Chris Coen of Halcyon Entertainment and Dan Redler of Dan Redler Entertainment are teaming up to produce the $20m prison thriller Breakback for Avi Lerner's Millennium Films.

Lerner, Danny Dimbort, Trevor Short and Peter Wetherell will serve as executive producers on the picture, which is based on a screenplay developed by Halcyon and written by Edward Cass.

Millennium is providing financing and the producers are in discussions with directors. The project is scheduled to begin shooting in Europe on Aug 23.

The story concerns a high security prison inmate who is forced to break out the day before his release in order to pull off a heist and break back in to substantiate his alibi.

Halcyon recently wrapped on Deepwater, first timer David Marfield's tale about a drifter who arrives in a small town where deceit and murder are rife.

It stars Lucas Black, who has the lead in the upcoming high school football drama Friday Night Lights, Peter Coyote (Bitter Moon), Michael Ironside (Starship Troopers) and Mia Maestro (Motorcycle Dairies).

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