Oscar nominee Rosamund Pike is to star as the lead in Rich Flu, a poignant-sounding thriller in which a deadly disease starts killing off the wealthy.
Directing by Spanish director Galder Gaztelu-Urrutia (who made his feature debut in 2019 with the dystopian science fiction-horror The Platform) and from a script by Pedro Rivero and Gaztelu-Urrutia, the film is being produced by Spencer and Jackie director Pablo Larraín alongside Juan de Dios Larraín via their Fabula banner. Adrián Guerra and Núria Valls for Nostromo Pictures, plus Carlos Juárez, Gaztelu-Urrutia and Albert Soler also produce.
Sierra/Affinity is handling international sales and will launch the film at the virtual European Film Market in Berlin. CAA Media Finance is repping domestic.
Rich Flu sees a strange disease killing off some of the richest and most influential people on the planet starting with the billionaires, then the multi-millionaires and so on progressively. Now it threatens to strike anyone with any sort of fortune, and no one knows where it might end. With the whole planet panicking and humankind’s very way of life headed for collapse, people attempt to flood the market with assets the world no longer wants. The thriller explores how far one would go to save their skin when the wealth that made the world go round suddenly becomes its most dangerous commodity.
“Rich Flu is an immense physical saga, full of twists, obstacles, and surprises. But, above all, it is a complex and provocative emotional journey to the depths of the human soul and the pinnacles of our glorious self-indulgence,” said Gaztelu-Urrutia. “Only an artist with the bravery and intelligence of Rosamund Pike could bring this film to life. I’m extremely grateful for the incredible and highly-respected team at Sierra/Affinity for their support in sharing our project at the Berlin market.”
Principal photography on Rich Flu is slated to commence in fall of 2022.
“We are thrilled to be working with Galder and his innovative filmmaking team to bring this project to the EFM,” said Kristen Figeroid, managing director and executive vice president for Sierra/Affinity. “His vision for Rich Flu expands his world-building capabilities to a global stage for this timely, unflinching thriller.”
Pike — currently seen in Amazon’s fantasy series The Wheel of Time — landed Oscar and BAFTA nominations for her role in Gone Girl, and won the best actress Golden Globe for comedic thriller I Care A Lot. She is repped by CAA and Magnolia Entertainment in the U.S., and United Agents and Prosper PR in the U.K. Gaztelu-Urrutia — whose The Platform became one of Netflix’s most-watched original films when it landed on the streamer in early 2020 — is repped by CAA and Management 360.
Source: Hollywood
