Ethan Hawke and Russell Crowe have signed up to carry The Weight. The pair will star in the upcoming historical period epic, set in Oregon, circa 1933. Hawke plays Samuel Murphy, who, after the death of his wife, is imprisoned in a labor camp run by Clancy, an unscrupulous overseer portrayed by Crowe. Murphy’s sole desire is to escape and regain custody of his daughter, Penny, but he quickly becomes entangled in Clancy’s perilous gold smuggling scheme, facing threats from both the treacherous wilderness and potential betrayal within his own group.
Padraic McKinley, known for his TV work on series such as Kingdom and Debris, will direct The Weight from an original screenplay by Shelby Gaines, Matthew Chapman, and Matthew Booi, based on a story by Booi and Leo Scherman. The production team includes Fields Entertainment, Under The Influence, and augenschein Filmproduktion, in collaboration with Construction Film. The project has secured €2 million ($2.07 million) in funding from the Bavarian regional film fund, FFF Bayern, and is set to begin principal photography in Bavaria this summer.
Simon Fields and Nathan Fields are producing for Fields Entertainment, Ryan Hawke for Under The Influence, and Jonas Katzenstein and Maximilian Leo of augenschein. Veronica Ferres of Construction Film serves as co-producer, with Ralf Berchtold as executive producer. WME Independent and CAA Media Finance arranged the film’s financing and co-represent its domestic distribution rights; WME Independent also represents international rights and is pitching the project to buyers at the European Film Market in Berlin this week. Capelight Pictures will release the film in Germany.
In a related highlight, Ethan Hawke will be in Berlin next week for the world premiere of Richard Linklater’s Blue Moon, a period drama in which he stars alongside Margaret Qualley, Bobby Cannavale, and Andrew Scott, as legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart. Hawke is represented by CAA, MGMT, and attorney George Sheanshang, while Russell Crowe is represented by George Freeman at Brillstein Entertainment and Eric Brooks at Goodman Genow.
The Weight promises to be a compelling narrative, intertwining themes of survival, betrayal, and redemption, anchored by the remarkable performances of Hawke and Crowe.
