Shubhabrata Dutta
Wahlberg will head to the Emerald City for his next feature. The filming of the Netflix movie ‘The Big Fix’ will take place in Sydney, Australia, starting in April this year. Riz Ahmed is also cast. Baltasar Kormákur will direct, based on a screenplay by Justin Haythe and Guy Bolton.
The crime thriller, inspired by a true story, is set in the high-stakes world of match-fixing in the world’s most popular sport, i.e., soccer. The story follows three characters- the ex-Interpol agent charged with cleaning up the game (based on the life rights of Chris Eaton, a former police officer who helped uncover the Asiagate scandal while serving as top enforcement agent for FIFA), the masterful match fixer being funded by the Triads (based on the currently incarcerated Wilson Raj Perumal, who was caught in Finland and charged with match fixing) and the promising young player who has to choose between his personal honor and the safety of his family (an amalgamation of several actual players). The sport’s governing bodies stymied Eaton’s efforts, but Perumal’s own sloppiness led to his capture. Unsatisfied with betting on rigged games he brokered, Perumal began betting on legitimate sporting events, and lost $10 million in one three-month period. He pressed to recover his losing bets, and the schemes were uncovered. He was convicted and sent to prison in 2011.
Mark Wahlberg was last seen in ‘The Family Plan 2,’ alongside Michelle Monaghan and Kit Harington. Among his upcoming movies are ‘Balls Up,’ an action comedy directed by Peter Farrelly, and co-starring Paul Walter Hauser, Molly Shannon, and Benjamin Bratt. It follows two marketing executives who lose their client sponsorship and go to a major soccer match, where their actions turn them into fugitives, with the entire country after them. Also in the pipeline is ‘By Any Means,’ a crime thriller directed by Elegance Bratton. The drama will showcase the true story of the notorious mafia hitman Gregory Scarpa, whom J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI hired off the books. The movie will also feature Giancarlo Esposito, Josh Lucas, Ethan Embry, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, David Strathairn, and Nicole Beharie.
Riz Ahmed’s latest performances include Prince Farouk in Wes Anderson’s ‘The Phoenician Scheme’ and Ash in David Mackenzie’s thriller feature ‘Relay,’ about a bribe broker who breaks his own rules to protect a client. We will next see him as Hamlet in Aneil Karia’s ‘Hamlet,’ a modern adaptation of William Shakespeare’s eponymous tragedy. The cast also stars Timothy Spall, Art Malik, Joe Alwyn, and Morfydd Clark. Ahmed also has the Prime Video comedy series ‘Bait,’ which follows a British-Pakistani actor (Ahmed) auditioning for the iconic James Bond role, and Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s ‘Digger,’ starring Tom Cruise, on the way.
Baltasar Kormákur is reuniting with Wahlberg for the third time after ‘Contraband’ and ‘Two Guns.’ Kormákur also directed the biographical drama ‘Everest,’ and the survival movies ‘Beast’ and ‘The Deep.’ Kormákur’s upcoming directorial is the feature film ‘Apex,’ starring Charlize Theron, Taron Egerton, and Eric Bana. The story follows Sasha, a daring adventurer and widow who once rivaled the renowned rock climber Alex Honnold’s feats. After retiring from climbing due to immense grief, she begins living alone and embarks on a dangerous 30-mile canoe trip. However, she soon finds her gear sabotaged and water poisoned. In no time, she becomes a captive of Ben, a sadistic villain posing as a park ranger.
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