Sam Worthington Boards Australian Thriller 'Gold'

Anthony Hayes, who directs and co-wrote the script, will also star.


Avatar actor Sam Worthington is set to star in Australian thriller Gold alongside Anthony Hayes (Animal Kingdom, The Light Between Oceans).


Saboteur Media has come on board the project, which Hayes will direct from a script he wrote with Polly Smith.


Gold centers on two men traveling through the remote desert who stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found. They hatch a plan to protect and excavate the find, with one leaving to secure equipment and the other staying behind to protect the discovery.


The picture is being produced by John Schwarz (The Hunter’s Prayer, Killerman), Michael Schwarz (Danger Close, Deadline Gallipoli) through their company Deeper Water Films and Hayes via Rogue Star Pictures.


Gold was developed with the assistance of Screen Australia, South Australian Film Corporation and Film Victoria and will start principal photography in September in South Australia.


"When I read Anthony and Polly’s screenplay, I knew this was something we wanted to do and when Sam committed that brought the whole project together for us," said Mark Lindsay, president of distribution at Saboteur.


"I'm extremely excited to bring this bunch of ultra-talented people to this film — from Polly Smyth, John and Michael Schwarz, to Sam Worthington, it’s a life time of personal friendships coming together professionally at the right time,” added Hayes. "This is a bold film with a unique voice and a lot of love in its sails."