Eric Bana and the team behind box office hit The Dry return for Force of Nature

18 05 2022 - Media release Eric Bana and the team behind box office hit The Dry return for Force of Nature

The Dry

Made Up Stories, Screen Australia and VicScreen have announced that the team behind the box office smash hit and award-winning feature film The Dry will return for the feature film adaptation of bestselling author Jane Harper's Force of Nature, currently shooting in Victoria.

Eric Bana will reprise his role as Aaron Falk with Robert Connolly returning as writer and director. Bana will be joined by cast members Anna Torv (Mindhunter) as Alice Russell, Deborra-lee Furness (Jindabyne) as Jill Bailey, Robin McLeavy (Homeland) as Lauren, Sisi Stringer (Mortal Kombat) as Beth, Lucy Ansell (Utopia) as Bree and Jacqueline McKenzie (Romper Stomper) as Federal Agent Carmen Cooper.

Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor is back in the role of Erik Falk, alongside Richard Roxburgh as Daniel Bailey, Tony Briggs as Ian Chase and Kenneth Radley as Sergeant King.

Connolly said, I'm so excited to return to the world of Detective Aaron Falk and to be able to work once again alongside Eric Bana, Made Up Stories and such an impressive creative team. We're also delighted by the exceptional cast of established and emerging actors joining us on this journey. Jane Harper's Force of Nature is a deeply emotional and thrilling story showcasing the extraordinary world and landscape of the Australian wilderness.

Bana said, I am thrilled and proud to have the opportunity to follow up our efforts on The Dry with Force of Nature. Jane has once again provided a thrilling story that gives us another chance to showcase a unique and incredible Australian landscape. Whilst it was always our dream to bring this story to the big screen, its fate always rested with the Australian cinemagoing public. Their overwhelming support of The Dry turns this into a reality.

In Force of Nature, when five women take part in a corporate hiking retreat and only four come out on the other side, Federal Agents Aaron Falk and Carmen Cooper head deep into the Victorian mountain ranges to investigate in the hopes of finding their whistle-blowing informant, Alice Russell, alive.

Made Up Stories' Bruna Papandrea, Jodi Matterson and Steve Hutensky are producing alongside Bana for Pick Up Truck Pictures and Connolly for Arenamedia. Ricci Swart, Andrew Myer, Robert Patterson, Joel Pearlman and Edwina Waddy are executive producing.

Producers Papandrea, Matterson and Hutensky said, We are delighted to be re-teaming with Rob, Eric, Roadshow, Screen Australia and VicScreen to bring another beloved Jane Harper novel to the big screen. Force of Nature is also a wonderful opportunity for us to showcase the talents of an amazing group of women in some of the most stunning landscapes in the country.

The film has received major production investment from Screen Australia in association with VicScreen. It will be shot entirely in Victoria, primarily in the Dandenong Ranges, Yarra Valley and the Otways.

Screen Australia's Head of Content Grainne Brunsdon said, The Dry was an extraordinary success, reaching number one at the Australian box office and quickly becoming an Australian classic. We're delighted to support this immensely talented team's return for Force of Nature and deliver an enthralling Australian thriller. Starring some of Australia's finest actors and set against the striking landscapes of Victoria, this film is set to be another cinematic event.

Victorian Minister for Creative Industries Danny Pearson said the Government's $191.5 million VICSCREEN strategy was bringing more productions to regional destinations and creating thousands of jobs across the state."

From Jane Harper winning the Premier's Literary Award for The Dry to now having a second Victorian-made feature film in the works this is a stunning Victorian creative success story that will inject $10 million into the state's economy and showcase Victoria s regions to the world."

Force of Nature will be distributed by Roadshow Films in Australia and New Zealand. WME Independent is handling rest of world sales.

Production credit: Force of Nature is a Made Up Stories production in association with Arenamedia and Pick Up Truck Pictures. Major production investment from Screen Australia in association with VicScreen. Financed with support from Soundfirm and Blue Post. Local distribution by Roadshow with rest of world sales by WME Independent.

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LINK:	https://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/sa/media-centre/news/2022/05-18-eri...
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