There are few filmic genres that get your blood pumping quite like a good hostage drama, thanks to the back-and-forth between characters and the inevitable double-crossing along with last-minute bargaining between the two or more parties. So, following the award-winning success of last year’s astute hostage drama, Captain Phillips, Amplify is hoping to recapture that specific air of tension with this year’s Default.
Billed as a claustrophobic thriller, the film follows an american news crew who find their plane hijacked by a gang of Somalian pirates. Led by Atlas (David Oyelowo), the terrorists seek to record an interview with renown journalist, Frank Saltzman.
Default was directed by Simon Brand — known for his work on Paraiso Travel and Unknown — and is said to hone the socio-political undertones found in Tom Hanks’ aforementioned thriller. Joining Oyelowo on the casting list is Jeanine Mason, Stephen Lord and The L Word’s Katherine Moennig. Since it premiered at the New York Colombian film festival back in March, the film has garnered notable attention for its documentary-styled approach, so we’re definitely looking forward to checking it out.
Default will release digitally through iTunes and across select theaters on October 17th. Until then, you can feast your eyes on the explosive stills and the official synopsis below.
“Fear is fear.” An American news crew is taken hostage aboard a chartered jet off the coast of Seychelles by a mysterious crew of Somali pirates with one goal: to be interviewed by one member of the crew, legendary journalist Frank Saltzman. For the welfare of his colleagues Saltzman agrees before realizing that they are immersed in a mortal battle between their beliefs: fear and intelligence.
