Veteran actor and all around badass Clive Owen (Sin City, Children Of Men) is set to co-star opposite Katherine Heigl (Knocked Up, The Ugly Truth) in Survivor for director James McTeigue (V For Vendetta, The Raven).
The film follows a State Department employee (Heigl) working at the American Embassy in London who loses her team in a bombing attack. After she is framed for a series of crimes for which she is innocent, she embarks on a desperate journey to clear her name and prevent an attack on New Year’s Eve. Production company Nu Image will present the film to prospective financiers at the Cannes Film Festival. Legendary producer/director Irwin Winkler (Rocky, Goodfellas) will produce the project.
Something about the pairing of Clive Owen and Katherine Heigl is very bothersome to me. In her relatively short career, Heigl’s reputation as something of an unappreciative and arrogant diva precedes her. It’s also worth noting that she has not exactly made any attempt to show any versatility in her filmography with a string of similarly unremarkable romantic comedies. It feels as though they could have found somebody more – dare I say it – talented? Teaming her with an actor as accomplished and respected as Clive Owen seems rather strange, but I digress.
Maybe this film will be a comeback exercise for not only Heigl, but also James McTeigue. He experienced massive success with his directing debut V For Vendetta both commercially and critically, but failed to connect again with his next directorial effort Ninja Assassin. With Irwin Winkler on board to bring credence to the film, maybe Survivor will be his next big hit. I personally believe McTeigue has great skill as a director who has proven, even in lesser films, that he has a knack for handling epic and complex action.
There is no date set for Survivor yet, but we’ll keep you posted as the project develops. In the meantime I’ll ask the question is Katherine Heigl still praise-worthy? Let us know in the comments below.
