"The Grey": Carnahan Is Hungry Like The Wolf

Sneak Peek the first new image from the British Columbia shoot of director Joe Carnahan's "The Grey", starring Liam Neeson.

The 40-day shoot, starting mid-January 2011, also stars Dallas Roberts, James Badge Dale, Dermot Mulroney, Frank Grillo, Nonso Anozie, and Joe Anderson, as 'oil-rig roughnecks' suddenly stranded by a plane crash in the hunting zone of a pack of rogue wolves.

Neeson plays the leader of the group, systematically attacked by a pack of viciously intelligent 'grey wolves', social predators that live in nuclear families, feeding on prey, which they hunt by wearing them down in short chases.

"I haven’t had a situation like this since 'Narc'", said Carnahan, "where there’s no distributor, but you get to make the movie you want to, staying as light on your feet as you can."

Screenplay for "The Grey" is by Carnahan and Ian Mackenzie Jeffers, who wrote the original short story.

Scott Free's Ridley and Tony Scott are producing the $34 million feature with Inferno Entertainment's Bill Johnson, RSA's Jules Daly and Carnahan. Executive producer is Jim Seibel.

Inferno has backed the film's $34 million budget, taking foreign distribution, with pre-sales in place for the UK, France, Australia, Latin America and Middle East.

"Grey wolves have a territorial range of 300 miles, and they will run you out if you cross that," said Carnahan.

"If you’re within 30 miles of their den as is the case here, they will try to kill you. It’s simple arithmetic, but it creates an opportunity for one of those 'man vs. nature' movies..."

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