Brandon Joins Cast of Action Drama 'McCANICK'

Variety has announced today that Brandon Routh and Cory Monteith (GLEE) have joined David Morse (CONTACT, THE GREEN MILE) in the action drama McCANICK by Bleiberg Entertainment [THE ICEMAN (Chris Evans, Michael Shannon),  THE LETTER (Winona Ryder, James Franco)]. The film is set to begin shooting this September in Philadelphia.

David Morse, Brandon Routh and "Glee" thesp Cory Monteith are set to star in Bleiberg Entertainment's action drama "McCanick," which Josh C. Waller ("Raze") will direct from a script by Daniel Noah ("Believers").

Morse will star as narcotics detective Eugene "Mack" McCanick, who gets caught up in a firestorm of paranoia and violence upon learning that a seemingly harmless young criminal (Monteith) has been released from prison. Over the course of one long, hot day, Mack and his partner (Routh) mercilessly hunt down the perp, who holds the secret to a truth from Mack's past.

Harkening back to classic cop films from the '70s such "The French Connection" and "Serpico," pic aims to be a rich character study featuring rousing action as it depicts a battle for one cop's soul. Bleiberg Entertainment CEO Ehud Bleiberg ("The Iceman") will produce with Waller and Morse, while Nicholas Donnermeyer will exec produce with Noah. Bleiberg Entertainment will handle worldwide sales on the pic, which shoots in September in Philadelphia.

"The opportunity to work with David Morse is so special. He's a fantastic actor that we've all respected for years and I can't wait to see what he brings to this character," said Bleiberg. "David has worked very closely with Daniel and I on this project and we honestly couldn't be any happier," added Waller. "This film is full of intense, emotional characters and I'm excited to see actors like Cory Monteith and Brandon Routh gravitating towards these roles that are, perhaps, very different than what they are known for."

Bleiberg is currently in post-production on Ariel Vroman's crime drama "The Iceman," which will screen at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Pic stars Michael Shannon, Chris Evans, James Franco and Winona Ryder.

Morse has worked with a diverse group of helmers including Robert Zemeckis, Michael Bay, Kathryn Bigelow, Frank Darabont and Lars von Trier. He currently appears on HBO's "Treme" and will soon be seen alongside Brad Pitt in Par's "World War Z."

Routh flew onto Hollywood's radar when he landed the title role in Bryan Singer's "Superman Returns." Thesp recently starred in the indie sports drama "Crooked Arrows" and will soon be seen on the CBS sitcom "Partners," which debuts this fall.

Monteith, who plays Finn Hudson on Fox's hit TV series "Glee," recently played the male lead opposite Selena Gomez in Thomas Bezucha's Fox 2000 pic "Monte Carlo." Thesp is currently filming a lead role in the indie drama "All the Wrong Reasons."

UTA reps Morse, Routh and Monteith, who is also repped by Elena Kirschner of Red Management. Morse and Routh are also repped by Kipperman Management and Main Title Entertainment, respectively. Waller is repped by Jairo Alvarado at 3 Arts Entertainment.

The logline from Bleiberg Entertainment follows below:

When narcotics detective Eugene “Mack” McCanick (David Morse, “16 Blocks,” “The Green Mile,” “The Rock”) discovers that a seemingly harmless young criminal, Simon Weeks, has been released from prison, it triggers a firestorm of paranoia and violence. 


Mack and his partner, Floyd, mercilessly hunt down Weeks for unknown reasons over the course of one long, hot day. The closer Mack gets to his prey, the more we understand that his frenzy stems from a truth from the past, which only Weeks can expose. The truth is revealed in the explosive finale, an urban chase sequence to rival that of “The French Connection,” which culminates in a surprisingly emotional confrontation not just between McCanick and Weeks, but also between McCanick and himself.

In the tradition of the great cop thrillers of the ‘70s, "McCanick" is at once a rousing action film, a rich character study, and a battle for one cop's soul.