Sebastian Stan, currently starring in Marvel’s Thunderbolts*, and White Lotus season two breakout Leo Woodall will star in Burning Rainbow Farm, the latest true-life thriller from Justin Kurzel.
Rocket Science will introduce the project to international buyers at the Cannes Film Festival next week. CAA Media Finance is handling North American distribution rights.
Per the sales company, Burning Rainbow tells the true story of Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm, a gay couple in rural Michigan who build a peaceful, pot-friendly utopia called Rainbow Farm. When the two run afoul of local authorities and their young son is taken from them, a standoff ensues, leading to one of the largest and most dramatic sieges involving police and the FBI America has ever seen. Stan is playing Crosslin, Woodall will play Rohm.
Tommy Murphy (Holding The Man, Significant Others) wrote the screenplay based on the book by Dean Kuipers. The siege took place in 2001, just days before being overshadowed by the events of 9-11.
Producers include Nicole O’Donohue, Kurzel and Alexandra Taussig for Thirdborn, as well as Adam Shulman of Anonymous Content, Alix Madigan of Mad Dog Films, and Justin Lothrop and Brent Stiefel of Votiv.
“Burning Rainbow is a love story about two outliers who raise their middle finger to hate and declare ‘This is who we are, and we dare you to take it from us’,” Kurzel said in a statement. “I’m excited to create this loveable and courageous couple with Sebastian and Leo, their union will be one to remember.”
Kurzel is no stranger to true-life stories, having directed last year’s well-regarded thriller The Order, which told of white supremacists acting as domestic terrorists in the 1980s and starred Jude Law and Nicholas Hoult.
The story has captivated filmmakers for a few years now, with a previous incarnation of the project having Lenny Abrahamson (Room) as director.
Stan, who last year earned rave reviews portraying Donald Trump in The Apprentice, is repped by CAA, Brookside Artist Management and Sloane Offer.
Woodall, who earlier this year starred opposite Renee Zellweger in Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy, is repped by WME, Hamilton Hodell, Anonymous Content and Goodman Genow.
Kurzel is repped by HLA Management and Sloane Offer, while Murphy is represented by Cameron’s Management and Range Media.