Guy Pearce Set to Star in New Zealand-Set Action Drama THE CONVERT
The New Zealand-set action drama The Convert is set to open at Cannes Film Festival this year, where it will be up for sale. The film stars Guy Pearce (L.A. Confidential, Memento) and Te Kohe Tuhaka (The Dead Lands, Love and Monsters). It’s directed by Lee Tamahori (Along Came a Spider, Die Another Day), who co-wrote the script along with Michael Bennet and Shane Danielsen.
Variety reports, “The story sees Pearce portray a lay preacher who arrives at a British settlement in 1830s New Zealand. His violent past is soon drawn into question and his faith put to the test, as he finds himself caught in the middle of a bloody war between Maori tribes.”
Tamahori said of the story:
“Guy will inhabit the character of Munro in ways I cannot foresee and bring to life ‘The Convert,’ my period drama about early contact between Europeans and Maori, when European settlers were outnumbered by several hundred to one, and Maori had just acquired muskets.”
Production will get under way on September 12th, 2022, filming at previously unseen locations around the North Island of New Zealand. Stay tuned for more info on the project.