Zac Efron will star in Mandate Pictures’ untitled romantic actioner written by Matt Drake. The film will be directed by commercial director Fredrik Bond. The screenplay, originally titled The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman, was featured on the 2007 Black List. Albert Berger and Ron Yerxa of Bona Fide Productions will produce along with William Horberg. Mandate president Nathan Kahane and Dean Parisot will executive produce. Carlo Martinelli will serve as a co-producer. Lawrence Grey will oversee the project on behalf of Mandate. The film is a priority project for the company. Lionsgate is handling international sales.
The film will follow Efron, a suburban kid, who spontaneously travels to Eastern Europe to find himself. Early on in his comedic journey, he falls for an alluring young woman and the only thing standing between them is her charismatic, dangerous ex from a criminal underworld. Armed with little more than his wit and naive charm, Efron endures one bruising beat down after another in order to woo the girl he loves and achieve salvation.
Fredrik Bond is a Swedish multi-award winning director of commercials and music videos. He has done some of the industry’s most memorable ads for clients such as Nike, Levis, Adidas, Guinness and Heineken. He’s was nominated 2004, 2008 and 2009 by Directors Guild of America as the year’s most outstanding director in commercials and he was listed by the industry’s leading magazine Creativity as one of the most influential people in 2008 and 2009.
