Free Byrd casts Dwayne Johnson as stuntman concealing dementia diagnosis
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Dwayne Johnson is set to star in and produce "Free Byrd", a new action-drama from Ben Affleck and Matt Damon's production company Artists Equity. He plays a Las Vegas motorcycle stuntman who hides his dementia diagnosis from everyone, including his mechanic brother, while risking everything on one final jump. The project pairs the box-office star with acclaimed director Greg Kwedar and tackles emotionally weighty subject matter that Johnson describes as deeply personal.
Kwedar, a back-to-back Academy Award nominee for "Sing Sing" and "Train Dreams", will direct and rewrite the screenplay, which was originated by Jon Boyer and featured on the Black List, with an earlier draft written by "The Peanut Butter Falcon" duo Michael Schwartz and Tyler Nilson. Producers include Gil Netter, who first brought the project to Artists Equity, alongside Fifth Season, Johnson's Seven Bucks Productions, and Kwedar and Clint Bentley's Ethos. The news comes as Johnson, a recent Golden Globe nominee for "The Smashing Machine", prepares to release Disney's live-action "Moana" and lines up "Jumanji: Open World" and Benny Safdie's "Lizard Music".
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Free Byrd is a forthcoming film pairing Dwayne Johnson with director Greg Kwedar, best known for the acclaimed dramas Sing Sing and Train Dreams. Johnson will both star in and produce the project, playing a Las Vegas motorcycle stuntman who conceals a diagnosis of dementia from those around him, including his brother, as he prepares for one last major jump. The film is being made through Artists Equity, the production company founded by Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.
The screenplay has passed through several hands before reaching this stage. It was originally written by Jon Boyer, gaining recognition on the Black List, a well-known annual survey of notable unproduced scripts, before an earlier rewrite by Michael Schwartz and Tyler Nilson, the team behind The Peanut Butter Falcon. Kwedar is now set to direct and rework the script further, with producers including Gil Netter, Fifth Season, Johnson's own Seven Bucks Productions, and Kwedar's company Ethos, run with Clint Bentley.
The project is notable partly because it marks a shift for Johnson, whose career has mostly been built on big commercial action films, toward more serious, character-driven material, something reflected in his recent Golden Globe nomination for The Smashing Machine. It arrives as he continues to balance that dramatic work with major blockbuster commitments, including Disney's Moana and further instalments of the Jumanji franchise.
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Originally published by Variety as “Dwayne Johnson to Star as Motorcycle Stuntman With Dementia in ‘Free Byrd’ From ‘Sing Sing’ Director Greg Kwedar (EXCLUSIVE)”.