When a monstrous freak tsunami hits a sleepy beach community, a group of survivors from different walks of life find themselves trapped inside a submerged supermarket. As they try to escape to safety, they soon discover that there is a predator among them more deadly than the threat of drowning—vicious great white sharks lurking in the water, hungry for fresh meat.

As the bloodthirsty sharks begin to pick the survivors off one by one, the group realizes that they must work together to find a way out without being eaten alive.

‘Bait’, currently playing in cinemas, is an intense 3D thriller featuring a stellar ensemble cast, including Xavier Samuel (‘The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’), Sharni Vinson (‘Step Up 3D’), Alex Russell (‘Chronicle’), and Julian McMahon (‘Fantastic Four’).

‘Bait’ is the first ever Australian 3D action genre production, as well as the first ever co-production between Australia and Singapore. ‘Bait’ in 3D was developed by Russell Mulcahy and Gary Hamilton as a high concept genre film—essentially a shark attack movie. There was early recognition of the challenges of funding a film like this in Australia; a 3D shark movie would need a big budget and a highly specialized crew.

Gary approached producers Todd Fellman and Chris Brown with the film in 2009, and had them interested from the outset with the one line sell of ‘sharks in the mall’.

States Brown: “When somebody says that, what else can you say really? Except—‘I’ve got to make this movie’. It is a brilliant high concept idea. I’ve always wanted to make a shark attack movie. We all grew up with Jaws. Jaws is such an iconic film. To make a shark movie in the same vein as Jaws was a dream come true.”

Fellman was also instantly attracted to what he believed was an internationally viable concept. “It was not your standard horror script with thinly drawn characters and a one note story line, it was about survival and human nature, about a group of people who are randomly brought together in one of the most horrific experiences imaginable. We watch their relationships develop and deteriorate. It’s quite a rollercoaster ride.”

After developing the script with Russell Mulcahy, Arclight took the project to market, and the response was phenomenal. Arclight secured substantial pre-sales from around the world, making the project very appealing to both Australian and Singaporean investors, enabling the Producers to work with Screen Australia, Screen Queensland, the Producer Offset and Singapore’s Media Development Authority to secure the balance of the Film’s budget and launch ‘Bait’ as the first Australian/Singapore co-production.

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About the author

Claudia Sondergaard
Specialised in American foreign policy media discourse, I have a real passion for media and writing and feel comfortable in subjects such as human rights, politics, environment, social issues, movies, TV and books. Reporting from Denmark. Follow me @swirlgirlversus

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