Filming has started on Peter Berg‘s film DEEPWATER HORIZON, based on the true story of the Gulf Oil Spill disaster. The film is currently shooting in New Orleans and the first image of Mark Wahlberg in character has come online. There is not much context to the shot but we can clearly see Wahlberg streaked with crude oil looking pensively into the distance. It also looks as if Wahlberg has lost some weight for the role in the film.
Wahlberg plays the Deepwater Horizon’s chief technician, Mike Williams, who appeared on 60 Minutes and told his story of what happened when the BP rig exploded in 2010. Lionsgate revealed the following about the film.
The movie chronicles the courage of those who worked on the Deepwater Horizon and the extreme moments of bravery and survival in the face of what would become one of the biggest manmade disasters in world history.
DEEPWATER HORIZON was originally set to be helmed by A MOST VIOLENT YEAR filmmaker JC Chandor but he dropped out of the project. Berg is reuniting with Wahlberg after the two worked on LONE SURVIVOR a few years ago. The screenplay comes courtesy of Matthew Sand and Matthew Michael Carnahan. Summit Entertainment is hoping this will be a potential awards contender when it hits theaters later this year.
The movie also starts Kurt Russell, John Malkovich, Dylan O’Brien and Gina Rodriguez. Whether it ends up being positioned as a disaster, action film or something a bit more dramatic remains to be seen. DEEPWATER HORIZON hits theaters on September 30, 2016.