Last year, we heard that Gene Simmons of the rock band Kiss would be launching a new production company with Gary Hamilton (so the company is appropriately called Simmons/Hamilton Productions), and the first project they had given the greenlight was a shark thriller called Deep Water – with Deep Blue Sea director Renny Harlin attached to take the helm of the film! That film has since made its way through production, and a couple days ago we learned that the cast includes Aaron Eckhart of Harlin’s The Bricklayer, Sir Ben Kingsley (Gandhi), Molly Wright (Netflix’s True Spirit), Angus Sampson (Mad Max: Fury Road), Kelly Gale (Plane), singer and actor Li Wenhan, who is a member of the Chinese-Korean K-Pop group UNIQ, and Nashi (Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms). Now a first look image has made its way online, and it shows the characters played by Eckhart and Wright. You can check it out at the bottom of this article.
Scripted by Pete Bridges and John Kim, Deep Water centers on an eclectic group of international passengers whose plane, en route from Los Angeles to Shanghai, is forced to make an emergency landing in shark-infested waters. The terrified group is forced to work together and overcome their differences if they hope to escape their sinking plane and the frenzy of sharks drawn to the wreckage.
Arclight Films’ Ying Ye, Gabba Post’s Neal Kingston, Aristos Films’ Grant Bradley and Dale Bradley, and Nostromo Pictures’ Adrian Guerra and Xavier Parache produced the film, while Brian Beckmann and Ryan Hamilton from Arclight Films serve as executive producers alongside Vladimir Artemenko from Top Film Distribution, as well as Rob Van Norden and Johanna Harlin. Arclight Films will be presenting the project to potential buyers at the European Film Market. Filming took place in New Zealand and Spain, wrapping at the end of 2023. Post-production work is being done in Australia.
Harlin had this to say about the project: “Deep Water offered me an epic canvas to work on, which I’ve dreamed of since seeing the original The Poseidon Adventure in a movie theater as a kid in Finland. My superb cast stood by my side valiantly through a rigorous shoot of barrel rolling planes, tidal waves of water and ferocious sharks. This film is my tribute to all the action, imagination, emotion and beauty that made movie making the first love of my life. I can’t wait to show the audiences around the world what an emotional rollercoaster we have created.“
Are you looking forward to Deep Water? Let us know by leaving a comment below – and check out the image of Eckhart and Wright’s characters while you’re scrolling down: