EXCLUSIVE: Anne Heche is in negotiations to join Analeigh Tipton and Mickey Rourke in Stephon Stewart’s Vestige a sci-fi thriller that involved artificial intelligence. Stewart both scripted and will direct the project for producer Aaron Magnani.

The script is described as Ex Machina meets Black Swan and Whiplash with a multi-layered visionary story that answers the questions: Who will be victorious, science or humanity, and What is the reality of our universe?

Lawrence Krauss, world-renowned theoretical physicist and best-selling author of Universe From Nothing has also signed on to help work with the world’s leading AI/Robotic companies.

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Set in a forlorn future controlled by artificial intelligence, the story centers around a distraught Olympian figure skater (Tipton) who must overcome her demons and attempt to escape her infinite world to compete for the Winter Olympics against androids. Rourke will play her demanding Coach and Heche, her eccentric mother.

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Saga Films, pan-Asian sales and distribution company, a sister company of Red Apollo Group has acquired the multi Pan-Asian territory. Their catalog includes, A Tale Of Love and Darkness (Natalie Portman), The Zookeeper’s Wife (Jessica Chastain) and Drive (Ryan Gosling). They are selling the film at AFM.

“We are thrilled to bring this ingenious and captivating story to the screen with such a

wonderful team. I feel that we have something very special and provocative here with a highly commercial hook. And Analeigh, with a background in figure skating, should make for an authentic performance”, said the film’s producer Magnani.

Rourke is currently set to star with Keira Knightley and Jared Leto in the upcoming romance drama in pre-prod, Berlin, I Love You.

Tipton, known for her performance opposite Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling in Crazy, Stupid, Love has starred in both indie and box office hits such as Luc Besson’s Lucy with Scarlett Johansson. She most-recently can be seen in the comedy/drama All Nighter with J.K. Simmons and Emile Hirsh and the James Franco-helmed drama In Dubious Battle. Next year, Tipton will appear in the Josh Hutcherson, Josh Hartnett starrer The Long Home.

Heche played the eccentric daughter of her mother (Shirley MacLaine) in The Last Word which Magnani was on as an executive producer. Heche will be seen next, alongside Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell in the upcoming biopic The Best of Enemies, the story of civil rights activist, Ann Atwater.

Magnani is repped by Scott Hervey at Weintraub Tobin Chediak Coleman Grodin. Rourke is repped by Kimberly Hines at APA. Tipton is repped by CAA and Mosaic. Heche is repped by Paradigm and Untitled Entertainment.