Liam Neeson to Star in Crime Thriller 'Memory,' Martin Campbell to Direct

Black Bear is fully financing the project, unveiled in Berlin, with STXinternational distributing it in the U.K. and Ireland and handling sales to other international markets.

Liam Neeson (Taken) is set to star in action crime thriller Memory, to be directed by Martin Campbell (Casino Royale, Goldeneye) from a script written by Dario Scardapane (The Bridge) and based on the original Dutch film The Memory of a Killer.

Cathy Schulman (Crash), through her Welle Entertainment banner, Rupert Maconick and Arthur Sarkissian will produce. Black Bear Pictures’ Teddy Schwarzman (The Imitation Game), Michael Heimler (I Carry You With Me) and Ben Stillman (Gold) will executive produce, with Black Bear fully financing the film.

Photography is scheduled to start in August.

CAA Media Finance, which arranged financing for the film, will represent its domestic distribution rights. STXinternational has secured the international rights to the film and will present the film to buyers at Berlin's European Film Market and will distribute the film directly in the U.K. and Ireland.

Memory follows Alex Lewis (Neeson), an expert assassin with a reputation for discreet precision. When he refuses to complete a job for a dangerous criminal organization, he becomes a target and must go on the hunt for those who want him dead, according to a plot description. Veteran FBI agents and a Mexican intelligence liaison are brought in to investigate the trail of bodies left in Lewis' wake. With both the crime syndicate and FBI in hot pursuit, he has the skills to stay ahead, except for one thing — he is struggling with severe memory loss, affecting his every move and making his objective increasingly difficult to complete.

"Memory is an exceptional high-concept script, and we could not be more excited to have Liam on board to star," said John Friedberg, president of STXinternational. "Martin is a true expert in elevating the genre, and will make an explosive version of this compelling and pulse-racing story."