Chris Hemsworth and Pedro Pascal Attached to ‘Crime 101’

‘American Animals’ director Bart Layton is on board to make the movie, which is the subject of a bidding war between Netflix and Amazon.

Chris Hemsworth attends the Netflix's Tudum: A Global Fan Event 2023 at Fundação Bienal de São Paulo. Pedro Pascal in 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.'

(Left) Chris Hemsworth attends the Netflix's Tudum: A Global Fan Event 2023 at Fundação Bienal de São Paulo on June 17, 2023 in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo by Alexandre Schneider/Getty Images for NETFLIX. (Right) Pedro Pascal in 'The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.' Photo: Katalin Vermes/Lionsgate.

Given the writers’ and actors’ strike rumbling on, you might think that the big deals struck with talent attachments might go quiet for a while. And indeed, things have certainly slowed down. But a big new deal in the offing is certainly making up the numbers in terms of star power.

According to Deadline, Chris Hemsworth and Pedro Pascal, two of the biggest names of the moment, are now on board to star in ‘Crime 101’.

The trade site is quick to point out two details –– the actors aren’t yet officially signed to deals, and when whoever snaps this one up (currently Amazon is looking likely), it’ll be an agreement with UK-based producers (Working Title’s Eric Fellner and Tim Bevan), which makes it acceptable during the strikes.

Bart Layton, who has directed movies such as 2018’s ‘American Animals’ and 2012’s ‘The Imposter’, is set to make this new movie –– or at least kick off development once the strikes are over and work can continue.

Crime 101

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High level jewel thieves are taking place up and down the Pacific Coast and police have linked the thefts to the Colombian cartels. Detective Lou Lubesnick has other... Read the Plot

What’s the story of ‘Crime 101’?

Chris Hemsworth as Tyler Rake in 'Extraction 2.'

Described as a thriller in the vein of ‘Heat’, ‘Crime 101’ has high level jewel robberies taking place up and down the Pacific Coast –– and police have linked the thefts to the Colombian cartels. Detective Lou Lubesnick has other ideas, and he zeroes in on one perp, a thief looking for a final score.

‘Crime 101’ comes from Winslow’s 2020 collection ‘Broken’, six intense short novels connected by the themes of crime, corruption, vengeance, justice, loss, betrayal, guilt and redemption. In ‘Broken’, he creates a world of high-level thieves and low-life crooks, obsessed cops struggling with life on and off the job, private detectives, dope dealers, bounty hunters and fugitives, the lost souls driving without headlights through the dark night on the American criminal highway.

Who is Don Winslow?

Author Don Winslow. Photo courtesy of Donwinslow.com.

Among authors, Winslow is almost a big a name as the actors attached; his work has been picked up for adaptation in the past by the likes of Ridley Scott and James Mangold, while ‘Elvis’ Austin Butler is aboard a movie version of Winslow’s ‘City on Fire’ novel, aiming to play the main character, Danny Ryan, who is forced to grow from a street soldier into a ruthless leader to protect his friends, his family and the home he loves. Fighting the Mafia, the local cops and the feds, Danny intends to build a dynasty or die trying.

A lot of what has been optioned is in development, though past Winslow work that has arrived on screen includes 2012’s ‘Savages’, directed by Oliver Stone and 2007’s ‘The Death and Life of Bobby Z’.

Assuming ‘Crime 101’ makes it through the process, it could be just the latest high-profile project spawned from his prolific output.

Pedro Pascal attends the panel for “The Mandalorian” series at Star Wars Celebration in Anaheim, California on May 28, 2022. (Photo by Jesse Grant/Getty Images for Disney).