GOLD: Zac Efron to Star in Anthony Hayes’s Survival Thriller

Zac Efron to Star in Anthony Hayes’s Gold

Zac Efron has been cast in director Anthony Hayes’s survival thriller Gold, based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Polly Smyth.

Hayes will direct and co-star along with Efron — who is known for his acting in The Greatest Showman and the High School Musical trilogy — in the movie, which Altitude Film Sales will present to buyers at the upcoming American Film Market and co-represent for domestic sales with CAA Media Finance. John and Michael Schwarz are set to produce via their studio, Deeper Water Films, known for  Danger Close: The Battle Of Long Tan, with Hayes representing Rogue Star Pictures.

The plot will follow two strangers traveling through the desert who come across a giant gold nugget. They formulate a plan to excavate their treasure with one man leaving to secure the needed equipment. The other must remain while fending off wild dogs and hostile intruders and ward off the suspicion that he has been abandoned.

Department heads include editor Sean Lahiff, known for Wolf Creek 2, production designer Sam Hobbs known for Red Dog, director of photography Ross Giardina, known for The Dressmaker, and director of make up and prosthetics, Jennifer Lamphee, known for The Wolverine. The executive producers will be Andrew Mann, Peter Touche, Simon Williams, Paul Wiegard, Will Clarke, Andy Mayson, Nick Forward and Mike Runagall.

Filming will begin in Australia this month, where Madman Entertainment is set to release initially. The film will then be available on Australian streaming platform Stan.

Michael Schwarz said of the production, “Gold is a classic morality tale told in an excitingly modern fashion, and the creative symmetry between Anthony and Zac has everyone involved incredibly excited to bring this film to global audiences.”

Hayes added that “This is an exciting, gripping and timely tale about greed, humanity, who we are, what we’ve done to the world and where we are heading if we aren’t careful. To have Zac Efron as my main man on this film is an absolute gift and to see what he is creating already is like nothing we’ve seen from him before. I can’t wait to deliver this bold, visceral and cinematic film to audiences all around the world.”

Efron is repped by CAA, Alchemy Entertainment and Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson.

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