Jai Courtney, Geoffrey Rush Drama 'Storm Boy' Nabbed by Good Deed Entertainment

The film is being theatrically released by Sony in Australia and New Zealand in January and is set to bow in North America in the spring.

Good Deed Entertainment has acquired North American rights to Storm Boy.

The film stars Jai Courtney (Suicide SquadDivergent), Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush and Finn Little, who makes his feature film debut.

Based on the best-selling novel by Colin Thiele, the story centers on Michael Kingley as he attempts to prevent his rebellious granddaughter from going down a painful path, similar to one he took years earlier. He tells her about his formative experience, living a lonely existence with his father, Hideaway Tom, on the isolated Coorong in South Australia and the unlikely bond he formed with an orphaned pelican, Mr. Percival.

Storm Boy is being theatrically released by Sony in Australia and New Zealand in January and is set to bow in North America in the spring.

Trevor Jamieson (Heartland), Morgana Davies (The Girlfriend Experience) and Erik Thomson (The Boys Are Back) round out the cast. The film also features five pelicans rescued in real life.

Director Shawn Seet saw the original 1976 film adaptation of Storm Boy after moving to Australia at the age of 12, and the story stuck with him over the years. Seet is a veteran TV director whose credits include The Code and Underbelly. He won the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts award for best direction in a TV drama or comedy in both 2015 and 2016 for his work on The Code and the Art Directors Guild Award for best direction of a TV drama series in 2009 and 2015 for his work on Underbelly and The Code, respectively.

"This is an amazing story, based on the beloved children's book by Colin Thiele, and we are excited to be a part of bringing this classic to the big screen," Good Deed founder and CEO Scott Donley said Tuesday in a statement.

Written by Justin Monjo, the film was produced by Matthew Street (The Messenger) and Michael Boughen (Tomorrow: When the War Began). Robert Slaviero, Rush, Christopher Figg, Robert Whitehouse, Justin Deimen and Sherman Ng executive produced.

Storm Boy is an Ambience Entertainment production, with significant production investment from Screen Australia in association with the South Australian Film Corporation.

The acquisition deal was negotiated by Good Deed vp acquisitions and distribution Kristin Harris, with Kathy Morgan of KMI representing the filmmakers.

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