Toronto: Jason Priestley to Direct Suspense Thriller ‘Projekt M’ for Samizdat Pictures (Exclusive)
'Inglourious Basterds' actor Richard Sammel has already boarded the indie pic from Samizdat Pictures being shopped to international buyers at TIFF.
Jason Priestley
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Samizdat Pictures has tapped Jason Priestley to direct its suspense thriller Projekt M.
Inglorious Basterds actor Richard Sammel is already on board for a lead role in the Canada–Spain co-production about a psychologist sent to evaluate someone with special needs and special abilities and who is sequestered near a remote village.
Sammel will play a geneticist father, Dr. Karl Young, whose terminal illness triggers a domino of events. Projekt M will also star Nina Kiri, Peter Shinkoda and Pedro Miguel Arce, while La Casa de Papel star Darko Peric is in talks to join the cast.
“I am very excited to join the team for Projekt M and direct an international story with an international cast that takes a different spin on what truly is the meaning of family,” Priestley said in a statement. Projekt M is based on an original story and screenplay penned by Timothy York and is being introduced to foreign buyers at the Toronto Film Festival virtual market.
Priestley has assembled around 35 directorial credits after playing a teen heartthrob on the hit TV soap Beverly Hills 90210. Projekt M is the first film under the Samizdat Pictures banner, led by cinematographer Eric Oh, York and finance and sales exec Edin Mujovic.
Principal photography is set to start in November as pre-production continues in Barcelona. The international co-production has Toronto’s Hangar 18 Media on board as the Canadian partner, with Pasha Patriki sharing the producer credits.
Priestley is repped by Brent Jordan Sherman of The Characters Talent Agency. Sammel is repped by Matthias Frik of Spielkind.
This story first appeared in The Hollywood Reporter’s Sept. 11 daily issue at the Toronto International Film Festival.