EXCLUSIVE: Rosario Dawson is headlining the supernatural horror thriller Unmerciful Good Fortune from Tirsa Hacksaw, a veteran A.C.E. film and TV editor who is making her feature directorial debut.
Project, which Dawson is producing, is adapted from award-winning playwright Edwin Sanchez’s show of the same name.
Dawson plays Maritza Cruz, a high-end celebrity attorney, pulled into a headline-making case involving Fatima, a cunning young waitress who is accused of serial poisoning and murdering 28 people. Fatima’s defense takes a darkly mysterious turn when she claims to have the psychic ability to see how someone will die when she touches them and reveals she is killing people to prevent a “fate worse than death.”
Other producers include Tom DeSanto (Transformers, X-Men), Corey Large (Paradise City, It Follows), and Brian Kirchoff for Rising Tide Entertainment. The film is executive produced by Jordan Wilson and Hackshaw. Pia Patatian’s new production and sales company, Concord Studios, is handling global rights.
“Unmerciful Good Fortune is one of those truly rare projects that grabs you out of the gate and just doesn’t let go. It’s smart, scary, original and heartbreaking. From the drop, it struck me and I knew I had to come onboard to produce it as well because I simply couldn’t risk it never seeing the light of day because it—it’s not that it doesn’t fit into a box—it simply defies boxes,” Dawson says
“Unmerciful Good Fortune is one of those roller coaster rides which is the reason people go to the movies. It descends the audience into a shadowy world they have not seen before, like SE7EN. With an ending that people will be talking about for days after, that is as iconic as ‘I see dead people’ from The Sixth Sense,” adds DeSanto.
“It’s a mystery that is going to keep everyone guessing and up the game for what audiences can expect from a thriller. I was hooked the moment I read it and kept thinking about it after and Rosario is the perfect person to bring it to life,” Large says.
Dawson recently starred in the Lucasfilm/Disney+ series Ahsoka as the title character Ahsoka Tano. Her feature credits include Kids, Haunted Mansion, Sin City, Seven Pounds, 25th Hour and Rent. Her television credits span several Marvel projects, DMZ, Jane the Virgin, and Dopesick. Most recently, Dawson starred in and produced Midnight, a gripping thriller centered on a young woman (Alexandra Shipp) pursued by international criminals, led by Milla Jovovich.
As a producer, Rosario has executive produced the films Descent and This Is Not A War Story, as well as numerous documentaries, including Our Words Collide, Impact: Dick Gregory, Split at the Root, Below the Belt, Kiss the Ground, and its follow-up, Common Ground, which highlights the importance of regenerative farming.
Hacksaw’s editing credits include Netflix/Marvel’s Luke Cage, Jessica Jones, The Punisher as well as One Piece & Sony/ Amazon’s Spider-Noir
DeSanto is the writer/producer behind some of the biggest franchises in Hollywood history with X-Men and Transformers. His films have grossed over $6 billion dollars globally and include this year’s Paramount animated feature, Transformers One.
Under his banner 308 Enterprises, Large is currently producing Demian Lichtenstein’s action thriller The Razor’s Edge starring James Franco and Tommy Lee Jones, which recently wrapped production in Georgia. Additional projects include Jesse V. Johnson’s CIA action thriller Scorpion starring Aaron Eckhart and Barry Levinson’s thriller Assassination starring Al Pacino, Jessica Chastain, Brendan Fraser, and Bryan Cranston.
Dawson is repped by CAA and Untitled Entertainment. Hackshaw is repped by WPA and The Gotham Group.
English (US) ·