Just days after Millennium Films acquired the spec “Olympus Has Fallen” from first-time scribes Creighton Rothenberger and Katrin Benedikt, “300” star Gerard Butler has signed on to topline the action pic.
Described as “Die Hard” in the White House, story follows a down-on-his-luck ex-Secret Service agent who becomes America’s only hope when 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. is taken over by terrorists.
Butler and his manager Alan Siegel will produce with Millennium prexy Mark Gill, while Avi Lerner will exec produce with Trevor Short. Production is skedded to start in September.
Butler has a trio of films coming out this year including Curtis Hanson’s surfing pic “Of Men and Mavericks,” and he’s set to star in Lakeshore Entertainment’s diamond-heist thriller “Brilliant,” which starts shooting this spring in Boston.
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Thesp is repped by CAA and Alan Siegel Entertainment.
