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Diane Kruger, Ray Nicholson to Star in Neil LaBute Thriller ‘Out of the Blue’

Matt Donnelly
·2-min read

Diane Kruger and Ray Nicholson are set to star in a new thriller from writer-director Neil LaBute, titled “Out of the Blue.”

The filmmaker behind “The Wicker Man” and “In the Company of Men” will bring the stars together this week in Rhode Island for principal photography on the feature, billed as a contemporary tale of passionate love, deceit and the perfect murder.

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Nicholson (“Promising Young Woman”) plays Connor, a man whose dull life is transformed into a thrilling fantasy world thanks to the seductive Marilyn (Kruger). He plunges headlong into the adulterous affair; the ex-con with a heart of gold seemingly destined for the raven-haired trophy wife. The only hitch in their idyllic new life together? Marilyn’s trapped in a nightmare with an abusive husband and vulnerable stepdaughter. Desperate and with a history of violence, Connor will do almost anything to see him dead.

Quiver Distribution announced the film on Monday. Berry Meyerowitz and Tara Craig (“House of Cardin”) will produce. Jeff Sackman and Larry Greenberg will executive produce for Quiver, which packaged the project and arranged the film’s financing with BondIt Media Capital.

Matthew Helderman, Luke Taylor and Joe Listhaus will executive produce for BondIt. Quiver will handle worldwide distribution of the film and introduce it to international buyers at next week’s Toronto Film Festival.

“Neil LaBute is one of the most ingenious and powerful contemporary filmmakers,” Quiver co-presidents Meyerowitz and Jeff Sackman said. “It has been incredible to watch this project take form with the talents of Diane and Ray, and we are eager for filming to begin!”

Kruger can next be seen in Universal Pictures’ “The 355,” directed by Simon Kinberg, and co-starring Jessica Chastain, Penélope Cruz and Lupita Nyong’o. Previous credits include hits like Quentin Tarantino’s Oscar-winning “Inglourious Basterds” and the German film “In the Fade,” which earned her the best actress award at Cannes.

Nicholson was recently seen in Amazon’s teen drama series “Panic,” Martin Zandvliet’s action thriller “The Outsider” and the FX series “Mayans M.C.,” co-created by Kurt Sutter and Elgin James. He will next star in Thomas Torrey’s southern thriller “All the Names We Buried.”

LaBute is a prolific American playwright, screenwriter and director best known for writing and directing the 1997 black comedy “In the Company of Men.” He went on to write and direct such successful films as “Possession,” “The Shape of Things,” “Nurse Better,” “Lakeview Terrace” and “Death at a Funeral.”

LaBute is represented by The Gersh Agency and ICM Partners. Kruger is repped by UTA, UBBA, Untitled, Altitude and Peikoff Mahan. Nicholson is represented by UTA and Sugar23.

Quiver’s original production slate also includes Walter Hill’s “Dead for a Dollar” starring Christoph Waltz, Willem Dafoe and Rachel Brosnahan, currently filming in New Mexico.

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