Josh Duhamel joins ‘Not Without Hope’, production underway in Malta

Josh Duhamel (Transformers franchise) is joining Zachary Levi (Shazam! Fury Of The Gods) in Joe Carnahan’s survival thriller Not Without Hope, which has begun production in Malta.

The feature is based on the true story of a US Coast Guard Captain (Duhamel) and his crew who set out to rescue two best friends and two American Football players whose boat capsizes on a fishing trip in the Gulf of Mexico.

Also joining the cast are JoBeth Williams (The Big Chill), Quentin Plair (Hulu’s Tiny Beautiful Things), Terrence Terrell (Netflix’s Obliterated) and Marshall Cook (Open Road’s Copshop).

Carnahan (The Grey, Narc) directs from his screenplay adapted from the non-fiction book of the same name by Nick Schuyler and Jere Longman.

Producers are Carnahan alongside Michael Jefferson, Adam Beasley and Cindy Bru of Volition Media, Kia Jam of K. Jam Media, Dean Altit of Altit Media Group, Rick French of Prix Productions, David Lipper and Robert A. Daly Jr of Latigo Films, and Highland Film Group.

GALA Media Capital is co-financing. CAA Media Finance handles domestic rights, and Highland Film Group represents international sales.

Highland Film Group’s current sales slate includes survival thriller The Ridge starring Billy Magnussen; high-concept horror Rosario with Emeraude Toubia; Simon West’s action comedy Old Guy starring Christoph Waltz, Lucy Liu and Cooper Hoffman; and sci-fi thriller The Astronaut with Emma Roberts and Laurence Fishburne.

• Johnnie To named Malaysia festival jury head, Sylvia Chang to receive honour