GERARD BUTLER, SAM WORTHINGTON & MATTHEW McCONAUGHEY
ENLIST TO STAR IN ACTIONER “THUNDER RUN”
TO BE DIRECTED BY SIMON WEST

Ashok Amritraj’s Hyde Park International to Handle Foreign Sales

LOS ANGELES – October 27, 2011 – Gerard Butler, Sam Worthington and Matthew McConaughey will star in Freedom Films’ upcoming action thriller “Thunder Run” with Simon West set to direct, announced Brian Presley, CEO of Freedom Films, who will produce alongside Carissa Buffel and Kevin Matusow of Freedom Films and Jib Polhemus of The Graphic Film Company. Additional casting will begin in the next week. Hyde Park International has signed on for international sales.

“Thunder Run,” is an all CG 3-D action thriller based on the novel “Thunder Run - The Armored Strike to Capture Baghdad,” by Pulitzer Prize-winning correspondent David Zucchino. Adapting the story for the screen are Academy Award-winner Robert Port and Ken Nolan, screenwriter of “Black Hawk Down.” The Graphic Film Company will utilize proprietary facial-capture technology they used on West’s upcoming “Night of the Living Dead: Origins 3-D” along with the motion capture technology used in “AVATAR.”

“We are very excited to have attracted this outstanding level of acting and writing talent. ‘Thunder Run’ will be the first ever conventional war film made to utilize this revolutionary facial and motion capture technology and state of the art CG and 3D. Simon and I have developed this project over the last five years so it will be nice to see it come alive,” commented Presley.

“Thunder Run” is the untold story of the dangerous and bloody capture of Baghdad by American Forces at the onset of the Iraq War. In April 2003, three battalions and fewer than a thousand men launched a violent thrust of tanks and Bradley Fighting Vehicles into the heart of a city of five million, igniting a three-day blitzkrieg, which military professionals often refer to as a lightning strike, or “thunder run.” In telling the story of the surprise assault on Baghdad- one of the most decisive battles in recent American combat history--this movie paints the harrowing picture of the soldiers on the front lines and the realities of modern warfare.

Freedom Films is represented by Jay Cohen of the Gersh Agency. CAA represents West, Butler, Worthington, and McConaughey.

About Freedom Films, LLC

Brian Presley launched Freedom Films, LLC in 2004 to produce indie films with big-budget production values and great scripts. Attracting A-list writers and actors, Freedom Films acquired Don Handfield’s “Touchback” in 2009 and quickly went into production on the high-profile project with Presley and stars Kurt Russell, Christine Lahti and Melanie Lynskey. In 2010, Presley announced Freedom Films’ partnership with Palo Verde Hedge Fund’s Paul Ross and Tony Stacy financing Freedom’s projects. “Touchback” was the first and “Thunder Run” is the second of a slate of films to be made under the Palo Verde deal. www.FreedomFilmsLLC.com

About Hyde Park International

Hyde Park International is one of the most important foreign sales companies in the world and is a permanent fixture at Cannes, Berlin, Toronto, and the American Film Market. The company is focused on representing commercial fare as well as award-winning films that serve the global marketplace. The company’s slate includes “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance 3D” in partnership with Sony and starring Nic Cage which opens worldwide day-and-date on February 17, 2012; the spy thriller “The Double” starring Richard Gere, Topher Grace, Stephen Moyer, Stana Katic and Martin Sheen which opens nationwide in the US on October 28; as well as indie favorites such as Richard Linklater’s “Bernie” starring Jack Black, Matthew McConaughey, and Shirley Maclaine; the award-winning “Blue Valentine” starring Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams; and the Paul Rudd comedy “Our Idiot
Brother.”