‘Prisoners’ Will Never Ever, Ever Film In Derby

Remember when big-time Hollywood movie Prisoners” was supposed to film in Derby and the city’s name was to be used in the script?

Every once in awhile the Valley Indy receives e‑mails from people still wondering if it’ll ever happen.

Yeah, it is 1,000 percent not happening.

The movie is scheduled to shoot in Georgia in January, according to WUPA-TV in Atlanta. A casting call for extras — THOSE SHOULD HAVE BEEN VALLEY FOLKS! — was held Dec. 9. 

Not that anyone cares since they abandoned us, but it is our journalistic duty to tell you the flick, a thriller about kidnapping, is scheduled to film January through March.

Hugh Wolverine’ Jackman is starring alongside Jake Brokeback Mountain’ Gyllenhaal.

When Prisoners” was toying with the lower Valley, it was to be directed by Antoine Training Day’ Fuqua. Scenes were supposed to be filmed in Derby City Hall and at the former Luther’s Garage in downtown Shelton.

But the movie apparently ran into financing problems about 30 days before it was going to start production in the Valley. Shortly after the film was put in turnaround, Derby officials were still hoping the movie would return to the Valley.

Alas, it was not meant to be. 

The Prisoners” script is highly regarded and was included on an annual Black List:” that is, an annual list of Hollywood’s best unproduced screenplays. But let’s face it — when’s the last time you went to see a Hugh Jackman movie that wasn’t X‑Men?

Zing!

Prisoners” was recently mentioned in an exhaustive article on The Playlist by Oliver Lyttelton, who gave status updates on about a gazillion Black List” scripts.

Here’s what Lyttelton had to say:

Prisoners” – Aaron Guzikowski

NBC UniversalA dark revenge thriller about the father of a kidnapped child who takes the law into his own hands, this has had one of the more tortured development histories of any Black List film. 

Initially intended to team Bryan Singer, Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, it soon got a shake up, with Antoine Fuqua replacing Singer, and Hugh Jackman coming in instead of Wahlberg. 

Financing couldn’t come together (though Leonardo DiCaprio was briefly interested), but more recently, Incendies” helmer Denis Villeneuve came on, and after Michael Fassbender turned it down, Jackman returned to the film. 

Jake Gyllenhaal, Paul Dano, Melissa Leo and Viola Davis joined him, and the film finally got behind cameras this year, with a September release date set by Warner Bros.

In other local filmdom (is that a word?) news, Beneath,” the underwater monster movie filmed in Oxford, recently released an official poster. 

It features the little girl from Seventh Heaven” and the creepy wheelchair guy from Breaking Bad.” *

A former Valley Indy intern walked by the set while they were filming in Oxford.

It is supposed to air on the SyFy channel in the spring, according to a press release from the cable channel.

For the latest Hollywood headlines, do not return to this website.

* Note: Not his real name.

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