The Cannes Film Festival is in full swing, and the marketplace is packed with many high profile projects being packaged up for international sales. One such package, announced today, is Kidnap – a movie that will star Academy Award winner Halle Berry in the lead role.
Directed by Luis Prieto (Pusher), the film follows a woman dealing with the abduction of her young son, stopping at nothing to get him back home safely. Described as a female version of Liam Neeson’s Taken movies, Kidnap is written by Jackass alum Knate Gwaltney, and produced by the legendary Lorenzo di Bonaventura (Transformer: Age Of Extinction).
This is an intriguing prospect for several reasons. Firstly, when provided with the right material, Halle Berry can turn in a compelling performance. She is an Oscar winner, after all. It’s unfortunate that the right material doesn’t seem to find its way to her very often, but it could be that this project is one of those precious few good ones.
Secondly, with this having been characterized as a female Taken, could it be that this has sequel potential? Let’s face it, these days, it doesn’t take much for a film to be spun off into a series of movies, and if that is the intention here, we could be looking at the next female-led franchise. Perhaps Hollywood has been taking note of recent box office trends, after all.
Thirdly, this is intriguing because it is written by Knate Gwaltney. A quick look at his CV reveals his work in a variety of capacities for the Jackass TV show and movies, in addition to a directorial debut this year with Cardboard Boxer. The question is, can he write interesting female characters? Kidnap being his first time out of the screenwriting gate, there’s no reason to assume he can’t – but we may have to wait a while to find out.
