Jashandeep Singh
The filming of Jonathan Hopkins’ upcoming directorial ‘Unify’ is scheduled to begin in London, England, in October this year. The sci-fi thriller film follows Anastasiya, a refugee mother from New York who must find her son while being hunted through the wilds of Scotland. Chasing her are AI-controlled, technologically enhanced humans who want the key to humanity’s salvation, which is held by Anastasiya.
London, where the shoot is set to commence, boasts of historic architecture, diverse culture, and vibrant neighborhoods, which make it an ideal location for filming. The city has previously facilitated the production of various films such as ‘Barbie,’ ‘Red, White & Royal Blue,’ ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3,’ ‘Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One,’ ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts,’ and ‘The Little Mermaid.’
Hopkins is at the helm of the action film with a script he penned based on a story by himself, Jennie Gruner, and Charlie Macpherson. The director is known for directing the 2017 horror film ‘Slumber.’ Speaking about how he got the idea for the project, Hopkins stated, “The idea is a passion project, born out of a personal journey of awakening, with an aim to celebrate the magic and majesty of our planet before it is too late. This is a vision of humanity’s reconnection and a remembering of our sacred role in the living world,” as per Variety.
The film stars Olga Kurylenko as Anastasiya. The actress shot to fame with her performances as Nika Boronina in ‘Hitman’ and as Bond girl Camille Montes in ‘Quantum of Solace.’ She is also known for her appearances in ‘Seven Psychopaths,’ ‘Oblivion,’ ‘Black Widow,’ ‘Johnny English Strikes Again,’ ‘The Death of Stalin,’ ‘and ‘Extraction 2.’ “We are hugely grateful to have a talent with the passion and range of Olga K. attached to the project. Making ‘Unify’ will be a profound experience for all the team,” director Hopkins said about his collaboration with the actress. The rest of the cast has not been announced yet. The potential involvement of the American performers in the movie can be affected due to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike as well.
BoxFly and Ostara Pictures produce the film along with Haydn Pryce-Jenkins and Raimund Berens. Myriad Pictures is also involved in the release of the movie. The executive producers include Colin Brown from BoxFly, Graham Bryan from Ostara Pictures, and Kirk D’Amico and Brian Nitzkin from Myriad Pictures. “‘Unify’ is an incredibly thrilling and moving story about a mother looking for her missing child. A nightmare scenario every parent can relate to. This coupled with the reality of A.I. taking over humanity makes ‘Unify’ a very engaging ride,” Pryce-Jenkins and Berens, joining Hopkins, spoke about the project.
Kirk D’Amico, CEO of Myriad Pictures, added, “We were impressed with the futuristic world that Jonathan Hopkins has created with his original take on the potentially fatal consequences of artificial intelligence for humans. We look forward to helping Jonathan, the producers, and the cast led by the incredible Olga Kurylenko to bring this compelling vision to the big screen.”
