EXCLUSIVE: Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Vikings, The Tudors) and MyAnna Buring (The Witcher, The Salisbury Poisonings) have signed on to star alongside Alec Baldwin in the hijacked airplane action-thriller 97 Minutes, from director Timo Vuorensola (Iron Sky), which has entered production at Black Hangar Studios (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, 24: Live Another Day) in the UK.
97 Minutes centers on a hijacked 767 that will crash in that amount of time when its fuel runs out. Against the strong will of NSA Deputy Toyin, NSA Director Hawkins (Baldwin) prepares to have the plane shot down before it does any catastrophic damage on the ground, leaving the fate of the innocent passengers in the hands of Tyler, one of the alleged hijackers on board who is an undercover Interpol agent – or is he?
Meyers and Buring are playing passengers on the transatlantic flight, with Jo Martin (Doctor Who), Michael Sirnow (Infamous), Pavan Grover, Anjul Nigam, Davor Tomic, Slavko Sobin, Luke J I Smith and Kasia Koleczek rounding out the cast.
Grover (Odd Thomas) wrote the script and is producing alongside Jamie R Thompson (Old Henry, The System) and Jake Seal (Born to Be Blue, Blaze) of Orwo Studios, with Michael Arata, Jerry Daigle, Suraj Gohill, Avi Haas and Ford Corbett exec producing. Origo Financial Services is co-financing with Orwo via its MG fund. Orwo Film Distribution is handling international sales and launched pre-sales at this year’s virtual EFM.
Meyers is a Golden Globe winner and Emmy nominee best known for his turns in History Channel’s Vikings, Showtime’s The Tudors and CBS’ miniseries Elvis. He’s also appeared in such series as Roots and Dracula, and in films including Stonewall, Albert Nobbs, From Paris with Love, August Rush, Mission: Impossible III, Match Point, Bend It Like Beckham, Tangled, Velvet Goldmine and Michael Collins, among others.
Buring has appeared on the TV side in The Witcher, The Salisbury Poisonings, One Night, Ripper Street, Downtown Abbey and more. Her film credits include Official Secrets, with Keira Knightley, Matt Smith and Matthew Goode; and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1 and 2.
Baldwin, the Emmy and Golden Globe winner and Oscar nominee who recently announced his return to production with 97 Minutes via social media, was recently sued by the family of slain Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins for her wrongful death on the Albuquerque set of his indie Western. Baldwin discharged the prop gun that killed Hutchins and injured director Joel Souza, though lawyers for him and his fellow producers on the project have declared that “any claim that Alec was reckless [on set] is entirely false.” The Santa Fe Sheriff’s Department’s probe into the matter is ongoing. Charges in the incident, which occurred on October 21, 2021, have yet to be filed.
Baldwin, who has also signed on to narrate the true-crime podcast Art Fraud for Cavalry Audio and iHeartRadio, has recently appeared in films including Motherless Brooklyn, Framing John DeLorean, Mission: Impossible – Fallout andBlacKkKlansman, and in such series as Dr. Death, Will & Grace and The Looming Tower.
Meyers is represented by Artist International Group and Jackoway Austen Tyerman; Buring by Actors in Scandinavia, The Artists Partnership, LINK Entertainment and Felker Toczek Suddleson Abramson; Baldwin by ICM Partners and Cavalry Media; Vuorensola by Industry Entertainment and Cohen & Gardner; and Grover by United Star Media.