Clive Owen to star in spy movie set in South America - sound familiar?

23-Dec-2008 • Actor News

Clive Owen's official line is that he was never approached to play James Bond, despite being the favourite to take over from Pierce Brosnan before Daniel Craig unexpectedly landed the job in 2005. Now the British star is to head into similar territory: he'll play an undercover agent trying to bring down Colombian drug cartels in the thriller Cartagena - reports The Guardian.

The project, which is named after the volatile city of one million people on the north coast of Colombia, will feature a complex story in which Owen's character must elude drug dealers and other agents in order to stand a chance of survival.

Bond fans won't fail to notice the similarity with the latest 007 adventure "Quantum of Solace", which is set predominantly in South America.

The region has been fertile ground for Hollywood in recent years, with separate projects about last year's hostage drama, in which the rebel group Farc held 15 people against their will, currently in development at studios Warner Bros and Sony. Colombia has played host to South America's longest-running cocaine trade, which reached its pinnacle in the 90s but has fallen in the last decade.

Producer Mark Cuban (Redacted, We Own the Night) will oversee Cartagena through his 2929 Productions company. Michael Ross, who wrote the recent Hostel-style horror Turistas, has been hired to write the screenplay. Owen will next appear in Run Lola Run director Tom Tykwer's forthcoming arms thriller The International and the single-parent drama The Boys Are Back, which is being directed by No Reservations' Scott Hicks.