After their WWII spy film was stolen from Netflix, Nicolas Cage and Michael Sheen reunite for a ‘Mr. Robot’-style hacker thriller
Simon Afram’s Fortitude is stuck in a $105 million lawsuit with Netflix, so he is directing C.L.A.Y., a Mr. Robot-style thriller with Nicolas Cage and Michael Sheen.
Simon Afram is clearly a man who likes a double act. While his big historical drama Fortitude (that’s the one with Michael Sheen as Churchill and Nicolas Cage playing infamous Serbian spy Duško Popov, a supposed James Bond inspiration) is currently locked up in the world’s most cinematic lawsuit, he’s already lined up his next film — and it’s bringing a lot of that cast along for the ride.
The next act: C.L.A.Y.
Afram’s new project is called C.L.A.Y., and this time he’s not just writing: he’s getting behind the camera for his directorial debut. The pitch is a psychological cyber-thriller, dusted with more than a hint of Mr. Robot energy. The plot follows a “brilliant but socially invisible computer prodigy” who finds a sense of belonging when recruited by C.L.A.Y. — that’s Clowns Laughing At You — a secretive hacker crew that’s not just into digital pranks, but whose exploits actually bleed into the real world. As you’d expect, they soon wind up on the radar of intelligence agencies, criminal gangs, and all the other people you’d rather keep away from your IP address.
C.L.A.Y. begins production in London this November.
Not surprisingly, Cage and Sheen are both back for this one, though there’s no word yet on who gets to chew the most scenery or play the weirdest role. Also returning from Fortitude are Jordi Mollà (Mobland), Emilio Sakraya (One Piece: The Battle of Alabasta), and Adrian Topol (Snowflake). Their actual characters for C.L.A.Y. are being kept under wraps. If you’ve got a theory, now’s the time to start speculating wildly.
From Churchill to cybercrime
To connect the dots: Fortitude was penned by Afram and directed by Simon West (yes, that Simon West — of Con Air and Lara Croft: Tomb Raider fame). That film, despite a promising cast, is currently stuck in legal limbo thanks to a genuinely bizarre incident — this past June, someone apparently swiped a drive containing the finished film right after it was shipped to Netflix’s Hollywood HQ. Afram’s company, Op-Fortitude, then sued Netflix for at least $105 million, accusing them of mishandling the delivery and arguing it torpedoed the film’s commercial prospects. Netflix’s line is that it’s not their fault at all.
So Fortitude remains distributer-less, litigated, and unable to get in front of an audience. In the meantime, Afram and crew are channeling their energies into C.L.A.Y. — and perhaps making certain the backups are better guarded this time round.
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Asked what sets C.L.A.Y. apart, here’s how Afram framed it in the official statement:
"C.L.A.Y. is about identity, belonging and the extraordinary power the digital world can have over our real lives. At its heart, it’s a deeply human story about people searching for purpose in a world where almost anything is possible behind a screen. I wanted to create a film that pulls you in, remains unpredictable, and stays with you long after the film ends."