Why is it so hard to make a good shark movie? Notice I said 'good'. Almost any film with sharks can be entertaining, including so-bad-they're-fun flicks like SHARKNADO or SHARK NIGHT, but that doesn't mean those films are 'good'. It's even more rare for a film with a shark antagonist to be great, à la JAWS. I want to see another film that will make me scared to set foot on a beach, much less the ocean. Sony thinks they mave have just that with IN THE DEEP.
Deadline is reporting that Sony Pictures has won a vigorous bidding battle pegged at high-six figures for IN THE DEEP, a spec script by Tony Jaswinski. The film will be produced by former Warner Bros executive Lynn Harris; it is the first project she has put together with Matti Leshem in the new producing shingle Weimaraner Republic Pictures.
The spec is described as a cross between 127 HOURS meets JAWS, with a touch of GRAVITY thrown in for good measure. Now that sounds tense! Here's the synopsis:
A young woman who is dealing with the recent death of her mother is surfing on an isolated beach and gets stranded 20 yards off shore on a buoy. What lies between her and the shore is a huge great white shark.
I'm excited for this one and hopefully we'll have something worthwhile with IN THE DEEP. Casting for this one will be key, no doubt, as it sounds like a bit of a 'one woman show'. We'll keep you posted on news regarding this project as we hear it.