Story Details for Buried writer Chris Sparling's ATM
Screenwriter Chris Sparling's one-man mystery thriller Buried, which starred Ryan Reynolds and took place solely in the confines of a wooden coffin, made quite the splash at the Sundance Film Festival. After the dust settled on a bidding war, Buried was the first major sale at the Festival, with Lionsgate spending $3.2 millionfor U.S. distribution rights. (Read Venkman's Review Here)
Earlier this month we reported that Sparling would be trading the one location of a coffin in for an ATM vestibule. Unlike Buried, his follow up won't be featured on the Black List -- Hollywood's favorite unproduced screenplays -- as ATM is being fast tracked into production by The Safran Co. and Gold Circle Films.
The only story info the trades had on the new film was that ATM will center on three co-workers who make a routine stop at am ATM, and unexpectedly end up in a desperate fight for their lives.
If the logline was intriguing to you but felt like there wasn't much to sink your teeth into, /Film has a tipster who devulged the main story details on the pic:
Three co-workers driving home together from a employee Christmas party in the city decide to grab some late night pizza, for which they must stop at the ATM, to get some cash. Apparently, this is where the fun starts — about 15 or 20 minutes into the story. ATM exchanges the cramped 7 foot by 3 foot wooden coffin seen in Buried for a 15 square foot indoor ATM shack. The 24-hour ATM is located in a remote area of the barren supermarket parking lot, in a not-so-great neighborhood. The rest of the story is set primarily in the ATM vestibule, and never leaves the supermarket parking lot.
The three co-workers find themselves trapped in the ATM, unable to escape as a large menacing man in a heavy hooded parka stands between them and their car. It is the middle of the night, and all that surrounds them is cold and darkness. To make matters worse, they find themselves without their cellphones or any way to call for help (one phone was left behind at the bar, one phone ran out of battery power, and the other phone is in the purse locked inside the car).
Their source says that people are describing it as Phone Booth meets Frozen. Peter heard some more details but didn't want to leak out any spoilers. Good call, if it's anything like Buried, we'll know to expect the unexpected.
I don't know how this will play out, but the situation doesn't seem as dire as Buried. We don't know the Parka man's intentions, but I'm assuming he's trying to rob them?
Short-film director David Brooks (Gone) has been brought on to helm ATM, and will make his feature directorial debut when lensing begins in the fall.
What do you think of the new story details on ATM?