Paul Schrader Teams with Bret Easton Ellis on Shark Thriller 'Bait'

Iconoclastic filmmaker Paul Schrader is teaming up with nihilistic author Bret Easton Ellis for the shark-infested psychological horror project Bait. Schrader, the writer behind Taxi Driver and Raging Bull and the writer-director of American Gigolo, has signed to direct the picture, and will collaborate with Ellis on the latest draft of the script, which follows a young man itching to take his revenge against the wealthy. The man, who works at a posh beach club, angles his way on to a yacht filled with the obnoxious elite, commandeering it into waters filled with the finned man-eaters. Galavis Film, Picture Machine and Ithaka Entertainment are behind the movie. Jesus Martinez of Galavis, Kevin Mann and Matthew Perniciaro of Picture Machine and Braxton Pope of Ithaka are producing. Lionsgate/Mandate international is handle international sales. The producers are aiming for a November start in Puerto Rico, with casting beginning immediately. The thriller is another project in Schrader's elective oeuvre. The man's last movie was the Holocaust drama Adam Resurrected but his genre offerings include the 2005 Excorcist prequel Dominion and 1982's Cat People. "Pairing Schrader and Ellis, two of the greatest literary minds of their generations, will elevate the genre," says Perniciaro while Pope said the combo will "create a distinct take on a summer, youth thriller." Email: Borys.Kit@thr.com Twitter: @Borys_Kit