EXCLUSIVE: Bella Thorne (Divinity) and Jack Kilmer (Palo Alto) have been set to topline The Tower, one of 102 projects to have been granted a SAG-AFTRA Interim Agreement, following the launch of the actors strike. Also set for the fantastical drama, from filmmaker Adam Sigal (Nandor Fodor and The Talking Mongoose), are Cam Gigandet (Violent Night) and Chris Mullinax (Chariot).
The film currently in production is billed as a dark tale about a mysterious mermaid trapped and forgotten for years in the water tower of a small Southern town. Sigal described it as his “attempt to interpret the isolation and wanderlust I felt growing up in a small southern town.”
The Tower is among the projects that began shooting shortly before the SAG-AFTRA strike launched and went on pause in the wake of the walkout until the securement of a SAG waiver. Producers are B.I. Rosen, Frederic Demey, James Bruce, Johnny Remo, Clare Bateman-King and Joey Stanton. Dane Fiori, Johnny Graham, Dani Druz, David Lipper and Phil Goldfine are serving as executive producers.
Of his project’s ability to move forward amidst the dual SAG-AFTRA and WGA Strikes, Sigal said, “It breaks my heart that there are so many actors, writers and crews unable to work at the moment, and I realise how fortunate we are to have the opportunity to finish this film. I am incredibly grateful to SAG for continuing to support independent film, and as soon as we wrap, the cast of The Tower and I will be out there on the picket lines beside our fellow actors and writers, fighting for what they deserve.”
Rising to fame with her starring role on Disney Channel’s Shake It Up, Thorne has since appeared in numerous films including Blended, Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip, Netflix’s The Babysitter and its sequel, Amityville: The Awakening and Infamous. Among others coming up for her distribution-wise is the sci-fi thriller Divinity, which world premiered at Sundance 2023.
A favorite of indie filmmakers known for starring in Gia Coppola’s acclaimed drama Palo Alto, and in the Norwegian black metal biopic Lords of Chaos which bowed out of Sundance, Kilmer also notably narrated the documentary Val, spotlighting the remarkable life and career of his father, Val Kilmer.
Sigal is set to release his fourth feature, the Simon Pegg starrer Nandor Fodor and The Talking Mongoose, on Sept 1st. Past projects from the filmmaker include the Lynchian reincarnation pic Chariot, starring Thomas Mann, Rosa Salazar and John Malkovich, and When the Starlight Ends, starring Outlander‘s Sam Heughan.
Thorne is represented by CAA, Thirty Three Management and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum; Kilmer by Gersh, Authentic Talent & Literary Management and Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum.
