood For Dust starring Scoot McNairy, Kit Harington and Josh Lucas.
ABOUT HIGHLAND FILM GROUP
Check out our website: https://highlandfilmgroup.com/
Led by founding partners Arianne Fraser and Delphine Perrier, Highland Film Group (HFG) is an independent worldwide sales, film financing, production and distribution company. Launched in 2010, HFG has had success across a wide range of film genres and platforms, building a reputation for handling high-octane films in the action/thriller/horror space, focusing on cast, director, and filmmaker driven content.
HFG’s diversified production and sales slate includes the survival thriller The Ridge starring Billy Magnussen; the high-concept horror film Rosario starring Emeraude Toubia; Joe Carnahan’s survival thriller Not Without Hope starring Zachary Levi; Simon West’s action comedy Old Guy starring Christoph Waltz, Lucy Liu and Cooper Hoffman; the sci-fi thriller The Astronaut starring Emma Roberts and Laurence Fishburne; Dimitri Logothetis’ actioner Gunner starring Morgan Freeman and Luke Hemsworth; Jenn Wexler’s sci-fi thriller Rachel; Adam Cooper’s crime thriller Sleeping Dogs starring Russell Crowe and Karen Gillan; William Eubank’s action thriller Land of Bad starring Russell Crowe, Liam Hemsworth and Luke Hemsworth; Audrey Cummings’ western action film Place of Bones starring Heather Graham and Tom Hopper; the survival action-thriller Arcadian starring Nicolas Cage; Rod Blackhurst’s Blood For Dust starring Scoot McNairy, Kit Harington and Josh Lucas; Neil LaBute’s Fear the Night starring Maggie Q; the sci-fi thriller 57 Seconds starring Morgan Freeman and Josh Hutcherson; John Stalberg Jr.’s Muzzle starring Aaron Eckhart; Andy Fickman’s romance One True Loves starring Simu Liu, Phillipa Soo and Luke Bracey; Adrian Grünberg’s shark actioner The Black Demon starring Josh Lucas; The Lair directed by Neil Marshall; Petr Jakl’s Medieval starring Ben Foster and Michael Caine and Mark Earl Burman’s Ambush starring Aaron Eckhart, Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Connor Paolo.
Previous titles include Joe Carnahan’s Boss Level starring Naomi Watts, Mel Gibson and Frank Grillo; Dimitri Logothetis’ Jiu Jitsu starring Nicolas Cage and Tony Jaa; Lin Oeding’s thriller Braven starring Jason Momoa; Scott Mann’s Final Score starring Dave Bautista and Pierce Brosnan; Berlin, I Love You with Helen Mirren, Keira Knightley, Jim Sturgess, Mickey Rourke, Diego Luna and Jenna Dewan Tatum; Vaughn Stein’s Terminal starring Margot Robbie and Simon Pegg and Renny Harlin’s The Misfits starring Pierce Brosnan, Nick Cannon and Tim Roth.
