Bankside Films has boarded Calum Macdiarmid’s prison thriller Wasteman starring 2023 Screen Star of Tomorrow David Jonsson and Tom Blyth and has struck an early deal with Lionsgate for UK & Ireland rights.
Macdiarmid’s feature debut follows parolee Taylor (Jonsson, who starred in Searchlight’s Rye Lane), whose hopes of a fresh start are jeopardised by the arrival of dominant cellmate Dee, played by Blyth, who recently played the young Coriolanus Snow in The Hunger Games: The Ballad Of Songbirds & Snakes.
As Taylor finds solace and protection in Dee’s shadow, their bond is tested when Dee becomes the target of a vicious attack, leading to an ultimatum that threatens Taylor’s chance at parole and his survival.
Hunter Andrews, who wrote the upcoming Billy The Kid feature for Element/Film4 and Rogue Male for SunnyMarch/Searchlight, co-wrote the screenplay with Eoin Doran.
Kharmel Cochrane, whose credits include Saltburn and Rye Lane, is casting the project ahead of an anticipated summer shoot.
Bifa nominees Sophia Gibber and Myles Payne of Agile Films serve as producers. Wasteman will be produced in association with Philip Barantini and Samantha Beddoe’s It’s All Made Up Productions and Hoopsa Films.
Stephen Kelliher and Sophie Green will serve as executive producers for Bankside, alongside Barantini and Beddoe, Sonny Gill and Tim Macready for Hoopsa Films, Andrews, Sam Williams, and Jonsson.
MacDiarmid said, “Wasteman is a prison thriller that I hope will offer just as much heart as it does thrill, and show the world a previously unseen vision of the prison reform system.”
Kelliher added, “Wasteman is an electrifying prison thriller which delivers a completely unique take on this underserved genre. We couldn’t be happier to have Lionsgate on board for UK distribution.”
Emma Berkofsky of Lionsgate negotiated the UK & Ireland deal with Yana Georgieva for Bankside, which handles worldwide sales.
Macdiarmid has directed six award-winning shorts including Bossman, which was shot entirely on an iPhone. As a commercials and music video director, he has worked with Jake Shears, James Blunt and Paul Weller.
Jonsson will next be seen as the co-lead in summer release Alien: Romulus. His credits include the HBO/BBC series Industry, Caleb Azumah-Nelson’s Pray, Todd Korminicki’s God’s Spy and BBC’s recent Agatha Christie adaptation Murder Is Easy.
Blyth played the title role in the Amazon MGM+ series Billy The Kid, which is unrelated to the project involving Andrews. Credits include Plainclothes, HBO’s The Gilded Age, and the late Terrence Davies’ Benediction. He is set to star in Michael Winterbottom’s adaptation of the Ernest Hemingway novel A Farewell To Arms.
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