Lyndsy Fonseca and Tony Denison are starring in the virtual reality project “Agent Emerson” with production starting Saturday in Louisiana, Variety has learned exclusively.
Ilya Rozhkov is directing and producing for the Rogue Initiative, along with Cathy Twigg and Pete Blumel. “Agent Emerson” serves as the pilot for the original content VR series, “Identity Experience.”
The story will center on a CIA operative who awakens to find himself part of an experimental government program where subjects are under complete remote control by “The General” (Denison). He must fight to retake charge of his own actions and escape the high-security facility with the aid of Fonseca’s character.
The project is co-written by Rozhkov and Joshua King. Russian producer Sergey Selyanov, founder of CTB Films, is financing and producing. Production will be completed in Los Angeles following the shoot.
“I’m truly excited with the immersive medium of virtual reality which provides completely new ways of storytelling and engaging the audience,” Rozhkov said.
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Fonseca’s credits include “Marvel’s Agent Carter,” “Grandfathered,” “Nikita” and the two “Kick-Ass” films opposite Chloe Grace Moretz and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. Denison starred on TNT’s “The Closer” and its spinoff “Major Crimes,” which has been renewed for a sixth season.
“This is a stellar opportunity to embrace the new virtual reality frontier and I am excited about working with director Ilya Rozhkov and the Rogue Initiative,” Fonseca said.
“It’s an honor to be chosen to be part of this advanced new world of VR filmmaking,” Denison added.
The Rogue Initiative will handle distribution for “Agent Emerson” and plans to take it to film festivals and distribute the finished product to VR content providers. Rozhkov’s short film “Sabre Dance,” starring Greg Louganis as Salvador Dali, premiered at more than 25 festivals worldwide.
“The new cutting-edge world of VR will soon expand the norm of how we experience films. Working as a grand team together with Ilya, Rogue, and our amazing cast and camera technicians, we will be bringing new eyes to the future of the fresh technological advances in the industry,” said Selyanov.
The production deal with Ilya Rozhkov and the Rogue Initiative was negotiated by Daniel J. Coplan at Coplan Law and Peter Sample of Jackoway Tyerman Wertheimer Austen Mandelbaum Morris & Klein, PC. Fonseca and the Rogue Initiative are repped by ICM Partners.
