EXCLUSIVE: Cargo Entertainment sales chief Mark Lindsay has been talking up the thriller Zipper starring Patrick Wilson and Christina Hendricks, which Darren Aronofsky’s Protozoa Pictures is on board to produce.

Mora Stephens will direct from a screenplay he co-wrote with Joel Viertel about a hotshot prosecutor who resorts to increasingly dangerous measures to hide his addiction to high-end escorts as he is groomed for higher office.

Deborah Aquila and Julianne Hausler are co-producers on the project and Cinetic Media and CAA jointly represent US rights.

“Coming from the producers of such incredible films such as Black Swan and The Wrestler, this film will be both cutting edge and captivating,” Cargo CEO and managing partner Marina Grasic said.

Wilson will next be seen in Ridley Scott’s summer release Prometheus. Mad Men star Hendricks will be in Untitled Sally Potter Film opposite Annette Benning and Elle Fanning.

Zipper is a hot-blooded, crowd-pleasing, morally ambiguous thriller that will change the way people see political sex scandals,” Stephens said. “The film will be entertaining as well as thought-provoking – truthful, dark, thrilling, visceral, emotional, and suspenseful.”