Keri Russell has signed on to star opposite Brendan Fraser and Harrison Ford in The Untitled Crowley Project for CBS Films, it was announced today by Amy Baer, President and Chief Executive Officer of the film division within CBS Corporation. The project, which starts principal photography on April 6th, will be the first film to go into production for CBS Films.
In this emotional drama, Russell plays Aileen Crowley, a wife and mother who relentlessly builds a normal, loving home life for her children while her husband, John Crowley (Fraser), and an unconventional scientist (Ford) race against time to build a company that could rescue them. The film is inspired by a true story. Ford is also Executive Producer on the project. Tom Vaughan (Starter for 10, What Happens in Vegas) is set to direct.
Michael Shamberg and Stacey Sher (World Trade Center, Erin Brockovich), alongside Carla Shamberg (Erin Brockovich), will produce through their Double Feature Films banner. Robert Nelson Jacobs (The Water Horse, Chocolat) wrote the screenplay, which was inspired by a Wall Street Journal article and subsequent book, “The Cure,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Geeta Anand.
“At the heart of this story is an exemplary mother in Aileen Crowley,” says Baer. “It was important that we find an actress who could portray incredible maternal sensitivity combined with the steadfastness of a woman on a mission. Keri has the talent to depict both with striking balance.”
Most recently Keri Russell starred alongside Adam Sandler in Bedtime Stories. Prior to that film, she received critical acclaim for her starring role in Adrienne Shelly’s Waitress. Her other feature film credits include August Rush, Mission Impossible III, The Upside of Anger and We Were Soldiers.
