AFM: Voltage Greenlights Shark Thriller 'Alphas' From 'Aliens of the Deep' Director

Steven Quale will helm the project — a thriller about a school of great white shark that terrorize a coastal town — from a screenplay by 'The Cooler' writer Frank Hannah.

Voltage Pictures has boarded Alphas, a shark-invested thriller from Aliens of the Deep director Steven Quale. Nicolas Chartier's production and sales outfit will fully finance and handle worldwide sales on the project.

The plot of Alphas involves a school of great white sharks that terrorize a coastal town, whose only hope is to release a damaged killer whale that has been in solitary confinement for years after killing its trainer. Frank Hannah (The Cooler) penned the screenplay.

Chartier, whose credits include the Oscar winner The Hurt Locker and the Amy Schumer comedy I Feel Pretty, will produce Alphas for Voltage together with Pierre Morel and Sentient Entertainment’s Renee Tab and Christopher Tuffin. Voltage president-COO Jonathan Deckter will executive produce.

Shark films are all the rage at this year's AFM following the monster success of The Meg, Warner Bros.' Jason Statham-vs.-a-very-big-shark movie, which has grossed more than $528 million worldwide.

Voltage's AFM slate also includes the Tate Taylor-directed, Jessica Chastain-starring spy thriller Eve, which has been stirring up interest among international buyers as one of the few high-end genre titles at the market this year.